In talking about safes, which is more of a concern? The only thing I don't like about a fire safe is that they may be large, but due to the insulation thickness, they do not have a lot of interior storage.
I've been thinking about buying a rabid bear... that would scare me off, if I wanted to steal my coins.
We've talked about this before but it never hurts to bring up a subject every now and then. But when it comes to safes - here's a few things you should consider. Fires safes come in two types mainly - 1 hr & 2 hr. A 2 hr fire safe will keep the temperature inside the safe to 300 degrees or less for the advertised 2 hrs. But that is as long as the temperature of the fire outside does not reach more than 1800 degrees. But therein lies the problem. The average house fire reaches temperatures of 3500 degrees. Which means your fire safe isn't going to do much good unless your safe is located in some remote corner of the house away from the fire. Another thing about fire safes is that the majority of them are rather small. This not only presents a problem with adequate storage space - it also means that a strong man can carry one by himself. And as for bolting to the floor or the wall - a large crowbar can pry it off those bolts in about 5 seconds. Now I will be the first to admit that I would want as much protection as possible - including fire. So I would buy a fire safe myself. But I would also buy a safe that has a burglary rating. These ratings come in varying degrees from minimal to almost impossible to break open. But the higher the rating the bigger, heavier and safer the safe is going to be. It is also going to be that much more expensive. Bottom line - if you want a good quality safe - go to your local locksmith shop and talk to them. They will be more than happy to explain all the pros and cons about this safe or that safe.
Ditto what GDJMSP said. I plan on building a vault into my new home, but if you don't have a good way to store your valuable coins safely, I make the plea for the safety deposit box at your local bank. The cost of a box is minimal, especially compared to that $4k safe. But if you really want to spend the money on a safe for yourself, here are a few links... http://maximumsecurity.com/highvalue.htm http://deansafe.com/amvault.html And remember, security is about overal security. One big bad safe is irrelavent if you can bring a crowbar and a refrigerator dolly in and move it out. Think about distractor security as well. Reinforced connection points in the floor, deadbolting and reinforcing closet doors that house safes, etc. And as always, sign up with the ANA and get collector's insurance. 'cause it will stink when your collection is stolen, but you won't be out the value of the coins if you have coverage. Cris
The number one rule of security is "Do not publicly discuss critical details of your own security arrangements." This rule is especially important when posting in a public forum, where you have no idea who may be lurking. If I were in the business of purloining coins, I would certainly cruise the various newsgroups and forums looking for such helpful information as who is buying what, where they live, and what security arrangements they have. I for one use a PO Box as my only publicly available address. When I really, really have to have something offered by a seller who only uses UPS, I used to give my office address. Since retirment I give a friend's office address and pick the package up from him. The only people, other than my Beautiful Bride, who know the exact type, and the location, of my safe are the folks from the security company which installed it. My burglar/fire alarm system uses a combination of motion sensors, door and window switches, and other methods of detecting intruders. It also has two very important special codes. One I can give to people like the exterminator, who occasionally have to be left alone in the house. It sets the alarm, but doesn't clear it. The other can deal with a home invasion robbery/hostage situation.
A couple random thoughts to keep in mind: Most (all?) “fire proof” safes work by means of liquid in the walls of the safe which expand to seal the door. The inside of these safes will become wet or at least heavily humid in a fire. As for bank safe deposit boxes, if you kick the bucket the box gets sealed until the estate can inventory it. Maybe if someone has cosigning authority they can bypass this, but better check it out in advance. It might be that the box is sealed and inventoried before anyone can get to it.
