[KingM]

I don't have the bulk of my investments in metals, but I do have a pretty good sum. I consider this an insurance policy more than anything, for a worst case scenario. And it wouldn't take a full upheaval to make it very useful indeed. Imagine if you lived in Poland in 1938 or Germany in 1946 and had a few gold coins to use bribing your way out of the country.

Most of it was acquired six or seven years ago, so I was lucky in terms of the price I paid. However, I started to get pretty nervous about it as the price went up. It seems that it made me a pretty big target for a robbery--not that anyone around here would know I have it. But people still have ways of figuring these things out. So I moved it to a safe deposit box at the local bank, where it has been for several years.

But doesn't that kind of defeat the point? If you need your emergency gold and silver the proverbial brown stuff has already hit the rotating assembly of blades and is flinging in all directions. Banks might fail or have their assets confiscated by the government, and if that happens, the first thing they'll do is plunder the safe deposit boxes. Of course they would confiscate my belongings, and if I were lucky, I might get paid in rapidly depreciating pieces of paper.

So if storing at home is too dangerous and storing at the bank is pointless, what's left? Watch the news carefully and run to the bank when things look iffy?

 

[Ripon]

I can't imagine keeping anything inside a bank? Did you read the story about the New Years even burglary in Argentina (I think) a year or so ago? All they took was the contents of everyone's safe deposit boxes because in that country it was more normal to keep money in the box then in an account. No way could I keep anything in a bank.

I have some at home. A burglar could find some, but its unlikely they'd stay around long enough to find it all. Its easy to hide. I love silver coins. I have plenty of the 1 ounce bullion coins and plenty more of the Pre 64 silver coins and don't really need any more. I always try to keep 2 ounces of silver on hand for each $1000 in debt I owe (and I only owe on property). But that has always been my goal even when I had a mortgage.

Put a few ounces here, put a few there, and even freeze or refridgerate a couple. BUT keep a list. When my dad passed a few years back and we were cleaning out his home I was most fortunate to find where he hid his only ounce of gold - I didn't even know he still had it - and the box almost went to the Veterans group that we donated much of his stuff - after we searched it better. We found other goodies too! Keep a list.

 

[KingM]

I live in a safer, more stable place than Argentina, but point taken. It's pretty easy to lose one's precious metal collection storing around in various places. You read stories about guys who die and their kids can't find the good stuff. Did he sell it? Hide it somewhere new? Was it stolen?

Not too far off topic, my father's uncle and aunt about twenty-five years ago had their precious metal collection stolen by someone from their church. It was worth about $150K at a time when gold was only a few hundred bucks an ounce. They had no kids and the church assigned this nice couple to help look after them as they were declining. The couple had themselves put on all the accounts, paid themselves about 10 grand a month, and had the will changed. By the time the nieces and nephews figured it out, most of the plundering had been done. Everything was hard to prove and they finally came to an agreement with the thieves not to go to the police if they would drop their interest in the will. There was still several hundred grand left in the estate. If the uncle and aunt had lived another couple of years it would have been all gone.

 

[Ripon]

I should note I've also buried some in a couple of very rural locations well above the water table. These are small caches that have other essentials. The only thing in these are some pre 64 coins in case they can be bartered. It's $2 face in one and $5 face in the other. I'm not keen on burying anything in the back yard like that. However my messy garage is a literal silver mine! I have no kids - so which ever niece or nephew goes through here will have fun.

 

[StarPD45]

Another thing about "safe" deposit boxes is when you die, the government "officials" will freeze access to the box until they can "check it out".

There used to be, and maybe still is, a way around this. It's called a nominee corporation, set up by a lawyer. The box is rented in the name of the corporation. The only place your name shows up is on the signature cards.
Of course, the last time I had read about this was pre-Patriot Act, so who knows?
As to where to hide metals, the sky's the limit. Just think outside the box, and as was mentioned above, keep a list. I guess I don't have to mention that the list shouldn't be where someone might "accidentally" find it.

 

[KingM]

Just think outside the box, and as was mentioned above, keep a list. I guess I don't have to mention that the list shouldn't be where someone might "accidentally" find it.

This is the problem I have with those *&%! online passwords. You have to use different ones in case one account gets hacked, which means you need a list. But as soon as you have a list you're at risk of either losing it or having it stolen and then someone has all your account information in one handy location.

