I have my collection split with about 1/2 in a safety deposit box and 1/2 at home. Judging by the posts I have read, my collection is tiny compared to many people here. What measures are best for coin safety in the home? I am still working on getting my first single family home, and am considering a safe bolted to the floor if and when I purchase a home. I want my coins reachable where I can actually enjoy them, and yet don't want to be a target for robbery.
I've wondered the same thing, "what's the point at which you need a safe?". I have no answer, but I think it depends on the realistic monetary value (or sentimental value) of your collection. Personally, I think that a collection worth under $1000 or so does not need a safe... If you're around that number or higher, I think a small combination safe that's fireproof is good. If you're bolting things down and having a safe that will give robbers/burglars trouble, I wouldn't expect the contents to be less than $5000-7000? These are just numbers off the top of my head, maybe others here will disagree or share their opinions.
Keep the fact that you have coins at your home secret. Inform your family that they should never tell anyone that you have coins at home. If people tell people who tell people..., then eventually a bad person will know you have coins & they would target your home when they want to steal some money. Secrecy is perhaps the best security measure you can have. Several others will have other good advice I'm sure.
Whether you have coins of not, everyone should have a safe at home. We all have important documents we accumulate in life that need to be under lock and key. Get a safe. Guy
I would embed the safe in concret in the floor raher than bolt it down. And keep it secret by buying it far away and installing it myself.
I'll re-phrase. Get an actual safe, not a lock box or cheesy floor safe. If they can bust down your wall, drive a fork lift through and make off with your safe, bolts aren't going to stop them either. A standard 1200 lbs (empty) safe won't be moved out by a couple of neighborhood thieves. Guy
I second what coleguy said. Get a good fireproof safe, my light safe weighs 800 lbs empty and I put 600 lbs of lead in the bottom to help "stabilize", no coins in this safe only important papers. Also the only thing most people know about my coin collecting is I am the freak that looks at pennys. It doesn't hurt that I keep a loaded wheel gun in every room of the house either. Kie
a word on safes listen most reasonable priced safes that are new or used weight in excess of 650-1800lbs..++++ the average person with or without equipment will have a hard time breaking into any safe.. or carrying it away more or less the average people that own a home have a security system and a redundant system .. if your smart.. .. i have a good safe its lasted me several years .. its was so hard to get it in.. i am getting a second one later in the month.. if you want a good safe buy it from sentry or remmington or guardian any company with good retort .. the whole thing is location and surroundings.. ...why i say this is the following .. 1 the thing you need to break the average safe?? large / small crow pry bar, cutting torch / blasting capp or gel, sledge mallet or hammer and key thing space. and noise. combination hacking... space the average theif needs to move the box arount to get into it.(pry /crow).. and if you live in a average house the safe is put under a load bearing beam or such as a heavy wall it has to have support casing ie a slabb under it to dispurse its load .. so your average person aint breaking into your cribb and running off with any safe... and even if they did get in to the house with full loaded it would weight 600+++++ whatever you added in it..sledge hammer with all that noise .. attract attention why dont you now a cutting torch, now the average skilled person ie the guy walking the street has no clue how to use a torch... but a skilled person that does has to be register or took some training.. thus creating a traceable link.... the safe you buy should have a high heat or fire rating and ,maximum security rating 1 hr 2 hr 3 hr.. i know most new modern tech safe have anti cutting an blast counter measures.... blasting cap now this is my fave toy but where the **** your going to get the recipe for gel.. so highly unstable it isn't funny... so forget it.. or require major skill and and training so the average thief on the street aint getting dynamite or such to make that loud ass noise and bigg ass boom.... but he will be able to maybe learn some safe picking techniques to figure out your combonation or pick your key lock.. thats why multi locks and combos exsist... and digital locks exisit all with there draw backs... and gifts.. i own a single combination 6active pin safe that weights about 850+++ and took 8 people a truck and chain crank to get it in the house.. and it has a load plate and a 1 hour security rating and 5 hour.. the average modern safe should have something like this or better... i hope this helps most safes you buy at a store like staples walmart or such are crapp.. remember even the "good" company's make a junk brand.. to push the sense of security.. donts of having a safe i say dont cause this is crap ya dont do 1 say crap.. about your safe.. ie take pics show off your crap.. 2 put your safe in view of a window or in view of the public.. 3 write your combination down near your safe.. or keep it where anyone can find it.. 4 what ever else i didnt mention ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- shock plate the average highgrade modern jewelers or gun safe .. which is by far the best ones to look into , will have a shock plate or break plate.. this is a secondary system that if some one trys to use a sledge or blasting gel or dynamite or such on it ... it will tripp the secnday locking system that deadlocks the door so even if you know the combo and a key you will need to call a locksmith to pop it..
Thanks for the advice. I guess I will just look into getting one of these safes installed when I actually get a home. 8 people to deliver the safe, yikes.
the average deranged nut that live anywere with common sense know look for a nice QUlity thing even a used one is good.. listen a gun is no good if you aint home most thieves watch there prey before making a move.. they might even become friends with you the jack you.. and im being serious.. look i keep a gun in the house.. but wouldnt do me any good if i aint there to catch the guy ..then you go to worry what if they take the guns.. ohh now your guns and coins are done for.. hey mostly the object of owning a safe is security ... addin a layer which bides time.. hey do a risk assessment of your house before anything.. is your collection that large or expensive that you need a safe ? does your house have a secure or hard to access place to put a vault or safe..? how much time and equipment will it take to install and what is the best time to have it done...
