Storing cards in a safe deposit box

JWBlue

I went to the bank today to reserve a safe deposit box. The small room with the deposit box did not have central air.
It was really humid. There was a fan built into the wall blowing but that did not too much. I decided to not store my valuable card in the deposit box. Was that a good decision?

What if the deposit box is in a room with a controlled environment? Would that be ok? Even then could storing a card encased in a PSA slab be damaged?

I was thinking storing a card in a small box in a room even with a controlled environment could damage it.

dictoresno

I think psa slabs are water resistant but I’ve heard stories of flood water ingress and ruining slabbed cards. If water can get in so can air. And I wouldn’t be surprised if that could make the cards susceptible to humidity and condensation accumulation inside the case.

vols1

From what I saw during hurricane Katrina, it did not look like safety deposit boxes were well designed to handle the elements.

hyperchipper09

PSA slabs aren't waterproof.

mankoma2011

I would say the newer holders are not described as water proof, but can handle some of the elements. I was out of town this year in March during a New York snowstorm. Came home and my entire front porch and yard were covered in snow. I found my mail, but was missing a card I had ordered. I thought it was going to be completely destroyed... but two weeks later it melted out and I found the package in the front yard. The card was cold, but completely fine! I attribute that to the PSA holder... or one hell of a bubble mailer!

Anyone have another good or bad story? I would be interested to know your opinions on the ideal card storage conditions.

HighGradeLegends

Assuming this is all for max security and long term storage, it may be cheaper simply buy a USA-made (not Chinese knock off crap) gun safe, bolt it do the ground (into concrete), have a humidor or like device in the room/safe to remove humidity, and store graded cards inside waterproof bags. It is more work, but more cost effective assuming you are not moving anytime soon. Couple this with modern security video surveillance devices and apps...place a camera int he room...and now you have 24 hr access to your stuff, do not have to pay bank fees, do not have limited hours to access your stuff, and have better protection against water damage. Also, like storage lockers, if you fail to pay your bank fees, the bank can auction off the contents of your box...legally. So cut them out and do it yourself...IMO.

JWBlue

I should have mentioned that we are not paying for the safe deposit box. That was part of the appeal.

Would storing the holder in a waterproof cell phone bag be a good idea? Would that keep the moisture out in a safe deposit box?

swish54

If you want to keep the moisture out of the bag too, then the only way would be to take the air out of the bag as well. You'd need a vacuum sealer.

70ToppsFanatic

Thus was an issue for us when we created the Card Vault cases. While we were able to come up with something that is water-tight, the challenges of heat and humidity are still ones we have not been able to address.

Humidity protection requires either environmental conditioning or a vacuum, and that assumes thee is no air in the slabs themselves.

Heat and fire are also very difficult to address, since the slabs themselves will melt at a certain temperature.

My approach to minimizing these risks is to use a large, fire-rated gun safe (cost me just under $1k) bolted to my basement floor in a finished area (i.e. climate controlled) and then use the Card Vault cases inside it (to protect against flooding). Then the only issue is to decide which cards and unopened get this level of storage since the gun safe has a fixed capacity.

VintagemanEd

I think you guys are over thinking it. I put mine inside a wonder bread bag with 2 twist ties and then put the bag inside a reebok shoe box and store the box in the root cellar. The key is the second twist tie.

Bahahahaha..... I couldn't resist!!

VintagemanEd

I was just having fun guys..... not trying to down play the importance of the thread so don't attack please

Panama Mutiny (Formerly lawyer05)

@JWBlue said:
I should have mentioned that we are not paying for the safe deposit box. That was part of the appeal.

Would storing the holder in a waterproof cell phone bag be a good idea? Would that keep the moisture out in a safe deposit box?

what appeal ?