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Can anyone recommend a good safe?
QuarterCollector
Posts: 1,384 ✭
Currently, I keep my collection in a safety deposit box. I kept a photo album (True View Pics) at that house for viewing. I figured that would fill the void of having the coins in hand. However, a picture can only do so much. I miss having the coins in hand to view. Has anyone else run into this problem? I'm looking for recommendations on a good safe to prevent for both fire and theft.
Tom
Tom
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Little safes just make it easier for thieves to steal lots of good stuff all at once.
Big safes at least make them sweat.
Think $1600-$1800 for the safe. Liberty Safes are pretty good.
8 inch thick walls. Weighs 1400 lbs.
Brownsafe.com
Alarms and video surveillance also give thieves that sense of "I better get moving," couple that with a safe that will take a long while to move or open, and you're onto a better arrangement. If you can conceal the whole affair behind a false wall or something, then you're doing even better.
At least is the advice I was given by a guy who owns a gun shop (built around a vault). He figures the vault will take 1 hour to break into and the ADT system will have the cops there before that. In the mean time cameras, lights and sirens will all be running at the gun shop adding to the sense of urgency for the perpetrators.
I picked mine up for around half the retail price. I have also picked up a few security safes
for half of what they sell for at retail stores still in the boxes...
<< <i>TL-30. >>
Yes. and more like a minimum of 3000 lbs. --Jerry
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
<< <i>Get a big gun safe. Fire brick it. Bolt it to your concrete slab. Put a heater/dehumidifier in it.
Little safes just make it easier for thieves to steal lots of good stuff all at once.
Big safes at least make them sweat.
Think $1600-$1800 for the safe. Liberty Safes are pretty good. >>
I got mine from Dunham Sporting Goods for about $800. About a half ton
with pre-drilled holes inside on the bottom for screwing it to the concrete.
It comes with shelves that can be moved around to wherever they fit
your collections best. Good up to 1400 degrees fahrenheit.
Even had plenty of room for wife's jewelry and all our documents.
Oh yes, and all our photo CDs from our travels.
JT
I collect all 20th century series except gold including those series that ended there.
<< <i>Never been a big believer in safes to store valuables. That is what safe deposit boxes are for. Have several police acquaintances who feel the same way. If you get burgled why you are at home they are going to force you to open it anyway. You never know what the plumber, electrician, neighbors kids, etc. might pass on. Having written this I will wait in anticipation for all the sharpshooters to reply with photos of their guns and all their bravado.
Having your stuff in a safe deposit box will not help you unless you coinvince the perp that you have all your stuff offsite. Do you keep a notarized letter that swears that you keep all your stuff in a safe deposit box? What if the perp can't read???? --Jerry
<< <i>
<< <i>Never been a big believer in safes to store valuables. That is what safe deposit boxes are for. Have several police acquaintances who feel the same way. If you get burgled why you are at home they are going to force you to open it anyway. You never know what the plumber, electrician, neighbors kids, etc. might pass on. Having written this I will wait in anticipation for all the sharpshooters to reply with photos of their guns and all their bravado.
Having your stuff in a safe deposit box will not help you unless you coinvince the perp that you have all your stuff offsite. Do you keep a notarized letter that swears that you keep all your stuff in a safe deposit box? What if the perp can't read???? --Jerry >>
I'll be serious for a moment, Jerry sometimes I wonder how capable of comprehending you are. I'll try again for your sake. First if someone really wants to rob you bad enough then they will regardless. Let's not over rate the intelligence of common criminals especially given the propensity of some of them willing to do just about anything to satisfy a drug habit. If you do have a safe in your house and you have folks in and out like service people, kids etc. and the safe is not hidden then there is a likelihood that you aren't the only one who is aware that there is a safe in the house, thus making you more of a target. That can't be too difficult to comprehend, that's why some have recommended hidden safes.
Good grief <insert rolling eyes icon>think outside of your little box once in awhile.
Tom
Not much you can do about that, but keep the expensive stuff on the top shelf.
<< <i>Thanks for the help guys. If I get a 1000 to 2000 lb safe it will have to be bolted in the basement. I don't think the support beams of my house were meant to hold that much additional weight. Especially in one place. If I do bolt it to the basement slab will silica gel be enough to protect the coins from dampness and fumes (furnace)? Thanks again for the help.
Tom >>
Go to a sporting store and get a can of Safe Dri2.. This will save you money over time..
just hold a knife to a loved ones neck...
a lesson from my Dad, a policeman
<< <i>
Where the heck does that lead to? I would be scared of the bench seats on the sides...
<< <i>Get two safes. One is a sacrificial safe. Not well hidden and can be taken by thieves. You put coins of little value in this one. The good stuff goes in the other safe which is well hidden. Few thieves will think you have two safes in the house. >>
That is a nice suggestion. Fill the sacrificial one with rocks in boxes so it "sounds and feels right." Bury it under a coat in the bedroom closet (where people always "hide" stuff).
The other product one might consider (besides an electrical dehumidifier and heater that I mentioned above) is the Intercept Shield storage products. These will reportedly help with "fumes" or other atmospheric toning.
But the best bet is this:
Buy an in-floor safe for your basement. Assuming you are willing to take the time to knock out a bit of your foundation and such. You can have a very well kept secret safe in your floor, or multiples of depending on how large your cache of precious is.
Secondly, get that second safe. Don't store it out in the open to 'deter' a thief. Make it look like you are hiding it. Decoys are easily notable in today's day and age. Have a 'lock box' in your decoy, but also have a gps transmitting device mounted inside that lock box. A simple cash box will work wonders. This will give a footprint to law enforcement upon notifying them. It's been done, and will continue to be done. Take advantage of the technology available to the consumer. It's cheap and affordable. About 3000 dollars and you have a very nice anti-theft system that actual permits the thief to steal, but with the catch that they will be the catch. :-)
Also, a good thing to do, pick up these chinese counterfeits in pcgs slabs, fill the decoy with fake gold, fake silver, fake coins, whatever...Make it look 'legit' Try to avoid anything that says replica or copy on it. While it may seem to be a bit expensive, again 3000 dollars is all one would need to do this properly. Even less :-) depending on what safes you go with.
But by golly, *stay away* from safety deposit boxes today! Too many 'empty' boxes are happening.