Or if you want to go whole hog, you can build your own "mystery house" http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/
I recommend a large safe, 400 lbs or more empty. I'd also bolt it to the floor. You should have a cypher-lock for which you are the only one who knows the combination. On top of that, you want overlapping/redundant layers of security. Ie if you have a safe, you should also have a home alarm system, dogs, and be armed and willing to defend your cache. Lastly I also recommend insuring your collection, so if for some reason the coins were still stolen, lost or damaged due to flood/fire etc you will get compensated at fair market value.
I would tell you NOT to buy a Sentry or a remmington safe. They are cheaply made and easy to access. Go to a place that deals in safes. You will get a better product. Here are ratings for safes... Safe Ratings Burglary Ratings B1 — Theft resistant (minimum security) B2 — Underwriters' Laboratories Residential Security Container label B3 — Non-rated anti-theft (incorporates features of high security safes without a UL rating) B4 — Underwriters' Laboratories TL-15 label B5 — Underwriters' Laboratories TL-30 label B6 — Underwriters' Laboratories TL-30X6 or TRTL-30 label Fire Ratings FR — Fire resistant unrated insulated safe 1/2 hr — UL class 350. Protects valuables for up to 30 minutes with outside temperature of 1550 degrees. 1 hr — UL class 350. Protects valuables for up to 1 hour with outside temperature of 1700 degrees. 1 hr+ — UL class 350. Protects valuables for up to 1 hour with an outside temperature of 1700 degrees, plus survived drop test from 30 feet. 2 hr — UL class 350. Protects valuables for up to 2 hours with an outside temperature of 1850 degrees. 2 hr+ — UL class 350. Protects valuables for up to 2 hours with outside temperature of 1850 degrees, plus survived drop test onto rubble from 30 feet UL Underwriters' Laboratories (UL) - UL is a non-profit, non-bias agency that tests and rates the safety and performance of consumer products. Safes that have earned specific UL ratings will carry a UL label which designates the product's security and fire-protection ratings. Net Working Time - This is the UL term for testing time which is spent trying to break into a safe using tools such as diamond grinding wheels, high-speed drills with pressure applying devices, or common hand tools such as hammers, chisels, saws, and carbide-tip drills. If a safe has been rated with a 30-minute net working time, (TL30), the rating certifies that the safe successfully withstood a full 30 minutes of attack time with a range of tools. Theft resistant - This rating means the safe provides a combination lock and minimal theft protection. Residential Security Container rating (RSC) - This UL rating is based on testing conducted for a net working time of five minutes, on all sides, with a range of tools. TL-15 rating - The TL-15 rating means the safe has been tested for a net working time of 15 minutes using high speed drills, saws and other sophisticated penetrating equipment. TL-30 rating - A product carrying the TL-30 security label has been tested for a net working time of 30 minutes with the same types of tools mentioned above. TL-30 x 6 - The TL-30 (30-minute) test is conducted on all six (6) sides of the safe. TRTL-30 - The TRTL rating designates a safe which successfully resisted 30 minutes of net working time with a torch and a range of tools which might include high speed drills and saws with carbide bits, pry bars, and other impact devices. Fire Ratings Impact test - The UL impact test calls for the safe to be heated to 1550 degrees for 30 minutes (1638 degrees for a 2-hour fire rated safe) then dropped onto concrete rubble from a height of 30 feet. The safe is then turned upside down and reheated for another 30 minutes (45 minutes for a 2-hour fire rated safe). During this process, it must maintain its integrity and protect all contents in order to pass the UL impact test. Explosion hazard test - All UL fire-rated safes must undergo this test, during which the unit is inserted into a pre-heated 2000 degree oven. If the safe is not constructed properly, the rapid heating will likely cause an explosion. FR - Fire resistant, unrated insulated safe - This product is awaiting UL approval. Class 350 1/2-hour fire rating - During this test, the safe is heated for one-half hour to reach an exterior temperature of 1550 degrees. Because paper will begin to char at approximately 400 degrees, the unit being tested must maintain an interior temperature of less than 350 degrees during heat-up and cool-down testing in order to earn its rating. Class 350 1-hour fire rating - To earn this rating, the safe is heated for one hour to reach an exterior temperature of 1550 degrees, then put through the cool-down test. During this time the safe must maintain an interior temperature of less than 350 degrees. Cool-down test - This procedure is a key part of UL's fire testing procedures. After a one- or two-hour fire rating test, the safe is left in the oven for cool-down time with the heat turned off. Because of the intensive heat of one- and two-hour tests, the temperature inside the safe will continue to rise for up to one hour after the oven is turned off. To pass UL testing, the safe's interior temperature may not exceed 350 degrees at any time during heat-up or cool-down procedures. Class 350 1-hour fire & impact label - The safe has passed both UL impact testing and Class 350 1-hour fire testing (see above). Class 350 2-hour fire rating - The safe is heated for two hours to reach an exterior temperature of 1550 degrees and must maintain an interior temperature of less than 350 degrees to earn this rating. Class 350 2-hour rating and impact label - The safe has passed both UL impact testing and Class 350 2-hour fire testing (see above).
Also forgot to add, if buying a used safe make sure it is under 25 years old. Most insurance companies won't cover a safe older then 25 years for fire protection.
