Safe storage...

Hello all,

anyone else here store their collection/s in a safe? I have banknotes and some coins I wouldn't like to have "go astray" but I'm curious if your most prized or even the common "stuff" are stored safely.
Thanks.

Lysdexic1

Mine are in a fireproof safe. Somehow I lost the key. Hopefully one day I'll find it.

Quote: 0gramzMINE ARE IN A FIREPROOF SAFE.SOMEHOW I LOST THE KEY HOPEFULLY ONE DAY ILL FIND IT

A good locksmith should be able to open it for you in no time; useful but scary.

I have just moved a lot of my coins into a small safe. This is for my foldered collection. My more rare coins are in Ikea small wooden drawers free for anyone to take! Go figure!

OH I'm sure if I wanted to my drill would do the job.But they're around (the keys) somewhere kids got ahold of them so my bet would be to clean out the toybox.

Quote: 0gramzMine are in a fireproof safe. Somehow I lost the key. Hopefully one day I'll find it.

A fireproof safe is good, but you need something inside the safe to control any humidity. Many people have ruined valuable coins by putting them in a safe without controlling the humidity inside the safe.

Desiccant packs will help to absorb some of the excess humidity in the safe. In addition to the desiccant packs, it is suggested that you open the safe at least once every two weeks for approximately 20 minutes. To alleviate some of the musty odor, it is suggested that you remove the items from the safe and wipe the interior with a paste of baking soda and water. Do not store your safe unit in areas of your home or business with already high humidity levels such as a basement or cellar as this will add to the moisture problems.

Do you have important documents, ammo, guns, coins or banknotes sitting in a safe? Do you have valuable artwork or photographs in storage? The Eva-Dry E-500 or theEva-Dry E-333 is by far the easiest and most eco friendly way to pull moisture from the air and leave any space dry and humid-free to protect your valuables. I consider this device among the best on the market and is very popular with coin dealers.

A Wireless Dehumidifier For Smaller Spaces
Eva-Dry E 500 Dehumidifier @ approximately $35.00 USD


Eva-Dry E 333 Dehumidifier @ approximately $25.00 USD

Quote: 0gramzOH I'm sure if I wanted to my drill would do the job.But they're around (the keys) somewhere kids got ahold of them so my bet would be to clean out the toybox.

 If you never find them a good lock smith can open it and give you a new key so you don't ruin it with the drill.

  I keep all my silver in a safe (not much, mostly rifles in there), my swap list and world coin collection are on a table for easy access, I do recommend a safe dehumidifier if your safe is not in your controlled air conditioned house. Garage, and basements need the dehumidifier, I have one to protect the WWII guns.

I would love a large safe but they cost many thousands of dollars, even second hand ones are prohibitively expensive. Plus you are usually expected to remove it yourself. We get a free safety deposit box courtesy of my good friend J.P. Morgan so anything I can't bear to lose but don't need to look at lives in there.

When looking at houses a few years ago we viewed a very old, run down place in Clearwater which was #2 on our list, after the one we eventually bought. It had a huge safe the size of a fridge in what had clearly been the old fellers office and would have become my "coin room / man cave". The keys of course were nowhere to be seen but I was really looking forward to having it opened and scooping out all the silver and gold coins left inside.

Although I love the house we now live in I can't help but wonder what might have been.

Quote: pnightingaleI would love a large safe but they cost many thousands of dollars, even second hand ones are prohibitively expensive. Plus you are usually expected to remove it yourself. We get a free safety deposit box courtesy of my good friend J.P. Morgan so anything I can't bear to lose but don't need to look at lives in there.

When looking at houses a few years ago we viewed a very old, run down place in Clearwater which was #2 on our list, after the one we eventually bought. It had a huge safe the size of a fridge in what had clearly been the old fellers office and would have become my "coin room / man cave". The keys of course were nowhere to be seen but I was really looking forward to having it opened and scooping out all the silver and gold coins left inside.

Although I love the house we now live in I can't help but wonder what might have been.

All you need would be a secret hidden room as well to add to the coolness of the house.  I need to get a small safe soon.  I'm just getting my firearms licence so I can go out hunting by myself rather than heading out with a group.  So now I'll need a small safe to store my ammunition in.  Probably not a good idea to have ammunition sitting in drawers and things with two young boys (4 and 6 years) running around.

Great responses! I had to get a 2nd safe because the 1st was sharing space with personal papers, jewellery etc. Now I have a dedicated safe for banknotes and coins. That has filled up fairly quickly and it doesn't help the situation any better when they're stored in pages. They're not huge safes 500mm x 400mm key and combo fireproofs but I really like the idea have having a dehumidifier in the large one I'll have to get. At the moment the small ones get plenty of airing time as I like to physically look at my collection lol. I know it's easier enough to log on here and look at your collection but you can't beat holding, admiring and even smelling them. Hmmm...maybe that last part was a little OTT.
 

all the coins in my safe are in air tight holders so i dont think anything will happen to them stored underneath my bed .so they should all be ok .i just looked at them a couple months back before the key got lost .i think i could pick the lock myself if really needed to just havent tried it yet but i'm sure i'd figure out how to jimmy it open one way or another.thanks guys for all your concern and tips .

The problem with air tight capsules is that they are rarely air tight. However, they are air tight enought to keep any humidiity inside on the coin. A demumidifier inside the safe  is still highly recommended.

I have a more original approach. When I was younger I loved Lego. I have boxes and boxes full of the stuff. A couple years ago, I build a "Lego Safe". Just pretty much a lego building that opens up and has room for a decent amount of my more valuable coins. I even put my little lego people inside to guard it   . Whenever I go away for a while and the house is unattended, I put the more valuable ones in the safe, and put it in one of 7 lego boxes.

What criminal would ever look through a child's lego?
Also the Eminem posters on my wall are a large sign that basically says 'KID"S ROOM, NOTHING OF MUCH VALUE'

Free and effective security  

The LEGO safe should protect you from being robbed, but does it protect the coins from the effects of high humidity?

the ones I put in there are in sealed plastic ICCS holders. Nothing will get in or out

Yeah, the ones I use are the self sealing cardboard flips with the mylar interior.  Humdity may deteriorate the cardboard on the outside but my coin is nice and safe inside the sealed mylar.

I just bought a safe in switzerland over the summer (imagine bringing a mid sized safe 850 km to the netherlands   )

Keep all of my silver and gold in it. Some banknotes too (about 1000), like US dollar, euro, francs and rare coins. The rest I keep out since thier individual value isn't so high.

I should probably bolt it to the floor for added security.

-Daniel

Yep, I saw an interview with a career thief on television a while back, and he was saying he loved safes because people put all their valuables in one spot and it saved him having to search houses to find them.

One major reason why you must have safety storage cabinets: unauthorized individuals won't be able to access your dangerous chemicals. But that's just one reason.

Quote: pnightingaleI would love a large safe but they cost many thousands of dollars, even second hand ones are prohibitively expensive.

I have a fire safe big enough to comfortably hold 24 long guns (or a couple guns and A LOT of coins and coin sets) that I bought about a year ago for $350. It retailed for $800 at the local tractor supply, but had fell over during transit and was dented along the top edge along with some damage to the removable interior shelves. With a little talking to the store manager, I was able to convince him that it would be more cost effective to sell it to me at his price than to pay to ship it back and order another.