I guess I missed that. The fireproofing is easy though. It's just several layers of gypsum board. Tear out the innards and line it with gypsum. Granted, that is a lot harder in some of the older safes that are insulated with bricks and have a metal liner on the inside, but it's possible.
Detecto, I think what would be best for you is a $150 Sentry safe that's both fire and waterproof. Your best defense would be a very clever hiding spot. They can't steal what they can't find right? And as longs as you don't tell anyone you have a safe any burglars wouldn't know to go looking for one and would just take the "easy money".
Do you know how rare f5 tornado's are.... But i could not agree more, the best defense is a hiding spot. How can we live worrying about floods or fires...that would just take the fun out of collecting. If that is your main concern, you should consult with the people from the discovery show "doomsday bunkers". But Detecto, I agree- no matter how valuable your collection is, some coins are key and cannot be replaced.
It's not as bad as you think...,, My bank is only 6 blocks away and I can ride a bike or walk. It's downhill on the way there too, so it isn't a difficult ride. They have a nicely appointed room to take my safe deposit box to, plus coffee and a real friendly staff. That describes most small to medium size banks with safe deposit vaults, the larger impersonal banks are to be avoided. What makes my bank special are the hours, the safety deposit section is open on Saturdays from 9:00AM until noon. Most banks if they are open at all on Saturday, don't open the lobby up. I make the trip over there at least once every 7 weeks and bring along recharged desicant canisters to toss in the boxes (yup, got more than one!). There are just too many things that can go wrong with any collection being kept at the house if it is worth any considerable amount of money. You could install a 4,000 pound safe and it still can be hauled away by determined thieves. Add in fires, floods, tornados, and all the other possibilities and having the coins in the bank seems like the only rational solution to me, though it does prevent a collector from messing with his coins on a daily basis. That's not to say I dont sometimes bring the entire collection home with me occassionally so I can photograph the coins with whatever new camera I might have. That happens every 4 or 5 years, and the coins are here at the house for maybe 3 days max.
In late, but SDB is my choice. They will have a hard time cracking that. If someone believes I have the coins at home and decides to dispose of me, they will be left behind for my heirs no matter what. That is my end goal. It is why I also spend the money for someone to take high end photos of my collection so I can enjoy them without compromising the security of my estate. F5...I'll take my chances with that compared to the multiple amount of burglars and desperate people in this world.
I guess I'm in a different boat being my father was LEO and left me a bit of firearms. I went out and bought a safe big enough for everything of value, handguns, rifles, coins, optics, even laptops when we go away. Rated for an hour of fire, no crack head will get into it, and let's face it, Alexander Monday isn't coming for my stuff.
This was posted by someone on one of the forums years ago. 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). 1. Test attack against the door and front face: 1. Tool-Resistant Safe - Class TL-15 2. Tool-Resistant Safe - Deposit Safe 3. Tool-Resistant Safe - Class TL-30 4. Torch- and Tool-Resistant Safe - Class TRTL-30 2. Test attack against the door and body: 1. Tool-Resistant Safe - Class TL-15X6 2. Tool-Resistant Safe - Class TL-30X6 3. Torch- and Tool-Resistant Safe - Class TRTL-15X6 4. Torch- and Tool-Resistant Safe - Class TRTL-30X6 5. Torch- and Tool-Resistant Safe - Class TRTL-60X6 6. Torch-, Explosive-, and Tool-Resistant Safe - Class TXTL-60X6 There was an news article recently in CoinWorld about a burglary and how a collector/dealer’s safe was “smashed”. The manufacturer of the safe was listed and I was not at all surprised that the thieves demolished the safe. The manufacturer given is a major supplier of gun safes, not security safes. Gun safes are usually made with a body of SHEET metal (steel), 12 gauge, 14 gauge, etc. and a steel plate (usually 1/4 in or less) for the door. Security safes employ steel PLATE, ¼”, ½”, 1” or greater and often have additional composite material to provide defense against various attacks (drill, torch, peel, etc). Security safes are rated on a letter scale, B, C, D, ... with B being a general catch all for 1/4” body and 1/2” steel door. There is also an Underwriter’s Laboratory rating (UL) such ad TL-15, TL30, and so on. The “15”, “30” , etc. on are measures of a the MINIMUM time it takes a professional to break in, the UL personnel that conduct the tests are pros. Gun safes usually look pretty and have lots of thick locking bolts that give a false sense of security. Steel sheet metal is easy to break into, the local kid with an axe, crowbar and other tools can get in in no time. That thick fire resistant material between the sheet metal is just that, thick material to provide fire protection, NOT buglary protection. One half inch or more of hardened steel with a drill resistance hardplate protecting the lock, glass or other relocking devices, drill resistant pellets and fibers between the lawyers of PLATE, and so on will discourage all but the most professional burglars. Time is the key to a good safe, not lots of locking bars. The best jewelry safes may have a industrial diamond impregnated hardplate, slabs of copper to thwart torch attacks, multiple randomly placed relockers, and even layers (safe within a safe). I would never store coins in a gunsafe and never buy one of those nice looking safes for sale at coin shows, A fairly “safe” safe is going to cost about $1000 for a good TL-15 safe (500 lbs or more). Safest place for coins – a safe deposit box in one of those 50 year old bank vault safes that were build to withstand a nuclear attack.
I keep my silver in a sock. Given that it's just a handful of coins thrown together just in case I need them, and that their total market value today comes out to maybe 300 dollars, I don't think investing in a safe makes much sense for me. If I end up approaching 1,000 dollars' worth, then I will start to consider security. The part I live in doesn't see break-ins, and there's always someone around such as a neighbor, but you can never be definite.
Yeah, so talking about what type of safe you're planning on getting and other plans around such safe where the whole world can see online is probably not a great idea then.
i would just go to harbor freight and grab one for $100 if you don't want to invest alot. They are made in China, but so are the Pandas? It wouldn't stand up to the pro safe crackers, but it does the job for my few hundred dollar collection and has enough room for other important valuables. Better than not having one I guess. http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=safe
Just to be redundant about all of the above: Maybe there is no perfect safe for us CT'ers.So maybe there is one to keep our assets and such 'SAFER '. That along with some affordable insurance and alarm system should provide a higher degree of a feeling of SAFETY. That's the best we can do IMHO. zeke
This is the route we took. Numismatics, bullion, family papers and documents, photo albums...We could climb in the danged thing if it was big enough. Industry rated for ALL the parameters like fire and theft/burglary. No...not perfect but it would take a LONG time to enter the safe(s) and we sleep well at night. NO to a bank safe deposit box. Too many nosy tellers and managers in this small town that know our business. NO to a retail Office Depot-type Safe. Though for a short while we had silver piled up under the futon but that's another story. USED 1.5 ton commercial safe(s) delivered and installed by a professional locksmith...and they had a hard time for this installation. To this day I feel they didn't charge enough and one day I'll send them a check to ease my mind and effort due.
Decent safe meaning too heavy to take and some bother to break into + a good security system with reasonable response time equals end of any worry over theft!
Thats just too Funny! My wife's dog is like this! Really loud and aggressive looking! The dog has everything worked out perfectly but she's actually a big kitty cat!
A local 24/7 Private Vaults was robbed. Story at: http://www.8newsnow.com/story/17647612/metro-police-seek-information-in-vault-robbery Excerpt: "On April 14, three masked men walked into 24/7 Private Vaults on Sunset Road near Pecos Road, restrained the employee, opened safe deposit boxes and stole the valuables inside."
