Hi All, I would like any and all thoughts about how all of you fellow coin collectors securely store your coins. Bank vault/ home safe/ squirrelled away in the attic ? (last one sarcasm). Also, how many have an actual physical inventory. Does anyone take pictures of their collection(s) and store the Memory Card somewhere ? Thanks for any and all opinions and suggestions !
I have graduated to three safes at home. And no, the wife is not at all happy about that. My more valuable coins are in the banks SDB. Those coins are photographed and in my insurance agents file cabinet.
Any and all ways. It depends upon your locale (safe neigborhood, etc), how much value is in the coins, your ability to safely store it (and your own definition of), your ability of spending $$$ whether on a safe, insurance, SDB, etc. Many people tend to hide things under the floor or in a "safe spot". Other may get various safes of various qualities (walmart bought vs safe store bought). Inventory-wise I have pictures of all my coins. I also have an Excel spreadsheet of them, when they were bought and purchase price. They're numbered on the spreadsheet, and also in the inventory images. If you have a lot, it may take some time to do it. Also as you photo skills improve you may end up redoing them .. over and over again The question that always pop up back to someone asking about this is (a) how much dollar value to safely store (b) what budget to buy a safe or SDB (Bank Safety Deposit Box) or alternate location (c) how often you look at your collection. makes no sense to store it way off-site if you like to look at it every day. some people just store circulated change quality coins, some store high quality, graded coins, bullion grade coins, bullion ... It is quite endless and so are the possibilities. Many times people don't want to spend money to safely store their coins. For instance a SBD has an annual fee, which if you think if your coins as an investment is a additional fixed cost overhead to the value of those coins which may or may not be recoupable over time.
I have stainless steel moisture proof, fireproof, bulletproof, 3 steel clasped locks on each, 18 x 14 x 8 custom made cases. I keep them in a large safe when I need to store them long term other wise well hidden. It keeps coins and currency dry shinny and crisp. I also have a computer program that provides updated inventory and hard copy with pictures and the insurance company has a certified copy. I don't use bank safe deposit boxes, because the banks won't cover any loss of any items in their boxes, read their liability clauses, check with your insurance company and attorney. Check the stories about people that had items mysteriously disappear from their safe deposit boxes and what happened! I am hoping for a category 4 hurricane here in Florida, I need the money (Smiles), don't tell my insurance company. ONLY KIDDING!
if you use the little "search" feature on the top left for CoinTalk you can find many threads about "storage" "safes vs SDBs" etc you can also find many threads about "coin inventory" such as: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/time-to-buy-a-safe.352904/ https://www.cointalk.com/threads/safe-safe-deposit-box-or-hiding-place.353548/ https://www.cointalk.com/threads/another-sdb-vs-safe-thread.345555/#post-3687152 https://www.cointalk.com/threads/safes-for-bullion.292795/#post-4016405 https://www.cointalk.com/threads/safe-safe-deposit-box-or-hiding-place.353548/ https://www.cointalk.com/threads/safe-recommendations.349949/#post-3863777 search results ==> https://www.cointalk.com/search/5452738/?page=5&q=safes&o=date
Your items are exactly as "covered" in the SDB as in your home -- that is, not at all, unless you purchase insurance yourself to cover them. Some insurers (most?) will offer better rates to cover things in SDBs, because they're more secure. Yes, some people have had items stolen or confiscated from SDBs. I suspect the numbers are quite tiny compared to those stolen or confiscated from homes. If your valuables are in your house, and you're planning to defend them with your arsenal (and of course we're all heavily armed here) -- do you never sleep? Do you never leave your house? (That last question doesn't seem quite as rhetorical as it once did. ) If your valuables are buried or hidden somewhere secret, well, bless you -- you've provided great fodder for the metal-detecting hobby.
Ha! I put my gold coins in my SDB, and then the bank closed because of the pandemic. I think they are safe from even me now.
makes you second guess one's "bug out" theories .... Makes a soupy mess outta all the gold bouillon ideas.
I have coins. They are where they are. If I want to move them or touch them I do. If I acquire a coin that would make me nervous to have lying around I sell it. I have no idea what I have, when I got it or even how I got it. If I ever care enough about it to get extra security like a safe or feel like I have to tell some drone at a huge insurance company about it then I would rather sell it than baby it. The only “security” I have is it’s not all in one place or on one property. They are coins not guns.
The most recent bank bail outs REQUIRES banks to seize everything from safety deposits to keep the banks afloat before any federal money flows their way. Read the wording yourself to learn details of any compensation. I would not be surprised if they were allowed to never pay restitution or pay back face value for your twenty dollar gold pieces. Personally I would consider storing documents but nothing worth stealing. Even before this new rule if you didn't visit your box often enough your property was seized and turned over to the state and sold. Lousy deal for you.
Do you have references on that ?? I cannot find one thing in relation to that from (what I deem) a valid source.
I put my faith in God and my trust in Colt, Remington, Glock, and Beretta. Of course my wife comes first, duh...
Safe and secure and that's all anyone here or elsewhere needs to know. I don't think it would be worth anyone's life to test me. Most times it's just that simple.
The only thing I know about is things defined as "unclaimed property" which, up until about 10-12 years ago was a rampant problem based upon states definitions for it.
This came up a while back. Most coin collectors have safes, deposit boxes, guns, or dogs to keep up with their precious items. It concerns me that there is reference to a statement, "Bank bail outs REQUIRES banks to seize everything from safety deposit boxes." To clear that up, the only time a bank or other institution can seize assets in a safe deposit box, is if they are a guaranty of loans. Before anyone takes their assets out of your safety deposit boxes, check with your bank AND your attorney. The only time you want to use your coin collection as a guaranty is if you are in a dire need of funds to buy one of those coins that cost $100K or more. I love the statement above about putting your faith in God, and trust in your Colt, Remington, Glock, and Beretta (mine is a Glock). I would say trust in your German Shepherd or Pit Bull, but recently, a neighbor came home and found his dog dead and his safe gone. Anyway, isn't there someone advertising insurance on coins?
Divorces, Bankruptcies, certain Court situations (fraud, estate stuff, etc) and IRS proceedings are a few other instances that can also be used to seize assets out of Safety Deposit boxes. For that you need a SDB in a Bahamian bank or something ... SDB are not "safe" from everything that may happen. Banks even make mistakes and confiscate them (for some process as mentioned above). I had one that was opened because someone had the same name as me at the same bank. Different countries can also do various things. For insurance one may also need to get a certified appraisal.
