Having problems finding a good, yet inexpensive safe. If you have a $500 coin collection, storing it in a $150 Sentry safe would not be a good idea. One that small can easily be carried off, even if bolted down, they are easy to open. If I have a $1,500 coin collection, one would want a good, secure safe. However a "good, secure, fireproof safe" runs about $800+. That seems like a lot to spend for only $1500 worth of coins. So what do people here use as far as safes, for good security, yet something that won't cost half your collection to own.
This has been discussed so many times before. I guarantee you give anyone enough time, they'll crack any safe.
While I do enjoy "looking" at my coins, I get just as much enjoyment by "looking" at photographs of my coins and I find that folks are less inclined to break into my house just to steal the photographs of my coins and would actually prefer that I keep my coins at home in some type of "cheap" safe. While there are no absolute guarantees of safety regardless of what method you choose, I find that Federally Protected Bank Safety Deposit Boxes are much less susceptible to break ins and fires than any safe I could purchase for my home.
Thing is....the size of SDB I need would cost $200 a year. In 10 years time, that would be $2,000. Twice the cost of the safe I want. Also SDB are above ground, which a F5 tornado could damage.
I use safety deposit boxes and a vault (off premises) for my valuable coins and currency. The only thing laying around my place are sacks of pennies. If a thief wants those, he's welcome to them. Hauling sacks of pennies is not very profitable and the crooks would probably throw their backs out lugging them away. I outgrew my safe in two years and it just wasn't worth the trouble. Having a walk-in vault made far more sense in my case because I could store my paintings and rare artworks in it as well.
If you're still insistent on getting a safe.... The one I had was an older one, weight about 600 lbs. empty and cost me $250 plus $100 for delivery. Then it had to be bolted down and had a false wall built around it. Another $125. When I sold it, it went for $400 the morning it was listed.
It's either gonna be a new safe or a used modern one. I would be scared to buy a really old safe like one from the great depression era (when they became really popular), because the fireproofing may have gone bad, or it does not have the fireproofing it's supposed to.
In 10 years time, you'll probably lose interest in collecting. As for being above ground? I prefer above ground vs below ground since flooding can occur but then, thats highly unlikely. As I said, there are no absolute quarantee's on anything. You just need to take your best shot with your best guess. Tornadoe's? Flooding? Fire? Theft? Insurance is your best option and by all means, follow the guidelines presented by your insurance company.
This has been covered many times. Theres no such thing as a cheap good safe. If somebody has a collection worth $1500, will that be the value of it several years down the road? $800 isnt going to get you a good safe. Check out sturdysafe.com if you want a nice large gun safe. Thicker steel than any of the other big names you always hear advertised. You can have them add equivalent thickness stainless steel to make it torch resistant. Better fire proofing. Those and amsecs are in a league of their own. They arent cheap, but if you get something cheap, its not gonna do the job anyway.
Dear Rick, they most certainly ARE Federally Protected in that "robbing" a bank is a Federal Offense. Obviously, the contents of a SDB is not Federally Protected but "getting" at the box illegally IS a Federal Offense and as such, affords a certain level of Federal Protection "by the governance of law". Robbing a bank is totally different than robbing an individual by either strong armed methods or burglary. Additionally, having a Private Insurance Carrier can insure the contents of your SDB just like they'll insure your stuff in a home safe.
Yes, you're right, but your original post seeemed somewhat ambiguous and implied that the contents of a SDB was federally insured.
Nothing is truly secure. It's called life and you just take chances. If you're going to keep valuables in your house but not willing to protect them at a cost, then don't collect valuables. A few things you can do to go beyond having a safe to protect your stuff: 1. Security system. 2. Cameras (they're not that costly anymore and most now have web access, view on your smart phone, record when motion is detected, etc. Have it notify you when motion is detected where someone is not suppose to be and you're not home) 3. A big mean dog that only likes you. 4. A big mean gun with ammo that doesn't injure the criminal but kills them with the first shot. 5. Good insurance policy. Stick to rodeoclown's rules above (all or at least one of the above) and you'll likely be okay. You have better chances likely of getting struck by lightning than get robbed, unless of course you go blabbing to everyone what you have that's valuable (cause if you're gonna do that, might as well just post what you have on a sign out in your front lawn because the word gets around).
If you don't want a gun safe sized one, I'd save up and get one of these when they come out: http://www.deansafe.com/amsec-amvault-tl30-tl30x6-high-security.html You'd probably still want a security system even with that.
I don't actually lock my coins in anything.....i have a giant trunk that i keep them in with no lock whatsoever.....i do have a pitbull however who will bark if he hears anybody coming up the stairs to let me know and doesn't let anyone come close to the house when i am not home......although i am pretty sure if somebody broke in and talked baby talk to him and gave him a snack he'd show them right where all the coins were kept....he's kind of a softy.
You're looking at this kind of backwards. You spend $800 on a safe to store a $1500 collection today, and you can't justify this? Okay, but what will your collection be worth in ten years, considering appreciation in value and increasing the contents of the collection? In ten years you now have a collection worth $15,000, yet you still only have $800 invested in the safe. Most safes will not wear out. So if this is the route you want to take, look at it in the long term rather than the immediate. For what it's worth, I keep my more valuable stuff in a small fire-proof safe in a double-locked metal cabinet with the rest of my collection. Not the most secure set-up in the world, but enough to keep the honest people honest. If somebody wants it (or anything else) bad enough, they'll find a way to get it.
