"Safe Deposit Boxes Aren’t Safe" (NY Times article)

Nothing in this article was terribly surprising to me, although it's always a little depressing to be reminded that "accidents happen" and that there are so many corrupt people and businesses waiting to take advantage of them.

SDBs carry a different set of risks from home storage. I'm confident that the SDB risks are much smaller in general, at least for my own situation. (I don't live in a concrete fortress, and I don't perch in my sniper's nest 24/7 guarding it.)

 

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I’m getting a SBD because the value of my collection warrants it, and because I can’t install a suitable safe where I am living. The bank’s vault is also more tornado-proof than where I am living, and there are fewer opportunities for fires to break out. It is just added peace of mind.

I will be keeping a meticulous record of what is going in the box and taking pics of the more valuable stuff that I have not already photographed. In addition, I will insure the coins using a numismatic insurer (Hugh Wood, probably). That should cover all the bases.

a tip I learned from someone else is that you should keep your main collection in a hidden heavy-duty safe and put a couple hundred dollars of unimportant coins (ASEs, modern proofs, etc.) in a cheap Sentry Safe. It will act as a decoy if put in an obvious location.

 

Hopefully not related to Ed Wood.

 

I'm sure Ed is in talks to acquire Hugh's business as a subsidiary, but he hasn't mentioned it here because he left his iPad on the private jet.

 

Personally I don’t trust banks though I have to keep the majority of my money there for business purposes since so many people pay via check or card. My coins I keep in my safe. Especially if the manure ever hits the fan and I need to grab some stuff and go fast and gold and silver guns ammo and food and water will be commodities be it civil war disease outbreak nuclear war or zombie apocalypse

 

Hmmm .... Gives me an idea. I tinker with electronics. Could put a small project box with a lever switch, time-delay circuit, and loud battery-powered alarm in the SDB. When SDB lid is opened, there would 5 seconds to disable alarm with key switch or DIP switch combo before it goes off. If anyone is interested, I could post a circuit design.

I don't feel the need at my bank. It's a small branch of a very large system. But the employee turnover is small, they know me, and still check ID every time I access my SDB.

Cal

 

Definitely interested. Please post or PM. Thanks.

I've only done basic projects with Arduino where the steps are all laid out for you, but I loved it.

 

In my SDB, laying on top I have printed in GIGANTIC words my contact info, and subsequent contact info in case I kicked the can. And the stuff in envelopes also have imprinted in BIG letters who owns it.

Just in case someone else opens it and wonders ...

 

OK. Here you go. A time-delay alarm for a safe deposit box.

There are two circuit and one parts diagrams below. Circuit 1 is a little simpler and a little cheaper. The difference is that the alarm in Circuit 1 can be turned off either with the key switch or by pressing the lever of the lever switch (aka leaf switch) back to its down position, whereas the alarm in Circuit 2 can be turned off only with the key switch. With Circuit 1, a quick thinking thief might press the lever switch to shut-off the alarm. That won't work with Circuit 2. Chances are that when the alarm goes off, the reaction of a non-bank-employee thief will be to exit the bank ASAP. If the thief is a bank employee, their reaction will be a little harder to predict. A low level employee might run. A high level employee might try to bluff, saying they were doing some kind of test.

There is a choice of low DC voltages that might be used for power. Delay relays (or modules) and buzzers can be found for 3, 5, 6, 9, 12 and 24 VDC. However, 12 VDC delay relays and buzzers are the most commonly available. You will want an on-delay (not off-delay) type. 12 V alkaline or lithium batteries are available or a 9 V and two 1.5 V batteries can be used in series. Leakage is rarely a problem with 9 V batteries; not so with 1.5 V alkalines. I recommend putting a baggie over the 1.5 volt batteries, and have had best luck with Energizer brand.

The least expensive place to buy time delay relays for a project like this is eBay. Search would be something like "time delay relay 12V". Be sure it's 12VDC, not AC, that it is delay-on, not delay-off. Some relays can go either way though. Most of the time delay relays in this search will be SPDT, which is OK for Circuit 1. For circuit 2, the search should be "time delay relay DPDT 12V". You'll want a delay time in the 5-10 second range. You can also buy time delay relays from suppliers like Digikey, Mouser, Allied, and Newark, but will pay more. 12 VDC buzzers are widely available; be sure to get a loud one. And be sure to make vent holes in the project box for the sound to get out.

The most elegant way to mount the leaf switch is inside the project box with a slot on top for the leaf, but mounting it on the side of the project box will work too.

The alarm device should be duct-taped to the inside wall of the SDB high enough that the lid of the SDB will press the lever switch down far enough for it to be electrically open. This will prevent it from flopping over when the box is handled and setting off a false alarm. It will also prevent a thief from taking it out of the SDB and stomping it. Don't tape over the vent holes in the project box. Do not depend on the duct tape to hold the device off the bottom of SDB though. Put an appropriately sized wood block under the project box, and tape the wood block to the SDB wall too.

I recommend putting a key for the key switch in an unmarked envelope in the SDB near the device. That should lessen the chance of an embarrassing false alarm if you open the box but don't have a key handy.

Cal

 

One additional thing has occurred to me since posting is to say how to arm the alarm without setting it off. You'll need a stiff piece of thin cardboard or plastic (an index card or playing card should work well) ... we'll call it a shim. When you're ready to close the lid of the SDB, hold the lever of the lever switch down with the shim (and hold the shim outside the SDB). Turn the key switch on. Close the SDB lid. Pull the shim out.

Cal

 

Try taking that into a bank and see if they don't freak out...

 

They won't know unless you show it to them ... unless it goes off, of course.
Cal

 

I can see it now, banks on lockdown and the bomb squad is in route as one of the boxes on the wall of boxes is emitting a siren sound.

 

Reality Check ! I believe it all.

 

I guess I'll be checking my SDB to see if everything is still there. No coins in it, and the credit union is a national one. I haven't checked it for several years, but I doubt anyone would be interested in my marriage license.

 

Good luck getting the contents of your safe deposit box when the SHTF. Bank holidays, bank runs, bail ins, insolvency, FDIC takeovers, government confiscation like 1933. I'll take my chances with my stash hidden.

 

My new tinfoil hat arrived this weekend! woohoo

https://www.amazon.com/Archie-McPhee-Tin-Foil-Humans/dp/B07CXZBRW5

 

I don't know of any US bank holidays since 1933, but I've known plenty of people born around that time who lost their mobility, their memory, and their ability to communicate.

I'm liquidating a small hoard of coins for a friend whose father culled silver and "older coins" out of his vending-machine business and stuffed them into tobacco cans. We think he put a lot more of those cans into the walls of his house. That house stands abandoned now, far enough away (and sold enough times) that my friend has no access to it.

A local pawnshop suddenly had quite a lot of Morgan and Peace dollars, all circulated common dates. The customer who brought them in was a renovator. He found them hidden in a house he'd bought to rehabilitate and flip.

But, hey, you're doing a great service for future metal-detector enthusiasts, I guess...