Whether you've just started coin collecting or you have a collection worth hundreds of thousands of dollars it's important that you understand the importance of security and the measures you can take to improve the safety of your collection.
We've come up with our top 10 tips for the secure storage of your coin collection and we'll publish them in 2 articles. This article lists tips 1 to 5.
Security of your valuable Collection Part 1.
1. Opening your mouth. The biggest taboo with regards to the security of your coin collection is talking about it or your love of collecting. Telling people that you collect coins and what you have can get you into a lot of trouble leaving you wide open to be the target of the theft of your valuables. You might trust the person you tell implicitly but who will they tell about your hobby? You really do not know, so the best thing is to tell no-one. The internet is a great place to chat incognito under a username that doesn't have to identify you personally in any way. If anyone finds out your name or where you live then you have opened yourself up to a huge security issue.
2. Get a post office box. This will allow your mail to find you but not your home. A lot of people add to their collections via online purchases or mail order and a post office box of your own will keep your home address secure from any unscrupulous sellers. Also, mail hanging out of your street mailbox with the sender "Terry's Coin Shop" can only be an inidication that there is something valuable in your home.
3. Use secure off-site storage. We suggest that regardless of how secure your home is that the only safe place for the valuable parts of your collection is in secure storage away from your home. Banks in capital cities can provide safety deposit boxes and some also offer a service where you can keep a locked box in a secure room inside the bank vault. This is often cheaper than a safety deposit box but still only you have the key to the box. Pricing for safety deposit boxes and keeping items in secure custody in the bank vault can vary from $150-$500 a year depending on the size and space needed. Availablity can be very limited so shop around to find what suits you. Storage companies sometimes offer secure storage options but we don't think you could go past the security of the bank vault. I always dreamed that I'd buy a house one day that was a converted bank and that in the basement was my own personal bank vault. This wasn't to be but they are about.
4. Get a home alarm. If you're going to keep your coins at home then you'll need to consider some pretty tough security measures. Getting your house alarmed with a back-to-base system means that if the intruder alarm sounds the police and security company will be knocking on your door in minutes. Signage to this effect on the windows is also a great deterrent. Home alarm systems can sometimes be set to lock your family inside the perimeter at night so any attempted entry (or teenager exit) will be immediately discovered. Another option to consider is to have your home safe fitted with a sensor to trigger your home alarm.
5. Record it! Keep receipts from your purchases or record where and when you purchased items. Have your own personal catalogue with distinguishing marks, rim nicks, bagmarks noted so your individual coin may be identified. Photographs or scans of individual items are also helpful. If coins are in third party graded slabs such as those by PCGS, the record the registration numbers for easy identification later.
That rounds-up points 1-5, see Part 2 for the points 6-10.
Posted by harrisk at October 31, 2011 1:05 PM
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