Safe for Secure Storage of Coin Albums 0

[124Spider]

Hi,

It seems that my collection has reached the point where I should have it in a fireproof safe.

I'm looking for recommendations, from personal experience, for a safe that can hold albums 9-1/2" high, with about 30" of shelf space.  It should be fireproof, and it should be heavy enough that a burglar can't just carry it out of the house. It also should be something that is convenient to get into, since I do like looking at my albums.

Thanks!

Mark

[JT2]

Spider Here is what i did.  I got 2 GunVault safes and removed the rife rak parts.  and since the sides had the shelving strips to hang shelves i cut some 3/4 playwood and made like 6 shelves in each one they are adjustable and can hold slab boxes, notebooks,  boxes and danscos.   Just a thought. 

[JKK]

I don't think fireproof really exists. Rather, it's a question of fire rating duration.

If you want to make it hard to carry out, have it bolted to the floor. However, do realize that in the case of a fire, if there were large amounts of water hosed onto it, it's not unimaginable that some might get in through that hole. Also, location matters. Put it somewhere that it's not very easy to get a long prybar under it. The longer the prybar, the more force it can apply to the other side of the fulcrum.

Most people get safes with electronic locks, but I personally don't like the idea of something that can become inaccessible because of a dead battery or fried electronics. Anything in the world can be hacked if it's electronic. My dial safe can be dialed with great patience and skill, but it's not going to get opened remotely by anyone with anything.

If you want to get really clever, get a second, smaller, cheapie safe and put it in a very obvious place in a home office. Put in several sheets of modern pennies or something, just so they'll hear something moving when they cart it out. The criminals will probably steal the whole safe and take it away to open at leisure, and they may bolt on out of there immediately thinking they made a big hit. Resist the temptation to leave a mocking note inside. Especially resist the temptation to leave something less friendly inside.

[Coinbuf]

@JKK is correct a fire safe is not completely fire safe, it is rated to last an amount of time up to a certain intensity/temperature level.   The effectiveness or ineffectiveness of fire safes was well demonstrated in 2018 during the Paradise CA fire.  A member of the forum ats was unfortunately a victim of that fire where his house was totally destroyed by the fire, here is a photo he posted of the contents of one safe after he was allowed to return to his home.  Granted this was a very intense fire but as you can see from the photo things were in bad shape, he also had another safe that had a lower fire rating and there was nothing but ashes in that safe.

I'm not saying that you should not get one, just be aware that nothing, not even the very best safe is truly fire proof.

 

[Just Bob]

18 hours ago, Coinbuf said:

@JKK is correct a fire safe is not completely fire safe, it is rated to last an amount of time up to a certain intensity/temperature level.   The effectiveness or ineffectiveness of fire safes was well demonstrated in 2018 during the Paradise CA fire.  A member of the forum ats was unfortunately a victim of that fire where his house was totally destroyed by the fire, here is a photo he posted of the contents of one safe after he was allowed to return to his home.  Granted this was a very intense fire but as you can see from the photo things were in bad shape, he also had another safe that had a lower fire rating and there was nothing but ashes in that safe.

I'm not saying that you should not get one, just be aware that nothing, not even the very best safe is truly fire proof.

 

Here is a link to the thread that Joe posted on this forum about the fire and his safes. 

CLICK HERE

[Mactanboy]

On 2/10/2021 at 12:39 PM, JT2 said:

Spider Here is what i did.  I got 2 GunVault safes and removed the rife rak parts.  and since the sides had the shelving strips to hang shelves i cut some 3/4 playwood and made like 6 shelves in each one they are adjustable and can hold slab boxes, notebooks,  boxes and danscos.   Just a thought. 

Like JT2, I bought a large gun safe and removed rack parts and added plywood shelves covered with nice felt that matched the shelves that came with the safe. My desire is to protect the items from theft, so it is bolted down. We have a fire station less than 1/4 mile from our house. That said, if a thief or fire has unlimited time to do their business, few "safes" will be safe! You might also consider a home alarm, coin insurance, and keep a detailed list of coins on the iCloud. Good luck!

[124Spider]

9 minutes ago, Mactanboy said:

Like JT2, I bought a large gun safe and removed rack parts and added plywood shelves covered with nice felt that matched the shelves that came with the safe. My desire is to protect the items from theft, so it is bolted down. We have a fire station less than 1/4 mile from our house. That said, if a thief or fire has unlimited time to do their business, few "safes" will be safe! You might also consider a home alarm, coin insurance, and keep a detailed list of coins on the iCloud. Good luck!

Yeah, we have a very good alarm system, so it is unlikely that a burglar would have a lot of time inside the house to play.  And I do know that "fireproof" really is only "resistant" for a period of time.

We do have a large gun safe with a number of shelves; we're thinking about moving things not of great monetary value (documents) to a second, smaller safe, and putting the coins on a shelf of the gun safe.

[Woods020]

They aren’t cheap, but look at American Security (Am Sec) BF series. I did a lot of research before I bought mine, and they have a 2 hour rating that is third party certified. Many of the stated fire ratings are in-house tests and not independently verified. And they are good looking safes to boot. There is a video somewhere of someone opening one in the mentioned California fire after having to let it cool for a week, the the contents were saved. The shelf was warped from the glue inside the particle board softening, and a little soot, but in great shape. 
 

Like coinbuf I am a fan of traditional mechanical locks. They never wear out and don’t carry the mentioned risks. 
 

*I think I read that they are moving to BFX to replace the BF series, but I don’t know the enhancements in the new series. 

Edited February 13, 2021 by Woods020