Coin Safe

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by Oysterk, Jul 7, 2016.

  1. ldhair

    ldhair Clean Supporter

    Nice choice. I used to sell this model. The door and the locking bolts are strong enough to slow down the average bad guy. With the proper anchors, it won't be easy to walk away with.

    Something else to keep in mind when you mount one of these to the floor. Have the side of the door that swings open, against a wall. That leaves little room for someone using a pry bar to work.

    Best option is to keep all the really cool stuff in a safety deposit box as much as possible.

    One more thing. Don't store guns and coins in the same safe. It's not healthy for the coins.
     
    Gilbert, BigTee44 and Andrew5 like this.
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  3. Clawcoins

    Clawcoins Damaging Coins Daily

    That is a "CABINET" not a Safe, as the name states.
    It's basically a fancy looking metal storage cabinet that you can get at Office Depot.

    I could probably break into it in 30 seconds with a crowbar, that includes putting down the soda that would be in my hands, then searching for a small crowbar in a bag, a few yawns, and a couple seconds to snap it open. :)
     
  4. Andrew5

    Andrew5 Member

    Are there problems storing ammo in a safe with coins?
     
  5. ldhair

    ldhair Clean Supporter

    I don't think there would be. Very little oil or solvents to create a problem.
     
    Andrew5 likes this.
  6. Andrew5

    Andrew5 Member

    T
    thanks. Probably something I should have contemplated before doing it. Ha!
     
  7. TJ1952

    TJ1952 Well-Known Member

    I don't know. And that's why I wouldn't do it.
     
  8. Dimedude2

    Dimedude2 Member

    Also consider how much stuff (beyond the coin collection) you will eventually need to store when determining the safe that meets your needs
     
    Andrew5 likes this.
  9. coinzip

    coinzip Well-Known Member

    Bolting a small safe to the floor keeps it from being carried away, but it actually helps a thief break into it... :(

     
    Gilbert likes this.
  10. Gilbert

    Gilbert Part time collector Supporter

  11. Andrew5

    Andrew5 Member

    Thanks for posting. Makes perfect sense once you see it. The bolts give him major leverage. Gives me chills thinking about my old (and long gone) sentry safe that was bolted to the ground
     
  12. Clawcoins

    Clawcoins Damaging Coins Daily

    here's a good video about the various quality of safes and what to look for. They mention gun safes but it's mostly about just safes

    I also saw another that went into the length of bolts, etc in the door and that is important too. I'll look for that video too
     
  13. tradernick

    tradernick Coin Hoarder

    Should you ever want to insure your coins, it would be of great benefit to have a serious safe. Gun safes and fire safes aren't good enough for most insurance companies. You'll need a safe that is rated TL-15 or higher. The safes I have in the shop are TL-30's. That means that with a cutting tool (like an air chisel) it would take 30 minutes to cut through the side. The walls are solid metal, no composite or concrete etc inside the walls. You can even get safes that are TR rated (cutting torch), although I should mention those are very pricey. If you have a safe of sufficient weight you'll never need to worry about bolting it down. One of my cube-shaped safes is waist high and weighs 1400 pounds. The safe in the photo is another of my TL-30's. It weighs well over a ton. I bought it used and it was a few thousand dollars including delivery. Yes it's a lot of money but peace of mind is priceless, plus good safes retain their value nicely so you can look at it as an investment. If anyone is in the central Florida area I'm happy to connect you with my safe guy.
    Nick
     

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  14. calcol

    calcol Supporter! Supporter

    I echo the advice that expensive coins should be in a safe deposit box at a bank. A few words of advice about safe deposit boxes. First, I recommend getting a box at a branch of a large regional or national bank. Although the agreement you'll sign says the bank has no responsibility for loss, a large chain is still likely to pay off in the event of a burglary or casualty loss if the coins are well documented (sales receipts and pics). A large chain will have the resources to pay and will want to avoid the bad publicity from failure to pay. A large chain is more likely to have good construction and a security department that oversees construction and ongoing security procedures. Do not use a safety deposit box company that is not also a bank in the Federal Reserve system. A bank has the extra security incentive of having their own cash and records stored in the vault. Although FDIC does not insure box contents, there are security requirements that the Fed and FDIC demand of member banks.

    All bank vaults have impressive steel doors. Usually the floor is reinforced concrete and the walls as well. The ceiling in some vaults is just insecure roofing materials or floor materials of the story above. You should verify reinforced concrete all around.

    Neither vault doors nor deposit boxes are waterproof or smoke-proof. Your box should be at least 2 feet (60 cm) above the floor in case of minor floods like a burst pipe in the building. Most coin slabs are not waterproof. If you want to be extra safe against liquid or gaseous hazards, put slabs in sealed polyethylene plastic bags (I don't).

    The vault should have a secondary door that is kept closed and latched except when an employee is in the vault. Typically, this will consist of steel bars in a frame ... strong, but see-through. Customers and non-employees (e.g. repairmen and locksmiths) should never be in the vault without an employee present. There should be no hiding places in the vault. Two hiding places that have been used by burglars are suspended ceilings and "dead corners." Dead corners are where two banks of boxes come together at a corner with a hollow space between them. Dead corners are OK if the box banks extend all the way to a reinforced concrete ceiling. There should be one or more private rooms near the vault where you can take your box to work on it.

