Options
Please don't rob my house!
Russell12
Posts: 775 ✭✭✭✭✭
My collection has been hidden away in the back of my closet, I hate having it there, I can't play with it! So I decided to buy this and keep it in a room of my house. It is locked, so you burglars, don't even try!
6
Comments
That's convenient. Just be aware those locks won't do much for security.
Rare-Change.com - Low listing fee
I believe this was in jest
Problem with most lock boxes is that thieves will car the whole thing out even if it weighs 200 pounds. They will throw it down the stairs or out a window. If your collection is valuable enough to worry about it a safe the size of a refrigerator is the way to go. I have one that weighs 350 pounds. They could still steal it but it would be a back breaker.
Thieves dont care how much damage they do to your house.
Student of numismatics and collector of Morgan dollars
Successful BST transactions with: Namvet Justindan Mattniss RWW olah_in_MA
Dantheman984 Toyz4geo SurfinxHI greencopper RWW bigjpst bretsan MWallace logger7 JWP BruceS bigjpst
JWP PROMETHIUS88
Some insurance policies dont even consider a safe weighing less than 500 lbs as a safeguard to reduce your policy cost, because anything under that is too easy to move.
I had a 200 pound safe taken down the stairs and out the front door by thieves without even making a scratch on the walls.
Buy really good insurance, and enjoy your coins! Whats the point of having them if you cant enjoy them...
Twice had neighbors robbed.
One had loose lips about inherited jewelry of a sibling. Estimated 250k!
Another had a small safe carted out in front of the neighbors in broad daylight. $10k+ of cash
Both think someone who did work at the house, made a mental note and came back later.
This caused me to make a mental note of my own situation after my recent move.
BST: KindaNewish (3/21/21), WQuarterFreddie (3/30/21), Meltdown (4/6/21), DBSTrader2 (5/5/21) AKA- unclemonkey on Blow Out
Best security
Large dogs
Large pew pew
Do not discuss your collection locally.
Foundation mounted safes with multiple dummy safes.
But if you are concerned and do #4 please go back to # 1 and 2
Probably not something you want to brag about, at least not publicly. Did they ever suspect you?
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
On another forum, someone reported that two thieves had stolen a 500+lb safe, lowered from a second story window in broad daylight in less than 20 minutes. The thieves knew the homeowner by name, which is why neighbors didn't suspect fowl play at the moment. So, it seems like proclaiming your collection and its placement is the first step in getting your collection stolen.
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
BHNC #AN-10
JRCS #1606
I have a large pew pew (at least my wife lies that I do). But, I prefer a sawed-off 12 gauge with a really noisy rack. Every bad guy knows the sound of a shotgun being racked. I strongly suggest an old Western Auto, Sears, or New Haven. They sound like a washer with a bad transmission.
Loose Lips Sink Ships. Why would you even keep a quarter million in jewelry at home?
Successful Transactions With: JWP, DBSTrader2, greencopper, bretsan, ajaan
More or less, anyone with a little malice and a bit of Internet savvy can figure out where most of us live. Discretion, off-site storage, layers of security, decoys, and a plan. That’s a start.
If you buy your average home “safe”, be aware that $50 in tools from Harbor freight can breach one in about 10 minutes. Actual safes start at $10k or so, are immensely heavy, and can still be cracked or carried away.
A SDB is a pain in the butt, but it beats keeping too many valuables in your residence.
crime dosent pay
I keep my coins in an outdoor storage bin surrounded by cracked corn.
I have a safe. It’s small and weighs about 1200 pounds and lives in a closet that would make it very hard to get a chain around without tearing up walls. I don’t mind keeping coins in there while they’re at home away from the SDB, but yes, they live at the bank.
Maybe once your collection approaches the value of a modest home, a box at the bank isn’t a bad idea. Just saying.
Empty Nest Collection
There is one dealer who posts a daily blog, including pictures of his property, with drawings and schematics of key features. I couldn’t imagine being so comfortable as to do so and not think that my security would be at risk. For his sake I hope it is never an issue.
Latin American Collection
Nice "Sopranos" reference
That's why I feel safe in the rural mountains of northern Alaska
ALL safes can be gotten into within 1 minute.
Layer security don't keep any valuable coins in the home.
You must have moved recently
Careful, polar bears are avid, sometimes violent coin collectors.
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
BHNC #AN-10
JRCS #1606
The day you can't keep anything valuable in your home, you need to move....
What’s your address ?
Yeah. Just move to the Louvre or the Dresden Castle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresden_Green_Vault_burglary)
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888
And those morons didnt have insurance.
Buy insurance, and enjoy your life.
A computer hack I know told me to never post pictures on this site that were taken at an address that I wouldn’t want known. He stated that unless Geotagging of the photo is disabled he could detect the location of the picture.
I believe when a photo is uploaded to this site (and FB, WhatsApp, etc.), the metadata is removed, geo and otherwise.
Your friend is correct. If you have Location Services turned on for the camera app, then every time you take a photo it will contain geo data. You can, however, turn this off if you wish. I do. I assume Android phones have a similar feature.
Some sites do remove geo data when a photo is uploaded. Others don’t. But it’s hard to know for sure which do and which don’t. If Facebook, for example, says they do, do you trust that they do?
I agree. Insurance won’t replace your specific, carefully-chosen coins, but it’ll help reduce the financial loss.
