Ever hear of a safe deposit box robbery?

Blade

Just curious how safe coins really are in a bank safe deposit box. Mine are in the typical locked box with 1" steel door, inside a timed vault with 12" thick steel door. Can only be accessed during normal hours by using a hand scanner to identify box owners. Seem to me if a ripoff was going to take place, it would have to be during normal bank hours by someone else with access to safe deposit boxes - another bank customer or employee.

nepbrs44

I never have.........I have my coins at 2-3 different banks over the years with no problems at all...but I do imagine it can happen

MadMonk

I would think that under normal circumstances, there is rarely anything safer. I would still have all my reciepts, in a seperate, safe, location, and carry insurance. If you don't have receipts, and the coins are valuable, get them appraised, and keep that document seperate as well. I have two boxes, at differant locations. One for coins, the other for receipts

1234567890

It has happened before... but because they did happen many flaws of the bank vaults have been fixed.

AmericanSilverEagleCoins

Not a robbery but there was once a high speed chase with the robbers (crime not related to the bank) crashing into the side of a bank. If I recall correctly there was damage to the vault walls and the backsides of all the boxes along that wall got dented, but there was no penetration of the vault itself.

MadMonk

oh! the only Safe deposit box robbery I'm familiar with was the band Led Zeppilins getting ripped. but I believe that was at a hotel. I'm sure it has happened.
Always make sure they check your I.D. if not, Talk to the manager, or go someplace else!

MrEureka

If I'm not mistaken, one of the country's largest coin dealers kept their inventory at this bank...

A review of the movie "Inside Job":

In the summer of '85, five crooks broke into the Medford Bank and Trust Company over Memorial Day weekend and cleaned the bank out of one and a half million dollars. At the time, it was the biggest bank heist in United States history. The crime baffled investigators. The robbers broke into the bank after hours, disabled the alarm, and took their time cleaning out the safety deposit boxes. When the bank reopened after the long weekend and reported the robbery, the crime was already more then 48 hours old leaving the FBI with few clues. The one thing police could tell was that whoever was responsible for the crime knew exactly what they were doing and how to cover their tracks. Little did they know that the thieves actually walked among them.

INSIDE JOB is a feature film project loosely based on the true story of Captain Gerald Clemente, a Massachusetts state trooper, who organized a criminal circle of fellow cops that stretched within the ranks of almost every police department in the state. With handpicked members in place to help steer police investigators away from their crimes, these rogue cops were involved in everything from burglaries to drug trafficking to gun running for the IRA. The heist at the Medford Bank and Trust Company was the group's ultimate triumph. With FBI and local police investigations coming up empty, the group could have pulled off the bank robbery of the century. However, the members' greed and distrust of each other ultimately brought them down.

This is their story...

cladking

These used to be fairly "common". Every ten years or so there would be
some boxes getting pillaged. Don't remember any details of any except
one in New York in the '70's that got about twenty boxes. Generally the
thieves know exactly what boxes to go to.

BillJones

Years ago when I was living in NJ some thieves broke into a bank vault and rifled the safe deposit boxes. The bad news for the thieves was that some of the boxes they rifled belonged to mob members. Needless to “Tony S.” and the boys were not pleased and ultimately a lot of stuff was recovered when perps decided it would be better to deal with the police than “Pauly and Co.”

ElectricEye

does escheated to the state count?

maxB3535

There was a private safe deposit box company in Denver in the late '70's that was busted into and they cracked open the boxes. Never caught them and never heard another word. One think to keep in mind about bank safe deposit boxes is that if they ever declare a bank holiday or closure (like a run on the banks), you won't have access to the boxes.

dizzlecc

Safe deposit boxes are very safe. But not 100% secure.

I have heard about boxes getting water in them when the bank has flooded, the boxes are not water tight. They are protected for fire though.

When a key is lost the box is drilled by a locksmith. So, it is reasonable to think that it is possible during a robbery with the right equipment.

Overall, the chances are slim and the box is probably the most reliable place to keep items safe.

oreville

I once had a safe deposit box way near the bottom of the vault room. A year after I moved it much higher as space became available, the vault room became flooded with nearly 40% of the room height filled with water. The sprinkler system somehow malfunctioned. I didn't even know that had sprinkler systems in a vault room!
My vault box was only a foot away from being saturated with water. I yanked the coins out of there the next day to make sure the humidity did not damage the then raw coins.

Now that was scary! Needless to say, I closed my box out.

Imagine if you collected stamps???????

