Safe Deposit Box Or Home Safe?

The home safe doesn't announce anything on its own as long as you keep it placed out of sight. I would prefer a home safe personally as you always have access to it and yes the upfront cost is more but after that it will save you money eventually not having to rent boxes.

Also even if people knew you had the safe most robbers want easy targets. A large safe (make sure you bolt it to the floor) is anything but an easy target. Speed is key to them having a shot at getting away and that will slow them down to the point of being caught before they ever got it opened. Its also not valuable enough to attract a "professional" style crew that would have the means to get around it.

But as long as it is out of view no one will be any wiser. If it has to be delivered you can always just throw a blanket over it before they get it out of the truck so people dont know what it is if you are very concerned about it

Thanks for the input. I just read the posts to my husband. he stated "how funny. We are going through the same issue". I told him I wrote the first post. He stated that he had pictured a little old lady and her old man husband! Anyway, I appreciate the input and you have helped alleviate my fears...
We were thinking about the gun safes from Costco as they are tall and deep. They are 790 pounds and are fireproof. It has an electronic lock that is "commercial grade." The reviews rate it as 5.0 out of 5.0 from 43 people. Do others agree with ghostrider about going to a store that only specializes in safes?

A safe that has lugs on all sides is harder to break into. Where the cheapness of safes comes into play is the strength of the throw mechanism. My first safe a low quality safe that did not have sufficient strength in the throw mechanism and it did wear out within a year and the safe had to be replaced. A glass relocker will not allow a safe to be be drilled open. I saw a video where a seemingly strong gun safe was broken into with 3 minutes by two men with crow bars. It was a cheap safe that did not have lugs on four sides of the door opening and was not bolted into the floor. You can probably find the video on you tube. All companies have a high, mid, and low range of gun safes. you get what you pay for and how you secure the safe. Lag bolts through the bottom into a floor is well worth the extra security Caustion and security is everything when it comes to a safe. Fireproofing is provided in a number of cheap safes through drywall. The longer the fire protection the less damage you would suffer to you precious metals.. Securing the safe into a corner of a closet provides extra security. It truly does pay to do you own due diligence and check around. I wouldn't buy a bottom of the line safe in order to safe a few dollars.

I'm not trying to be a worry nellie but I have been down this road a time or two. Check out your options by all means. There are different classes of safes that is why I suggested a store that specializes in selling safes. I'm not pushing one safe over another, just that you need to determine what your needs are. There are a lot of safes out there that are cheaply made. You don't have to buy from a store that specializes in safes, but they can really explain the merits of what it there The guage of steel and fire protection level is everything in a safe. Lightweight safes need to be secured into a floor. Lightweight safes are around 500 pounds. My safe weighs in around 900 pounds empty and has 1 1/2" lugs on all sides of the door opening (top, both sides, and bottom) with a e hour fire rating. A good safe manufacturer will stand behing its safe expecially after a catrasphoric event.. Check around before you put your good money down on a safe and get the best that you can afford.

Keep in mind that an electronic keypad will eventually fail faster than a tumbler lock. The interior throw mechanism is the weak link that will fail first. I had that piece fail on a safe and it is not cheap and easy to get it fixed. Just trying to point out what happened to the safes that I have owned. Again make sure that you do you own due diligence when you do decide to eventually purchase.

I have also had problems with bank safety deposit boxes so problems exist everywhere.. A problem with a banks safety deposit box can also be a bother.

A home safe is OK, especially if you can store other items that need security as well, such as financial documents. Only a very few of my more valuable coins are stored in it. The vast majority of my collection is valued at not very many dollars per coin.

How do you hide a tree? Put it in a forest.

My safe is hidden, bolted to the floor in a cupboard, with a simple cardboard box over it. Junk is thrown over that.


More important is the security of the key. THAT is MUCH harder to find, and MUCH easier to hide! A second key is in my brother's house, miles away.

1. If people see a safe delivered, they will think you have a fortune at home. Word spreads and eventually you have millions in valuables right at home.
2. It is difficult to hide a large safe if you have kids, people visiting, parties, etc.
3. A so called safe that is bolted to floors and or a wall is sort of funny. One neighbor of mine had one removed by crooks and it was bolted to the floor. Crooks are allowed to have the right stuff to do that.
4. In case of a fire a safe gets hot. Yes may well be fireproof but anything plastic melts. And for slabs, proof sets, Uncirc sets, plastic slides in Albums, those all just melt all over the coins.
5. You will need a moisture absorbing substance and it would have to be monitored constantly. They fill and emit moisture eventually unless replentished or replaced.
6. If you ever move, think of the cost of moving that too.
7. If crimials know you have a safe, it is amazing how fast they can get one open by putting a gun to your head.

Yes a safe deposit box has a lot of irritations such as getting to them whenever you want. But a lot safer.

One way to not worry too much if a crim wants to put a gun to your head is to have a collection that is not too valuable.

My collection at present is not all THAT valuable. If a crim is desperate enough, he can HAVE my collection.

The other part of my numismatic collection consists of about 200 books and papers. They are the 'tools of trade' for a collector like me. A crim in a hurry would not even recognise them for what they are.

One thing that a crim cannot steal from me: an abiding and lifelong interest in numismatics. No crim can steal that!

And I don't even need a safe for it.

Wow. Thanks for all of your thoughts. I think I'll sit tight for now, leaving coins in safe deposit box. It is paid up until early next summer. In the meantime, I'll research different safes and keep an eye out for a good one. In the past when I found the right item, all doubt slips away and I have clarity and peace of mind, knowing it is the right thing for me. THanks again for sharing all of your experiences and thoughts. I appreciate this site and am glad to have found it!

Mostly I think the worst part of having a safe at home is what and how people talk, talk, talk. An old Psycology class I had was amazing with one of the first things they discussed about people. How they can not keep stories or most things right. They had a group of ten students sit in a circle. Professor whispered a short story to one of them. That one was instructed to whisper that to the next person and on and on. At the end the last person was told to stand up and say that story. It was now completely different.
This is what happens with a safe delivered to your house. You purchased it due to the MILLIONS you have in your house.