I am at a delema... I dont know whether to display my collection somewhere in my house or store them in something.. if I do store them how is the best way to store them.. I dont really want to buy a safe because my collections is growing fast and I think it would take up to much space. What to do?
I would think it would depend upon how much of your collection you want to display. I have several Prestige sets that are opened up and displayed in bookcases. I would think you could get binders with pages that would accept 2 x 2 flips or encapsulated coins and put them out. Just be careful because everyone who comes in your house will have an idea that you collect. For the majority of your coins (if you have a big collection) a safe or gun case with a lock an the ability to protect your coins from moisture/humidity would be a thought.
most of my collection is Proof sets and I do like to spread them out from time to time to look at them. People put thousand dollar pic. on there walls all the time. I dont know maybe a gun case does sound good.
I recently put my Harbour Lights collectibles in storage in hopes that in about 10,000 years they might be worth at least half of what I paid for them!! Anyway, I found that the lighted curio cabinets will make great display cases. I wouldn't recommend them for safe keeping of those expensive and key coins but they will be great for proof/mint sets, common, etc. Most have lockable doors that will keep kids, pets, and way-too-curious visitors from touching them. You can find decent quality curio's at flea markets, garage sales, auctions, bargain stores for under $200 but the high quality ones will cost much more. make sure you get the glass shelves so the light can pass through to the bottom display shelf.
Security Just a reminder Even though we all enjoy our coins. We have a need to be careful and protect them. If they are on constant display and you have various "GUEST" in your home defined as anybody from the pizza delivery person to relatives, you are advertising - I have coins , please break in and steal me. Now I know this is extreme, but I just want to remind all collectors to be careful. Protect your coins from the elements, humidity, fingerprints and THEFT. ENJOY your coins that is what they are for.
Here's what I use... I used to have a Office Depot Sentry safe until I outgrew the 1.2 cubic foot space. Also, after talking with others, they advised I upgrade the safe. Now I use a 350 lb. gun safe (with shelves) bolted to the slab (no pun intended) and the wall studs. The only way to move it is if you move the foundation and walls. It has a small foot print, but is tall enough to store lots of stuff, including other household items like passports, birth certificates, etc. Couple that with a alarm system, dog, and my gun...If they want it that bad...well I did all I could. Maybe a little extreme for my Lincolns and proof coins, but it serves purpose. I also use silica gel containers whereby I monitor the humidity levels inside the safe.
I've never resolved the issue of combining safety with display. So I've gone with safety. The highest quality coins are in a safe deposit box at the bank. The middle value coins are in a household safe. The low grade circulated coins that I collect just to absorb nervous energy are in a box in the closet. It doesn't bother me at all if nobody beyond the immediate family ever knows about them.
Yeah, those are useless. Any of those < $500 safes are useless for the most part. It should be called a safer, because it's better than a shoe box. I too have struggled with even having anything in the house or a bank box. Things is, I'd like to enjoy them, flip through the pages from time to time. Show others even. Can't really do that when they're at the bank, without going to the bak (and that'll be the one day they break in and take it all). So, I suppose that's what insurance is for.
Yea I guess I will go the insurance route I called today and it is only $11 per $1000 in coins with a rider on my home owners... I want to be able to display them and it is not like they are in the living room when everyone walks in. and Yes I do also have all the security I am comfortable with; gun, dog, ADT. basically I want the coin store I want the revolving glass display case..ahhh to dream...
I wouldn't display mine, or even tell anyone that wasn't 100% trustworthy, after having my first collection stolen.
One thing that might help is to get a safe...not a fire safe since you have to be more careful with them but just a nice size safe...put your sets with the most value in that...then keep the others like some collectors I know do....in a box somewhere. Speedy
Power failure are common in Florida That is why they sell night vision glasses and laser gun sites. Love my coins
I always liked my grandpa's solution. He kept his lesser valuables, the commons and such in a small safe which was easy to find on the floor of his bedroom closet. He kept his real valuables in a sealable plastic box which was placed inside a large box of junk, also in his closet but on the top shelf. (He showed a few close family members where the box was located just in case.) Loe and behold, on day someone broke in and five finger the safe. Darn, gramps was out about $200 worth of stuff. Nothing inportant or really valuable except the $5 safe he got in the 60's. He was a little upset when he went to buy a new one and found that even the small ones were in the $100 range. After seeing this he filed an insurance claim on the safe and bought a new one. All in all it was a small price to pay to keep his other valuable safe, about $10,000 worth. The reality is criminals are usually stupid or short on time. If you use the advertising approach to distract them from the true value, your better off than if you buy a really big heavy safe. Criminals can always use something else to break more stuff but not always smart enough to realize they are steeling the wrong thing.
Having worked at Office Max for a while I don't recomend any of the Sentry safe products. When we were bored we would spend time trying to figure out how to break in to them. It was usually pretty easy. We figured out how to break in to half of them. Especially the file cabinet type. That one took less than a minute to figure out.
I always thought of the Sentry safes as protection from fire, water and other sorts of environmental damage. I agree they aren't much protection against theft, assuming the thief can find it and has some tools, but I'm not sure that theft is the major hazard to protect against. It's better than a shoe-box.
