Storing Cards in a Lockbox... Advice Please!
 

I have several raw cards that I would like to store long term in my lockbox at the bank but I'm unsure if there are "proper" ways to do this. Should I place them in individual protective sleeves, hard protectors, or just leave them stacked without sleeves? Are there any problems with storing cards long term like this and/or any unforeseen potential hazards?

Also, if anyone can give me any tips on storing Morgan dollars and Krugerrands long term as well.... I had planned on placing them in the snap-lock, individual coin holders. If I'm missing something here, PLEASE let me know. Thanks a million! - Mike Schulze

storing raw cards in a safe deposit box
 

I have quite a few raw cards in my safe deposit box. I have them in ultra pro toploaders, with penny sleeves housing the cards in them. Just stack 'em up after that. Seems to have worked for the last 10 yrs for me. I feel a bit more protected in having my (to me) expensive ones there instead of my home safe.

As for the coins, sorry, I have no experience with them. I would guess what you are saying, as long as the snap-lock holders are preservation type, is fine. Good luck and happy collecting.

Thanks Leon! I was worried that there may be some other precautions that I should take that I hadn't thought of yet. Thanks for the info. -Mike

Mike,

Something that I do is place all of my cards in large, Ziploc bags before I put them in the safe-deposit box. Box of my boxes at the bank are near the floor, and I figure if there's ever a flood, those boxes aren't waterproof. Maybe the plastic bags wouldn't help in that situation, but I figure they don't hurt.

Rob

Get a fire-proof safe and store it all at home, you can look at them any time you want. My $.02

That's what I did. Bought a Superior (made by Champion) gun safe. It's approx 5' high, 3' wide and 2' deep. The fire rating is 1500 degrees for 60 minutes. It has 14 locking bolts and weighs 800 lbs. so nobody will be carting it off.

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...l/P2150072.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...l/P2150075.jpg
http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...l/P2150076.jpg

Guns and Cards together at last... :)

I did that but....
 

I have a 1200 pound jewelers safe which has a monitored alarm at home. However, my concern was a fire (plastic tends to melt) or worse yet, some yaahoo knowing I have cards and coming to my door with a gun. I feel so much better spending $8 a month for my large safe deposit box. I still have a lot of my less valuable stuff at home....And I have a nice website with most of my cards on it to look at. To each their own though.....Whatever makes ya' sleep good at night is what you should do. Happy collecting. regards

I have a fire proof safe at the house but my homeowner's insurance only covers collectibles up to $2500... they'll jump to $5k if you itemize everything, take photos, then submit to them for their records. My wife just inherited about $4k in crystal figurines that are now on display in the dang china cabinet I had to buy her. So, I figured I'd take any card valued over $500 and put them in the lockbox, along with my coins, and leave everything else in the safe at home. My insurance agent has helped me out in the past but now we need to just get some of the smaller, more valuable items off the premises.

Leon, that's why you have to answer the door with a gun. :D

Reminds me of this scene from Godfather II
<div style="width:617px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/photos/bruno-kirby-the-godfather-part-ii-kirby-as-clemenza-6360359"><img src="http://content9.flixster.com/photo/63/60/35/6360359_gal.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com">Flixster</a> - Share Movies</div></div>

This is unintentionally hilarious. Look at how Rob cares for his cards; if his wife's jewelry were in that box do you think they'd be getting the anti-imaginary flood contingency treatment?

Jewelry?

I think it's a shame that one of the items we so enjoy looking at, has to be kept away from our eyes to be safe.

We should be thankful we live in the digital age, where we can see an exact likeness of our treasures without fear of them being robbed.

That said, I find the act of scanning and naming cards to be one of the most boring activities ever.

I was thinking about getting some digital picture frames and setting them to slide show mode with pictures of my favorite cards and hanging a few around the house. Has anyone done this? If so, is it cheesy or cool?

Of course, there's nothing like the smell and touch of a nice T3 :)

I have the moisture-collecting packages (I can't remember what they are called at this moment) in the safe deposit box with my cards. I haven't seen any signs of moisture in there, but they are there just in case.... It is also a good idea to keep them in your safe if you have one...

Silica packets...I *think*

Regards,

Richard.

Yeah, I realized that as soon as I wrote it.....

When a person dies, the contents of the decedent's lock box would be inventoried. If there were 6 rare coins in there, then they would be listed as assets of the estate, subject to inheritance tax and estate tax.

If the 6 coins were insured, and the coins were in the lock box, then those two situations would be consistent. But if the 6 coins were scheduled on a policy and only 2 were there, then there would be concern because the 4 missing coins may well have been sold. And if they were sold, then was tax paid on the sale. And if not paid, then would the tax be levied against the estate...

Some stuff to contemplate when storing valuable coins in a safety deposit box.


And the little packages contain silica gel, a desiccant.


Plastic bags is a good idea. Banks can catch afire. Some banks have sprinkler systems... you just never know what could happen.

Thanks everyone for the ideas and some good points in Frank's post. I'm for certain going to be storing some cards in the lockbox but I'm still contemplating the coins. About a year ago, we were debating on adding an additional safe into the workshop and maybe split everything into 2 safes (one in the house, one in the shop). If I could get more insurance at a decent rate for my collectables, then this wouldn't be an issue.

Superior Gun Safe
 

Thanks for the photos, David. I've been thinking about just such a safe as an alternative to my safe deposit box for some time now, and the wife likes the idea as well as a safe place to stash her jewelry (yes, Rob, jewelry!). Good temperature resistance and too heavy for a couple of burglars to cart away. By the way, do you mind stating what you paid for the safe?

Eric, fabulous picture!

Larry

Larry,

I'll send you the information via PM. If anybody else wants to know, they can PM me as well.

David

Mike, if a fellow stored 5 coins, rare coins, in a safe at his home, and if he had them listed on a schedule for an insurance policy, and they were on the schedule for 8 years, and then he died.... when his estate was probated those 5 coins should appear in his estate, subject to inheritance tax and maybe an estate tax. If the coins aren't there, then the presumption would be that he sold them, because if they had been stolen he'd have make a claim. If they were sold, then tax records from one of those 8 years would show the sale, and the ordinary income from the sale. And if that income wasn't there, then the IRS might think that the estate should now pay what the tax would have been, and maybe a penalty. Something for a fellow to think about when scheduling stuff on a policy.

Frank, I see what you're saying. My insurance agent, whom I've known for years, has helped out a lot with my insurance policy. The $5k itemized list covers the things too large for a safe and that are displayed in our home (mostly artwork & now these darn crystal figurines). My cards and coins aren't on the radar now so maybe I'll just proceed with the additional home safe. Thanks for the info. -Mike

It's a good idea to have joint ownership of a safety box or a TOD of the contents. This, depending of what state you live in, would avoid the contents being inventoried or subject to probate. Exceptions apply, of course, state by state, one possibly being if the only copy of the will is in the box.

The estate would have to be over 3.5 mil (or did that change recently?) to be subject to inheritance tax.

I'm not a lawyer, this is just based on experience, so take it with a grain of salt.

The bottom line, for me anyway, is, I don't want the government meddling in my affairs after I'm gone, so my heirs have access to all my accounts and most are TOD.

My eyes are going crazy...
 

Is it just me, or does that safe look flush against the wall at the top, but has depth at the bottom. I was looking at it thinking I might see Willy Wonka with Mrs. Gloop at the back...

I actually have a safe like that with Shoeless Joe Jackson in it.

Take Care,
Geno

You can put Pince Albert in a can, but you cant put Shoeless Joe in a safe.

Geno,

That particular model of safe was designed by none other than MC Escher.

Mike