Home Burglarized-- Coins Okay!

There aren't any valuables in our home at all. I just started collecting coins this year and my collection, though valuable to me, wouldn't bring much. We don't have anyone over to the house and honestly both my wife and I are very modest.

Our home was targeted because it's the easiest target on our street. We have a very long driveway on the side of our home and it's easy for someone to get in the back of the house and go undetected. The first time, we left a window unlocked so they just opened it up and came on in. They stole a television and some other things, but thanks to some witnesses, the thieves were caught. My wife and I had the satisfaction of sitting in a police car while we watch the people who broke into our house, get hand cuffed and hauled to jail.

After the first burglary, we invested in an Alarm system and make sure our house is secure. However, we did not have signs in the yard to advertise our alarm system. This was on the advice of the salesman who said that if we had a sign, all the thief would do is cut our phone line. He thought it was better to not have a sign and let them set off the alarm.

So on the second burglary, they busted down our back door. It turns out that it had a weak spot in the strike plate area, that we didn't know about. They kicked in the door, set off the alarm and had to move very fast. The alarm helped mitigate our losses.

What we have been told by the police, is that there have been a lot of burglaries in our neighborhood. Just really bad crime here, I'm sad to say.

However, we continue to upgrade our defenses. We now have signs in the yard, and a very loud alarm that will sound if anyone enters. We will also soon be installing a wireless system to keep anyone from cutting the phone lines. Finally, I am going to get a safe, bolted to the floor for m coin collection.

One thing, I need to figure out is how to keep people from getting behind our house. I can't put up a gate because of a retaining wall on the side of the house. I'll figure something out.

I know the key is to make your house as difficult a target as possible. The more layers of security that you have will help slow them down or deter them.

It still ticks me off that we have to go through these lengths just to keep stuff in our house, that's ours!

Anyway, thanks for all the comments.

 

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Try employing a couple of pit-bulls, That will solve your back yard problem

 

JDS, a few motion detector lights (strategically placed on the side yards and in the back) should deter the would be schmucks. Bugs hate havin' a light shinned on 'em....

 

Try employing my personal favorite Glock Model 23 in .40 the
Best pistol and the best caliber for home defense!!

 

Too bad about you gifts, but you coins are safe and now is the time to make the decisions:
Safe
Safety Deposit Box
and/or Insurance

I went with the Safety deposit box for the expensive stuff and 2 safes for the keep at home stuff.

The 12 gague, 9 mm and the 357 Ruger are always handy.

Bruce

 

I'm truely amazed at the "fire power" that resides on this forum. Bad guys beware......

 

Sorry to hear about your invasion...hope your Christmas wasn't spoiled.

I don't know if this will help but I collect comic books and they're in tons of acid free boxes that are labeled alphabetically and so forth...

I've seen on lots of forums, pictures of people's collections and they have their highly valuable boxes labeled as such and I thought "why advertise that to burglars"??

I label my highly expensive ones in boxes now that say something like "coverless crap" or "water damaged comics" in hopes that if they only have a minute or two they will grab my boxes marked "most valuable..grab in case of fire" and end up with ACTUAL worthless crap.

My point is deception.

Another idea is to get a very good scan or pic of your actual coin and put that into a frame to display keeping the real one in a safe or vault somewhere.

Just my 2 cents.......

 

TexMech - I read about the guy in Houston I think that shot the intruders to his neighbor's home and shot them both. Do you think that's what Missouri's new law is like?

Green I think there is more firepower then stated too...now that's scary. Many people like me didn't post about ours but we have it!

JDS where in Mo do you live...East St Louis? I looked up the crime rates and they are not that bad.
Sorry for your loss and hopefully your new steps will help. And Green is right about some motion lights...they dont like to be seen at all.

 

I'm not sure about Missouri's law. The ability to shoot some guy because he is in the yard is kind of pushing it IMO. I have had neighbors that I wish would step in my yard so I could shoot them for trespassing. I think just entering the house is enough. That demonstrates intent in a bad way. The two guys in Houston were in the neighbors yard robbing that house and I believe the guy that shot them was not charged, as it should be. It was a new gray area though.

I like the idea someone said about putting your coins in a box labeled with something not so important. For X-mas I got some intercept shield books so I have been putting all my primary coins in the books. I like the ability to view all the coins easily in the books, but now I have just condensed my collection to a smaller area...the books. It's worth it though. I did not like all my good stuff being in 2 x 2's and spread out all over the place.

 

I live in Kansas City. You're probably right that the official crime rates aren't that bad. I guess it's like they say about the economy. It's a recession when the other guy loses his job, and it's depression when you lose your job. Same with crime rates, the rates are sky high when it's your house that's been busted in.

 

Bottom Lineon't fool with coin collectors!!!!

 

The actuall crime rates in K.C. are not that bad. But having lived there, it really seems like they should be alot higher.

...East St. Louis is actually in Illinois. But the northen part of St. Louis Missouri is one of the most violent areas around.

 

nice choices, and i'm not trying to be mean or rude when i ask this, but... who's going to pull the trigger when you're not home?? i really haven't heard of too many burglaries happening while people are home.

 

Thats a question I've thought of asking many times too. I know many times guns have come in handy for defense of ones self or home. But most of the time crooks go out of their way to burglarize homes where no one is home.

 

A dog is always the best defense. I've seen ads for boxes you hang on the doorknob that makes a barking sign when the door is disturbed. Also, there are laser lights that you can install across the doors and windows on the back side of your home that will trigger an alarm when the laser line is crossed. I hope this helps.

 

Indeed, my dog starts barking if anyone is within 100 feet of my house. It also helps that she's a big 100lb dog with a nasty growling bark.....and she does mean business too....it's not just a show. LOL

If they make it past the dog, I also have a monitored alarm system and a LOT of guns in the house and on my person (concealed carry permit). Everyone in my house knows where a loaded gun is (there's several) and everyone knows how to use them. I've trained the family to shoot intruders first and ask questions later. Walking into my house is certain death sentence if anyone is home.

 

May I recommend a simple fire safe? They can probably get into it, but it would be loud and take time. They would have to take the safe with them. As easy as that would be to just pick up the safe and take it, with the added weight of the coins, it could be nearly impossible depending on the size.

 

A tricky situation to be sure!! Though i think you have every right to shoot someone as long as
There inside your home one step over the thresh hold will do! Shoot first ask questions
later!!

 

Guys, this thread is more than a year old.

eealopez, why in the world would you start a thread back up just to agree with someone else about dogs being the best defense?

 

You are right! If he didnt, this post never wouldve come back to life. And then it was dying down, but fortunately you pointed it out before it went away again! Uh oh...i brought it back to the top again...