I'm thinking of the best way to store coins at home. I have a brand new home and a very picky wife. I designed a hidden closet with a large space where I could put a safe, but am concerned about moving a 2000 lb safe into my home, particularly given all the attention that would attract. I was talking to my dad, he thinks fire is my biggest issue, and thought I should just pick up some fireproof file cabinets. This has an additional benefit since thieves won't immediately think of a fire cabinet as storing valuables. I also have a pretty good security system, so I really only need 10 minutes of protection before the cavalry shows up. Any thoughts here?
If I recall correctly, fire-resistant or fire-proof safes/cabinets have moisture retaining properties that may accelerate unattractive or unwanted toning on coins. I just use safe deposit boxes.
A lot of members have discussed home systems in the past on CT and most opt for some sort of silica or rechargeable environmental humidity control solutions in their home safes, so that's a good thing to add if you are definitely going the home storage route. Eva-dry is one such product, amongst their range are ones small enough for safes, which you may consider. Wizard Coin Supply has some other options as well. Remember that fire comes with smoke and (potentially) a fire rescue team spraying enormous amounts of water on your home and its contents. You'll need a safe rated that can last potentially several hours in hot temperatures (during the fire and sitting in a smouldering mess), not melt under such duress, keep out smoke and resist being flooded with water and all the ensuing soot that brings with it. If all that's too much and you can deal with keeping the irreplaceable pieces away from home, then an SDB or other private vault company may be a solution. An SDB and an extended insurance policy from ANA recommended, Hugh Wood Inc, (Insurance brokers) is a great way to go if you want "safe" protection, plus a policy that can help you replace your collection should some disaster happen at home, be it thieves, the elements or accidents. This has been posted on CT before and it's a really good read when considering how to best protect your collection and considering SDBs, via the FDIC.
FWIW, the end goal system I'm working on is a mix of remote and home storage options, and pretty much exactly what krispy has mentioned above. I think it's a reasonably sound way to do it with the most protection for all the different aspects. First, for the most valuable items - pretty much anything valued over $250 or with sentimental value, I use SDB's. They're cheap enough, easily accessible, and I can have multiples at different banks. I keep mostly my larger silver bullion >5oz in there. Any smaller and the box just fills up too fast and gets too heavy. This takes the burglary / home fire out of the equation for the bulk of my valuables. Second, for the bulk bullion and other items I'm investigating a smaller fire safe for the house, something like this - http://www.samsclub.com/sams/mesa-b...igital-lock-mbf3820e/122788.ip?navAction=push (yeah, I know, it's sams club but it's only an example) where it's big enough to hold what I need, heavy enough where one person can't just carry it out the door, and gives me some protection against the fire and general burglary. In this I would keep my general bullion, 90%, cheaper coins, etc, things that are big and bulky and heavy and not necessarily as valuable. It would be bolted to a lower concrete floor somewhere, not high up in the house. Many reasons for that - 1, obviously harder to remove if bolted into concrete. 2, if the safe is up high in the house and you have a fire, it could in theory collapse through the floors and fall to the lower floors either jeopardizing rescuers or simply just damaging itself or coming open in the fall. 3, being lower it's typically naturally cooler all around and if a fire should happen, in theory down there would stay the lowest temperature and be more subjected to pooling water coming down from above more than the intense heat. Smoke is a different story. Finally, the last thing and I think the most important is a good insurance policy. I have riders on my house for extra contents as well as options specifically for coin/bullion as mentioned above. Make sure you catalogue the collection extensively, and lots of pictures help, in case anything has to be replaced you have easily identifiable proof and can claim proper value. No matter what happens though, it's only coins, paper and metal. In the end, if a catastrophe hits or your home gets burglarized, while it may be crushing, it's not worth risking your or your family's life or health over trying to save it from a burning house or a thief with a weapon. Let it go, and let the insurance handle the reimbursement and then you get to go on the hunt again.
Also, check out some example video demonstrations of safe safety and how thieves may break into them. There are some useful things to consider when choosing a dealer and how to better install to prevent break-ins.
