I wonder if a safe deposit box is safe? I found this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdB2YiymmUc
In my opinion, a safe deposit box is probably the safest way to store coins. But nothing is absolutely safe.
I live is the south and I store a lot of my coins in a safety Depots box. most are graded or still the original box & holder. I keep a 750 gram's of Silica gel to keep the air drier in & change one a year my so raw coin won't tone!
I do not prefer SDB's. I like to look at my collection and it is easier for me to just take them out and look at them as opposed to going all the way to the bank to get them.
I currently have the largest sdb at my bank. It is safe but not very private, because the banking customers in line can see anyone who takes their sdb and goes into the next room to conduct business. That room has a door that closes, but after wards you must carry the box back into the vault to lock it up, again exposed to view by the bank patrons. I wish there were some alternatives. A home safe would be good for some coins, but the true rarities will always be in the sdb.
I like to collect coins which means look at them every so often. What is the point of keeping them in a SDB? I keep everything at my house in my albums, folders, and safe (big safe).
Who needs a safety deposit box, when you can sit on the front porch all day long, with a shot gun, spitting out dip into the rusty ole' metal bucket, just rockin back and forth in your blue jean overalls. LOL! Funny thing is, I can picture myself doing that! I don't know much about SDB, but if I were to keep my coins in one, I'd also make sure they were insured for the full value, not just face! If you do keep em' in your house, hide em', hide em' good, but make sure you can get to them, in chance of fire
It's much more difficult to control humidity in an SDB (at least at my bank). Though locked securely, it's not as airtight as my safe. Putting dessicant in there might be doing nothing more than giving you a false sense of security. There's only one way to know for sure : measure the humidity. I use a $15 hygrometer (like the cigar smokers use in their humidors).
What kind of hygrometer are you using? Does it actually give you the relative humidity or just a color indicator to indicate wet or dry?
I don't know whether things tarnish faster in safe deposit boxes, but it's at least plausible. The neighboring safe deposit boxes probably have papers in them, so it would be like locking your coins up with non-archival paper. Desiccant is better than nothing, but a more direct approach to preventing tarnishing would be something like Intercept Shield's product, or a cheaper alternative meant for storing sliver tableware. As far as risk analysis goes, don't jump to conclusions based on who tried to scare you last, but try to weigh the relative chances in your country of bank closures, home burglaries, police raids on safe deposit boxes, house fires, and armed robbers forcing you to open your home safe. Every single one of those has happened, but the relative risks depend on where you live.
My Brother-in-Law first stores his non-slabbed coins in appropriate containers (airtights, tubes, etc.), then shrink wraps them. He seems pleased with the results.
Same here, my wife wants to get a SDB, but we'll see. I really don't see the point as I keep my gold under lock and key and my silver is in flips and binders. Of course if I ever got ripped off that would ruin everything for me. :crying: wah wah!!
We are not all from TX..... As for myself I do have a SDB at my bank but I havent opened it up for the past year or so. Basicaly it's empty and not used, I simply pay 50$ a year to keep it for a reason that eludes me now. I rather keep them in my house in my safe now. Simple and I don't have to bother anyone at my local bank to get my box.
I think its more fun to keep all those ms 70 coins close so you can pull them out and look at their beauty!.
Mine gives the temp and the actual RH read out. It was less than $20. Radio Shack has nice ones. Using a silica gel pack suitable for keeping 33 cu. ft. dry, I can sustain 25-35% over long periods between recharges. I've had bar code stickers fall off albums because of the dry air. At 45% I recharge the gel. Usually needs to be baked/recharged, twice a year. Especially as they age. I use the large 3x4 bags of it. Not a small pack alone. It's just not enough to do the job for very long. Not much out there is completely air-tight. Obviously, the more air that can get in, the faster the gel is exhaused as the two atomospheres continually try to equalize.