 

[scramble4a5]

I don't have a lot but what I do have is in my fireproof safe at home. It's in my basement and weighs over 100 pounds. They would kill themselves trying to cart this thing upstairs. I suppose they could beat the crap out of it with a crow bar but that would make a lot of noise and take a long time.

 

[Inor]

I have no problem keeping it at home. I figure I kept my wife and kids at home for years, until the kids moved out on their own. They are far more valuable to me than some gold and silver. Plus, about a third of the weight of sterling we have is actually in flatware. (We have five different sets.) Since Mrs Inor uses it sometimes, it would do no good to have it locked in a bank somewhere. Mrs Inor also has quite a bit of expensive jewelry as well and that is useless too if locked in a box inside a bank.

The other problem I have with keeping it in a bank is not that the government would seize it outright, but rather that they would know about it at all. If they know about it, they will eventually get around to taxing it. Given the recent NSA and IRS activities, I have been trying to keep as many transactions as I can "off the books", even for mundane things like food and clothing.

 

[scramble4a5]

I have no problem keeping it at home. I figure I kept my wife and kids at home for years, until the kids moved out on their own. They are far more valuable to me than some gold and silver. Plus, about a third of the weight of sterling we have is actually in flatware. (We have five different sets.) Since Mrs Inor uses it sometimes, it would do no good to have it locked in a bank somewhere. Mrs Inor also has quite a bit of expensive jewelry as well and that is useless too if locked in a box inside a bank.

The other problem I have with keeping it in a bank is not that the government would seize it outright, but rather that they would know about it at all. If they know about it, they will eventually get around to taxing it. Given the recent NSA and IRS activities, I have been trying to keep as many transactions as I can "off the books", even for mundane things like food and clothing.

Agreed. I am paying cash for my pms and ammo.

 

[PalmettoTree]

A good safe at home. If you have enough it will be to heavy yo tote. I have a gun safe with no room for guns except a few hand guns.

 

[Inor]

Agreed. I am paying cash for my pms and ammo.

Who the hell would be crazy enough to pay money (taxed or untaxed) for PMS?!?! :razz: There were many years when I would have paid good money to avoid Mrs Inor's PMS.

 

[Prepadoodle]

Get some pieces of steel bar say, 1 1/5" X 3" X 3/8" and have them silver plated. (or just paint them silver) Hide them under the bed in a cigar box clearly marked "Silver Bars."

When someone breaks in, they will grab these and run away, never bothering to look for the real silver.

 

[PrepperDogs]

If you stored them in an ammo can, like many people do, how would anyone know?

 

[scramble4a5]

Who the hell would be crazy enough to pay money (taxed or untaxed) for PMS?!?! :razz: There were many years when I would have paid good money to avoid Mrs Inor's PMS.

Call me crazy, but only slightly. I only have a coupe of handfuls.

 

[Inor]

Call me crazy, but only slightly. I only have a coupe of handfuls.

Sorry, it was a sad attempt at a play on words. - PMS: pre-menstrual syndrome.

 

[PaulS]

Well, I got it and was hoping that Mrs. Inor has a sense of humor.
I can say things like that to my wife but it would hurt her to have me say things like that about her to others.

 

[Inor]

Well, I got it and was hoping that Mrs. Inor has a sense of humor.
I can say things like that to my wife but it would hurt her to have me say things like that about her to others.

Mrs Inor has a GREAT sense of humor.

 

[scramble4a5]

Sorry, it was a sad attempt at a play on words. - PMS: pre-menstrual syndrome.

Hah I missed that! But putting in an apostrophe isn't really proper. I've been married 22 years and already have an ample supply of PMS.

 

[Montana Rancher]

If you stored them in an ammo can, like many people do, how would anyone know?

The problem being is in today's world a ammo can is a very desirable commodity to a thief and would be searched in a new yor minute.

I choose to bolt down a serious safe to the down stairs cement floor and call it good, serious is a 1/4" plate door and 1200 pounds in weight.

 

[PaulS]

I have base boards that slip off. You can't see where they are and even the police and criminals rarely start tearing of base boards to look for anything. It's a perfect place to keep precious metals.