Safe or safety deposit box??

Meanwhile back to the subject. As noted already a safe is not really to SAFE. If your coins are in a safe at home and there is a fire that gets to the safe, almost anything inside will be effected. If any of your coins are in plastic, won't take much heat to melt that all over the coins. Albums with plastic slides also will melt at low temperatures and the cardboards glue that holds the albums together also will melt and give off harmfull vapors. Papers, cardboards, plastics or any low temperature burning objects will also be effected and the resulting vapors may also effect the coins. Do not forget the more air tight the safe, the more locked in those vapors. Those vapors may stay in there long after the fire is contained.
One of my neighbors had a safe that was bolted to the floor and the wall. Very large, heavy safe. Also, had a home burglar alarm system that was from some agency that guranteed nothing could now get in without them knowing. Those neibors went on vacation. A moving van pulled up one day and started to remove everything from the house. Neighbors even asked the movers what was going on. They said the people that lived there liked where they were at and decided to move there. When the owners came back from their vacation they found an empty house, no safe and the so called movers even took the burglar alarm system. The so called burlar alarm company had attempted to call that house to find out if there was a problem but the phones too was taken so no answer.
As to guns. Yes you can fire numerous different loads, types of ammo, from a .357 which includes many
.38 cal. Note there are also many, many different loads and types of .357 and .38 available. For example you can acquire .38's in wad cutters, simi-wad cutters, round nose, all Lead, no Lead, full & target loads of many different powers. Same is true of .357's. Note there are .38's available that will not fit in either a standard .38 or .357 cal. Also, there are Super .357's that will not fit in a standard .357 cal gun. There are
.38 specials, .38 Supers, etc. In the field of .38's and .357's there are really a large variety of different types of ammo available so you should really know what you are doing.
Now the problem with firing a .38 from a .357. Look inside the cylinder. You'll notice a ring where the .357 shell stops. As you fire a .38 from that .357 that ring will slowly become blocked with either Lead, Brass or Copper from the .38 slug and as this happens the .357 will no longer fit in that cylinder. Of course this can be removed with constant usage of a wire brush, strong gun cleaner and lots of work. This wire brushing will also slowly wear away the guns internal parts.
Please know what you are doing with guns. Know your weapons or they can do more damage to you than to someone your pointing it at.

 

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Bt grain count you mean the amount of powder in the cartridge case. There is a major diference between a .38 and a .357 and that is in the cartridge case size. A .357 is longer and stronger than a .38. This is to allow the use of more powder in the .357 making the explosion much more powerful and pushing the bullet out of the revolver at a higher velocity which makes it hit much harder. Because of that diference, it is impossible to chamber a .357 in any weapon not designed for the .357 as the round is a good bit longer than a .38. The actual bullet (the part that is fired, is often identicle for the two rounds).

Your comments on reloading confuse me. Anyone can buy both .38 and .357 ammo at any gun store.

 

Illinois doesnt have a carry permit. Not for the average person.

 

Safe, Dogs, Guns...

 

Ooh I assure you I dont have any problems using a weapon properly. as long as it has the right bullets:desk:

 

So to summarize...

The world is a dangerous place. There is always risk. Safes, safe deposit boxes, guns, dogs, etc... might reduce some risks but can't eliminate others and might even pose new ones. If you own a gun, you probably only have a 50/50 chance. Perhaps it is better to lose the coins than your life. Living with a killing isn't a great alternative either. So spread the risk around and keep your private matters to yourself. Stay safe.

 

While guns and dogs have their places in our lives...and may or may not help protect collections from burglary, neither will do a thing to protect treasures from a fire.

And for those who are thinking that should a fire break out...g-d forbid in their homes, they'd grab the bust halves on their way out the door......Really??? IMHO I'd more likely be trying to find the cats, but that's me. The awful reality is that most people who escape major home fires do so with the clothes (or none) on their back.

Our collections are an important part of our lives....otherwise I doubt we'd be here But I suspect the living loved ones we share our lives with are far far more important.

I've seen a few house fires recently and they can escalate very very quickly. AND, even the best fire depts take time to get a blazer under control.

If you choose to keep some or all of your collection at home, a fire safe with a UL (Underwriters Laboratory) fire rating sticker is the ONLY thing that can begin to protect your coins. The ratings are in terms of the internal temperature of the safe over set periods of time when subjected to specific external heat. The most common seen fire sticker seen on safes at the big box stores is 30 minutes. IMHO, that isn't nearly robust enough. There are also 1 hr and 2 hr ratings. As you'd expect, the higher the rating, the more expensive the safe is going to be. You have to weigh for yourself the cost of the unit over time versus the value of the contents to see which makes more sense.

Here's a link describing the UL ratings for fire resistance and burglary resistance.

www.klsecurity.com/ul_fire_rating.htm


Here're are a couple of links to reputable safe manufacturers. I'm sure there are others, but these two (besides being made in the good old USA) follow and rate their safes in accordance with UL.

Gardall Company www.gardall.com
American Security Co www.amsecusa.com

Both sites have lists of dealers for each. If you go for one of the larger safes, a locksmith is going to be invaluable considering the weight of some them can exceed 1000lbs.


Hope this helps.

 

Nah...let the cats roast, put them on a shishkabob stick and call it dinner...

just kidding....I love my dogs as much as you love your cats I am sure...

for me it is a decision of...when I am bored what do i do? I either go to the gym or I pull out an album or three to look at.

I prefer to take the chances with most of my coins at home.

 

Who goes around telling everybody everything you own? I rely on secrecy, dog, neighbors, decoy safes (I'm more satisfied with my personal set up than I would ever be with a safe deposit box) and when I'm home:



Glock 22, .40 S&W, custom stainless barrel, guiderod and 18# stainless spring. 15 rounds of Hornady hollow points ready to go. Another hobby on the side.

If I'm not home, I'm counting on the neighbors becoming leary if strangers are seen carrying out my 46" LCD Sony Bravia or the like in the middle of the day, and the fact that I have insurance. I stand to lose some electronics. Coins not at risk.

Luckily not a high crime rate area and I have a very simple house. I'm lower middle class. I'm poor! There's no point in coming here anyway.

 

I have both a safety deposit box and an old time safe which belonged to my grandfather. I keep my more valuable coins along with my important papers in a safety deposit box. I too fear a home fire. I Think even a fire resistant safe may allow enough inner heat to damage slabs, packaging etc. My safe weights over 600lbs so I am not to worried about someone stealing it. It took a front end loader and 2 friends to get it in the house.

 

I use a safe I don't like the idea of keeping my stuff somewhere else where I don't have control of it.