How should a collection be protected?

glossycrazy · February 19, 2005 6:43AM

Hi- I'm curious of what everyone is doing to keep their collection safe? Should a guy put his most valuable stuff in a safe deposit box, buy a big safe, turn a spare room into card room and put a big lock on it, or hide the cards in the basement somewhere? Ha Ha Ha on the last one!! Looking for ideas!
Paul

calleocho · February 19, 2005 6:51AM

kennylow · February 19, 2005 7:12AM

that pic doesn't do it. the building can still be bombed in a PSA registry revenge air-raid.

MorrellMan · February 19, 2005 7:53AM

Onlypsahockey · February 19, 2005 9:02AM

I keep my collection in a closet in my home office. I'm building my sets at the moment so it makes sense to have them on hand. I imagine if I ever complete these sets I'll be looking for safe haven for them. Probably a large safe or gun cabinet. I don't think i'd go the safety deposit box route.

JMO, Bob

PhilG · February 19, 2005 12:34PM

"Taste Like Chicken". Hasn't lost a card yet.

My (I spent way to much money) collection of 1993 Topps Finest Baseball Refractors

pandrews · February 19, 2005 12:49PM

<< <i>

>>

divecchia · February 19, 2005 2:11PM

<< <i>Hi- I'm curious of what everyone is doing to keep their collection safe? Should a guy put his most valuable stuff in a safe deposit box, buy a big safe, turn a spare room into card room and put a big lock on it, or hide the cards in the basement somewhere? Ha Ha Ha on the last one!! Looking for ideas!
Paul >>

Paul...

I have most of my important, hard to find and expensive cards in a safe at home where I have access to them. If your collection is worth more that $5,000 I would definitely recommend a safe.

Donato

calleocho · February 19, 2005 4:16PM

it really depends on the value.

basic enemies of cards are:

Fire, Flood and thieves (some people might consider wifes as well).

some options might be better suited against each particular enemy, but in the end any of them could get to you.

so the best option is to have adequate insurance and find a nice shaded place to display them.

calleocho · February 21, 2005 2:52AM

This really sad story about cards being stolen shows that insuring your cards might be more important than we realize.

BTW that poster also posts here and has helped many people especially when it comes to information for pre war baseball cards.

I hope everything works out for him and it really killed me to read his story, if i lost my collection (nowhere near his fanancial value) i would be devastated, just the impotence feeling alone would be horrible.

stolen cards story

lostdart58 · February 21, 2005 3:20AM

<< <i>This really sad story about cards being stolen shows that insuring your cards might be more important than we realize.

BTW that poster also posts here and has helped many people especially when it comes to information for pre war baseball cards.

I hope everything works out for him and it really killed me to read his story, if i lost my collection (nowhere near his fanancial value) i would be devastated, just the impotence feeling alone would be horrible.

stolen cards story >>

A sad story indeed and I wish him the best..................

One thing seems odd and maybe it is just because that we are in a different age (computor).......If someone broke into your home...perhaps you might call the police first...............before you get on-line and post messages on message boards.........Odds on he will not see the card again, but still........

SinibobCards · February 21, 2005 4:13AM

I also thought it was odd to first post and then call the police, but I bet the the board members will put more effort into finding the cards than the police will. I wish him the best.

Thanks for posting the link.

RipublicaninMass · February 21, 2005 5:17AM

I would think those cards would be easy to track down. Same thing happened to me but it was a ton of 52 topps commons. I had an idea my "new aquaintences" had done it. Iw as familiar with all the card stores in the area, and started to make calls. "DId you see 2 gorilla size guys, that knew nothing about cards, trying to pawn some 52 topps commons?" In 3 or 4 calls I had the cards tracked, and had my aquiantences doo-dooing in their pants. Worse part of it all is they sold 300-400 commons for 500 bucks.

CollectorChris · February 21, 2005 7:43AM

Sad to say, but in this society it is foolish to leave a valuable collection at home no matter where one lives. My purely PSA vintage collection is small (but very valuable) and will remain so. I keep it split in two large safe deposit boxes at two different banks, and I am committed that my collection will never grow so large that it cannot fit within the confines of those two boxes.

If you have a large vintage PSA collection that would make it impossible to store entirely in one or two safe deposit boxes, then you should at least try to keep the most valuable cards in one. Unfortunately, anyone who keeps around hundreds or thousands of valuable PSA vintage cards at their home is very vulnerable.

Beyond that, the more people who know that you collect, the greater the odds of getting burglarized. I know I go against the grain here, but I will not make available my full name, e-mail address, phone number, postal address, etc. in the PSA Set Registry or in these or any other message boards. I like maintaining a very low profile.

I do not subscribe to any sports collector magazines and catalogs, but when someone sends me one (such as after my first purchase from them), I politely ask to be removed from their mailing list. I participate in all sorts of auctions (MastroNet, Lelands, Goodwin, etc) but have instructed them not to send me their catalogs since the images and information are readily available on line. Over the years, there have been times when the postal service delivered collector magazines, inventory catalogs, auction catalogs and even cards or other collectibles to a wrong address in our neighborhood. Who knows who's seen it?

Sure, it would be nice to be more open. But the risks increase.

Onlypsahockey · February 21, 2005 8:13AM

I couldn't access his scans. I got a message saying they were temporarily unavailable try later. I think we should all print a few
of the rarer and more valuable cards and keep an eye out for them.

These cards will surface and sadly he'll have a hard time getting them back but at least we can all make an effort for a fellow enthusiast.

Who knows next time it could be me or you.

jmo, Bob

calleocho · February 21, 2005 8:31AM

Chris,

Ben lives in montreal, there is a lot less crime over there.

Most likely it was an inside job, as they didnt take anything else.

you can be as paranoid as you want and still get screwed by a bitter EX, or a desperate friend.

Like i said, it could happen to anyone.

I will keep those cards on file to see if i might catch one that would hopefully lead to the rest.

CollectorChris · February 21, 2005 11:04AM

calleocho,

Yes, it could happen to anyone, but we collectors can do a lot to diminish the possibility. Montreal may have less crime, yet it is not crime free. A person should take precautions no matter where they live.

Unless his collection was insured, he has suffered a great financial and emotional loss. It is very sad. I know I would be devastated if it were to happen to me.

Too bad the cards weren't graded by PSA. It could have really helped those of us on the lookout to be alert for cert numbers. Of course, a thief could crack them out of the cases.

I think a little paranoia is a good thing. One of the founders of Intel, Andy Grove, is famous for his book "Only the Paranoid Survive."

purelyPSA · February 21, 2005 2:07PM

<< <i>My purely PSA vintage collection is small (but very valuable) and will remain so >>

I'm not vintage, it's not small, but it is very valuable. And I have mine insured with Lloyd's of London.

How should a collection be protected?

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