Safe Deposit Boxs, Should You Insure Your Coins And Other V

I sold insurance for a brief time for a major (you are in good hands....) and at that time, ten years ago, the basic homeowners did cover $1k for collections. I don't have to tell you guys that it doesn't take much coinage to reach that figure. Riders can be added on for just a little more money (keep in mind this was ten years ago). Of course, photos and documentation are a must. I really like the gun safe idea. Great for knives and coins also.
Ironic story about gun safes for you football fans. I saw Steve McNair looking at gun safes in Nashville just a few months before he was murdered.

I thought about a home safe. If it can be carried in, it can be carried out. I just feel that the safe-deposit box is the best bet. My cost is $20 a year for a good-sized box.

And so it happened to my neighbor. They not only took the safe, which was bolted to the floor and wall, but they took that wonderful alarm system, all furnature, ever the light bulbs in the ceiling fan fixtures. The security company called the house during the robbery and the crooks answered the phone and said everything was OK.
If your neighbors see you bring a safe in, everyone knows you have millions to hide or so they tell everyone. First it's "did you see the Jones's got a safe for their Gold, Silver, coins, etc?". Then it's did you know the Jones's have millions in their new safe?" and on and on and on.
If that safe is anywhere in the house and you have company, they usually see it. If you have kids, they just must tell all their friends about your safe. If you have any work done in your house by contractors, they see that safe and you seldom know the contractors.
In case of emergencies in many areas the Gas, Electric, Water and phone companies sometimes need to inspect your house and they too see a safe and you seldom know them.
There are village, town, city inspectors in many places that have to inspect your house for tax purposes. If you ever appeal a house or property tax, they send out a tax assessor and they too see that safe.
Safe deposit boxes too have a problem. For instance is a meteor fromo outer space hits that bank, your property could be lost. If Mexico invades the USA, may have already happened, they too could do a run on your bank and empty the safe deposit boxes by using dynomite. If you live in California and that really big Earahquake, that they say is coming does happen, you could loose what ever is in that safe deposit box.
I keep most of my collection in safe deposit boxes. Much easier to hide a key for those boxes than entire collections or a aafe. And no insurance on them since I just don't want a bunch of strange people at an insurance company knowing what I own. All your info goes into their computers and if you have been watching the news you would know that hackers are constantly getting personal info from such systems.

jbuck, it always amazes me how you find anything in the past here with so many thousands and thousands of posts and replys. I have a hard time remembering why I went out to the garage a while ago.

That was why I said a company that specializes in collectibles. the one that the ANA recommends does not require professional appraisals, only requires photos and specific listing of individual coins worth over $5,000 or $10,000 and the rates run closer to .5 to 1% of the declared value per year.

Hugh Wood

http://www.hwint.com/

Fire proof is one thing but heat is another. A metal safe gets hot in a fire regardless of the fire rating. Taht fire rating means that the ocntents will not get into the fire nor the fire will not get to the inside of the safe.
However, the metal of the safe still gets hot, pending on just hot much of a fire gets to that area. Inside that safe the temperature rises and plastic melts easily. If you coins are in 2x2's, Albums, slabs, etc. with all that plastic melting on your coins, now what. The cardboard for the 2x2's, Albums, Folders too, are effected by the heat and although not enough Oxygen to create fire, enough to do a lot of damage.
As to insurance companies. I've checked with a few and they all want to know about every coin. This too means that every time you purchase or sell or give away a coin, you have to notify them of that transaction. And remember this all goes into their computer systems for many, many to see.

So I've been bouncing both of these issues around.

Insurance through State Farm runs $14/$1000, they have to inspect the collection, and they hinted heavily that they would want a third party appraisal if we were talking more than a couple thousand (and we were). I buy a lot of coins at auctions ( and for the record I've never seen a ringer bid at an auction and would call it out immediately in front of the world if I suspected it) and will buy pretty much anything that is going for less than market value. So I tend to have a lot of new coins, this means I'd be making constant trips to the agent for inspection and appraisals.

Given the pain in the butt and the hundreds every year insurance would cost that is a non-starter and since I don't have a friendly postmaster to hook me up I need another option.

I've thought about a gunsafe but also considered false floor/hidden wall compartments. Most firesafe area of the house is the basement and I could easily lay up a concrete block vault but humidity seems to rule that out.

So what do you use for security? Figure budget somewhere under $1000 and a collection significantly bigger than a bread box.