I too thought insurance might be the key. I’m going to describe what I found out and potential issues related to such policy.
While I’m not naming the company, suffice it to say it’s a major company that I’m sure many use or have used throughout the years.
>
Also, there’s 3 levels to choose from but for this exercise, I’m using the highest level and to be quite honest, there’s not a dramatic price difference in all plans.
>
First, coins may be kept at the bank SDB or dwelling, or a mixture of both. The first glaring issue is moving the actual coins, back and forth from each location. The max coverage in transit is $50,000. I said what would happen if the coin met or exceeded this amount.
If met, then one would have to transfer one coin at a time. If value exceeds $50k, then tough. No rider or anything would cover the deficit.
I only mention this because I see transit as a major risk area, car wrecks, etc. A lot can happen on the road. Apparently they agree, thus limiting coverage to such a low amount.
>
Next is the transit coverage to a TPG, etc, The same $50,000 applies. And again, this can’t be increased with an extra rider, etc.
>
So long story short, you get insurance for either a SDB, dwelling, or both. And all this can be had for a cool $5k plus per year!
Not a cheap endeavor by any means!
Just my .02 cents
You are correct. Some homeowner policies cover numismatic coins, but not bullion coins. Some cover loss outside the home, others do not. And yes, insurance can be expensive, particularly if you have a high value collection.
Each person has to do their own research and make their own decision in context of their collection, their risk exposure, their risk tolerance and their financial situation.
Other threads, however, have suggested that for those with moderate collections (less than $50k). SDB insurance is reasonably priced. Whether the same is true for coverage within the home depends, I guess, on where one lives.
I had a safe I got at Costco, probably a couple hundred pounds or more, not bolted to the floor which I hear is recommended. Later I put the coins in a SDB.
Two people I’ve met over the years have kept their coins in a capped pipe, buried in their back yard. In one case, it was a pile of gold. I gave them several scenarios of what could go wrong with that.
I have a coin insurance application from the ANA, anyone know what the approximate costs may be?
We have no crime here and I have nosy neighbors but I Still keep everything valuable in safety deposit boxes and have layers of security.
Common sense won't protect you from theft but it sure will reduce the odds.
What I found out over the years is as follow after your collection reaches a certain value:
-have a security system with tie in to the local police department
-have insurance (home policies Ryders to expensive vs. specialty companies) assume about 1% of collection value. Note, make sure you have an inventory list of your items
-a dog, a good friend of mine who is a police detective said having a dog is one of the best deterrents
-safe (s), bolted to floor and/or walls
-use a SDB (lowest rates from insurance companies for items stored there)
-don't tell anyone you have inventory in your house
-……
The above definitely adds cost on an on-going basis however the piece of mind for me is worth it.
Living in a low crime area helps as with everything mentioned above however in the end if someone wants your stuff they will get it. The only thing you can do is to place as many barriers as possible to make it as difficult as possible for them.
Did that to a friend, the geotag showed not only the address, but which room of the house the picture was taken in (garage converted to his friend's bedroom at his parents' house).
ANA 50+ year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
Author: 3rd Edition of the SampleSlabs book, https://sampleslabs.info/
The safe is the finish line for thieves. You need to start protection WAY before the safe. Cameras should notify you the second someone is on your property. These cameras should also have multiple fail safes to operate if power is cut, if phone lines are cut, etc.
I love numismatics, I’ve collected for 50 years, and I love being a steward of early US coins, but unless it’s your living, you start to wonder if it’s all worth the hassle, angst and expense of ownership.
I learned the hard way yesterday that my safety deposit box is not as “safe” as I had assumed.
Other passions include golf, Moto Guzzi motorcycles, and Euro motorcycles in general.
Chris
It is a situation I pray to god I would never have to face but because of several unsavory persons in my own family i keep a snub nose 357 mag. with hollow points and a long barrel 22 revolver loaded with steel jackets.
I don't believe 3 people within my immeadiate life even know i collect anything but Social Security. james
In the past I'd just hide in places no one could ever find without extensive searching or luck and have an opened safe with a few hundred dollars worth of stuff in it. I realize that's hard to do with a larger volume collection but it worked for me. As time went on and gold skyrocketed which is basically my entire collection I just feel way more comfortable with it in a SDB so that's where it all lives.
(shakes head)
don't count your chickens before they're hatched
That sounds awfully expensive unless you have a very large collection. While I don’t have the feature that includes transportation coverage, my annual premium is roughly 0.3% of the insured value.
Set it in concrete and monitor with motion cameras.
Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value. Zero. Voltaire. Ebay coinbowlllc
Luckily I have no snooping “Mrs. Soprano” to worry about
>
@TxCollector said
>
No joke, I agree, considering I only have around 30 coins.
The majority of those are NOLA and Carson Double Eagles with the remainder rounding out with Eagles and Half Eagles dated 1799-1806, and just a handful of CBHs
Maybe they penalized me on the gold, a**h****! 🤨😂
I do have several motion cameras around, not sure I want to pay $500/year for insurance.
My insurance company also had a standard policy exclusion for transport between the house and SDB of $50k. And when I asked, they had no problem raising it for me to a more reasonable number, for something like a $20 premium increase. Ditto with the TPG coverage.
Every insurance company will be slightly different. Some are easier to deal with than others. Shop around and tailor the policy to your needs.
I recommend becoming a hoarder. Thieves won't know where to look!