    No bank employee should have your key out of your sight. No one who is not an employee or hasn't been properly signed-up should be allowed in the vault, its entrance area, or the private rooms. Non-employees should always have to sign for each entrance to the vault area, and ID should be required unless an employee knows the person. A group of coins can be heavy, and you don't want an employee to drop the box. I've put a "heavy" sign on my box, and the employees always let me remove and replace it in its slot.

    Cal
     
  15. 712

    712 Constatutionalist, U.S.N. Viet Nam vet 66'

    Have to keep our coins safe from theft, safe deposit good but not easily accessible, small home safe could be carried away easily. I bought a First Alert 2583 executive safe, 6.7 cu ft 200 lbs. hard to carry off. I look at my coins a lot, running back and fourth to the bank is a problem for me. I don't worry about my collections anymore and I can see them anytime I want. Some might think 600 is a little steep, I do but my valuables are safe
     
  16. usmc60

    usmc60 SEMPER FI

    The first safe I bought was a little one like that. I found it works fine for three ring binders, and like others had said this is a safe this says take me. If you want to see safes like this like they say go to YouTube or watch storage hunters they break in the safes like this all the time. Pick them up drop them on their edge and they open up. These kind safes only keep honest people honest. All I can say about a thief that tries to pick mine up, prepared to go to the hospital to get treated for a hernia. And after I really got into collecting, and my collection grew I noticed I was lacking secure storage. One day while in Home Depot, I noticed they had Sentry security gun safe at a reasonable price. I found this safe was so heavy empty and design for gun storage, and majority of people know that safes that are designed for guns they concentrate on the moister factor because that's a guns enemy. So I thought it would be ideal for storing my coins, and for the coins that I was really concerned about I would vacuum seal the coins and put them in the safe. I really don't worry about someone stealing this safe so it's not bolted to the floor, you would need a forklift just to move this safe when it has all the coins in it. It took a heavy duty dolly just to get it into the house. I had a normal dolly but all that managed to do was flatten the tires on it and the safe was empty. Had to go up to U-Haul and rent a heavy duty dolly, (sounds like a song doesn't it)It's not hard to forget how much coinage ways just remember that box a quarter you buy from the bank and the dirty looks you get from the tellers that have to carry that box to you. It seems eBay has some good deals and if you get free shipping it's even better deal. Good idea just to do your homework before you buy.USMC60:blackalien:
     
  17. PAEMT

    PAEMT StreetMedic

    I was a Risk Manager for a large national bank based in Pittsburgh, PA, and I can assure you that your SDB contents will NOT be covered by the bank regardless of documentation. You will be advised to purchase private insurance for any contents. We had a large fire at a local branch in Mechanicsburg, PA a few years back, and I can assure you we did not cover any of the contents of the SDB, which sustained smoke and water damage. We did allow some of the owners (renters) of the boxes to be escorted into the vault to retrieve their contents wearing paper protective suits. Any boxes that were not opened by the customer within x-days were drilled and physically removed under security and taken to another branch to be claimed.
     
  18. tradernick

    tradernick Coin Hoarder

    A thought on bank boxes. Add some dessicant packs to the box to draw moisture from the air. Bank atmospheres are good for paper but bad for coins. Check on your coins every few months to make sure they're not spotting, hazing, etc.
     
  19. Speedbump

    Speedbump Not a New Member

    Honestly, if its for sale at Walmart or Home Depot, its probably not proving much protection.

    A minimal burglar rated safe (RSC) of that size would be over $1000 and weight at least 2-3 times more. Some people even consider a RSC level of security to be worthless and that TL rated safes are the only way to go.

    Just because its heavy doesn't mean you shouldn't bolt it down. First off, just like with furniture, there is always a risk of it falling over, especially if the safe is tall and has a heavy door. Second, if a burglar is able to push it over on its back, it makes it a lot easier to break into.

    Below is a good write-up with pictures and illustrations showing the problem with cheap safes. They are typically thin gauge metal with no support around the door frame or bolts. Is some cases, the bolt carriage is only bolted or screwed to the door instead of welded or being part of the same steel plate as the door.

    Another problem is thin gauge metal safes can be compromised by simply cutting them open with power tools that are probably available to the burglar in the garage of the home they just broke into.

    This article is referring to gun storage, but the same advice applies to all safes.
    http://gunsafereviewsguy.com/articles/myths-about-gun-safe-theft-protection/

    Lastly, the location of the safe is very important. Obviously you want it hidden well so a burglar may miss it all together. Also, you'll want it in a space that limits a burglars ability to access the sides of the safe and gain leverage over the door. If there isn't enough room for the burglar to swing a hammer or ax, or get a good angle with a pry bar, then it will be difficult to breach the safe and the burglar may give up after a short while with the home alarm going off.
     
  20. Clawcoins

    Clawcoins Damaging Coins Daily

    Example:
     
  21. usmc60

    usmc60 SEMPER FI

    (Security)The only way to go he's cheap and works for bananas. And is also a an expert with a pistol. LOL everybody_be_cool.jpg :cool::blackalien:
     
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