Storing Coins In Gun Safes - Question

I think you just assassinated Lincoln.....

If you shoot corrosive mil surplus ammo and store the gun with coins the coins will suffer a harsh death. This is even a issue with guns that are cleaned well.

Connor, I don't store my ammo in a safe because of the cost. I store it that way because I have three kids, aged 8, 10, and 12. I refuse to take any chances. They have all shot a variety of firearms, and all three of them have all shot handguns. Gun safety starts as a child, and taught properly will stick with them. Respect the firearms and always treat as loaded. I store my ammo in a safe to have that added barrier if they ever get curious when I'm not around. Ammo in one safe, firearms in other safes, and magazines in another safe, all with different codes. It may be overkill, but my kids can't be replaced, so I'll take whatever precautions I can. But seeing show you mentioned it, ammo has gone up in price, and for the amount I have it should be locked up!

For the most part so much depends on what is in the safe, how often is the safe closed and for how long. If all the gun cleaning STUFF is well sealed and the containers well closed, not much can get out to do damage to anything. If you cleaned your guns, you really should have made sure no cleaning substance is left on the guns. All parts should have been oiled to stop corrosion on the guns. Then there is the problem with the type of oils used to oil the guns. Some oils emit gasses, some don't. Oils for guns are as different as the cleaning soutions. Some of the oils that leak out anything could, may, might effect your coins. However, if your coins are well protected in 2x2 type of flips, again, possibly not much will happen. Leaving a gun case closed will keep in anything that was in there when the door was closed so if it was closed during a high humidity time, you now have high humidity slowly effecting anything. Next remember that if a criminal breaks into your house and sees a gun safe, that is the first thing they'ld want. So then you loose your guns and your coins.
To sum it up, I'd suggest just finding a place to store your coins and not with guns.

Just Carl I agree with your statement of thieves targeting safes, but that also depends on the safe. I'm fairly confident mine cannot be accessed. When they rate a safe for breaching time, it is rated from entering from the front through the door. The sides and back of a safe are the weakest points and can be entered that way with average cutting tools. Mine, however, cannot be approached from the sides or the back, and they definitely cannot be moved, no matter how much help potential thieves may have at their disposal.

As a side note when buying a safe, do your homework on it. Most people will go the cheap route. It is after all just a storage vessel, and that is where the mistake lies. There is a wealth of information on safes on the internet and some excellent videos. This one is the best 27 minutes you can find for the knowledge in it.



Please educate yourself before buying one. Remember the purpose of the safe and the value of the contents you are storing, don't just think of it as a storage vessel. Think of it as a one time insurance policy that will retain it's value for years to come.

I stored most of my coins in my gun safe for a number of years. However, I ran out of room with both my gun collection and my coin collection growing rapidly. I recently purchased a Stack On 18 gun safe that was on sale right now at Menards for over 50% off. I think the normal price was around $600 or so and it was on clearance for $299 plus a $50 rebate (I also bought it when they had the extra 11% off which is no longer going on). For the price of the second safe, it gives me the peace of mind at a low cost. It was a decent size safe that was fire proof for about an hour I think and it weighed about 300 pounds empty. It also comes with the long bolts to secure it to the floors and walls if you want. So if you do not want to take the chance with the coins being by the gun oil and solvents, I suggest buying a safe like the one I found.