AJ2525

I don't remember specific details but I've seen a special on TV about a group that got into a bank's safe deposit boxes over a weekend by going through the roof. It was in California and they literally blasted their way through the roof. In the dead of the night they blew the roof and waited.

They were caught because members of the group bragged.

ohbaby

As I have mentioned before on similar threads, fear not the "bank robber" who wants in and out quickly. Fear the bank worker! Headline grabbing news of bank vault heists are almost always the work of professionals with assistance of someone on the inside. These crimes are not random. Why risk getting caught trying to steal a grab bag?

A few years ago when accessing my box one of the employees pulled it out to hand to me and said, "Wow, this is really heavy what do you have in here"? Without a smile I said "my ex wife's ashes"! She never again asked.

There are plenty of movies out there based on bank heists but you have to store your coins somewhere. A bank is the safest.

oreville

My ex wife's ashes. Now that is real good.

dizzlecc

Bank policies are fairly restrictive when it comes to accessing safe deposit boxes.

The employees where I bank know who collects coins because the boxes are heavier than those who just store paper or jewelery in them.

Although, now with state quarters being collected by the common masses, value is more difficult to determine.

Besides, at a bank, paper money and account numbers are the easiest targets for the employees.

291fifth

Never leave your key in the box when you take it out. I see this done all the time. The bank employees are often careless in the same way. I once mentioned this to the bank employee and could see that my comment wasn't appreciated. This is what you get when the bank's # 1 hiring criteria is "How cheap do you work?".

Blade

Always make sure they check your I.D. if not, Talk to the manager, or go someplace else!

A few years ago when accessing my box one of the employees pulled it out to hand to me and said, "Wow, this is really heavy what do you have in here"?

MadMonk and ohbaby - My bank has a really cool solution that takes care of both of these issues. The vault is setup with an outside room, and 2 small rooms with doors to close and view your belongings in secrecy. To get access to the room that leads to the vault, there is a door with a magnetic lock. You first enter your box number, then use a hand scanner, which unlocks the door. It's very sensitive - if I'm off a little bit in hand positioning I have to do it over. This IDs you as having access to the vault and does not require a bank employee to assist. In fact, a bank employee had a question for me and called in from the outside room. I really appreciated this respect for my privacy.

Of course, someone with access to their box now has free reign to the other locked boxes. But since you can only access the vault during bus hours and there is a camera in the room, I think the likelihood of robbery is minimal. Can't see someone drilling back there while the bank is full of people.

The one way this breaks down is if someone steals a safe deposit box key, they could open their own box at the same bank and get access to the valuables in the other person's box. So it is important to have your keys well safeguarded.

MatthewBabcock

<< <i>My ex wife's ashes. Now that is real good. >>



I like that one too!

IrishMike

Tom-I have been a banker since 1971 and never have heard of a robbery of a safe deposit box. At the banks I have worked at it takes two keys to open the box. Typically there are two keys given to the client when they open a box, these are the only keys the bank has for that particular box. So they have the master to every box but no second key to any rented box. We require picture ID to allow someone into their box, the attendant opens one lock and asks for the clients key to open the 2nd lock. They watch the client remove the box and then relock the door and hand the key back to the customer. The customer is then escorted to a private booth. They have to then reverse the proceedure to return the box.

Over the years we have had to drill the box and that requires a form and two employees who sign off on the contents. The contents are then placed into a canvas bag and crimped shut with a lead seal crimped by a tool with the banks insignia and place into a bank safe deposit box. Of course this is never done until every reasonable attempt is made to locate the customer. Twice I have opened boxes with coins, once with gold and IHC's which back in the 80's I valued the contents at 35K, no 77, 72,71 or 09s or 08s but nice red uncirc IHC's. Fortunately for the owner I was able to locate him in Minnesota. As hard as it is to believe he left no forwarding address and was ticked at us for drilling his box even though he hadn't paid for it for two years. The coins could have been escheated to the state of Indiana. I spent nearly a week calling people with the last name and fortunately for him one of them called us back just before we were ready to ship off the coins. The other time the box had a dozen VG morgans and once again the customer barely contacted us in time.

Neptune

if there was a run on banks

........ now this is what worries me. What would cause this and how would it be handled - maybe IrishMike can answer. I would think that eventually everyone should/would get what belongs to them including box contents and FDIC insured money.......Anyone have any takes on this situation???

Oh - and thanks for the tip on having a box near the floor - I am requesting a move today!