Safe-guarding your cards

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Posted By: scott (runscott)

I have been debating this for a couple of years now - insurance, safety deposit box or safe? I didn't like insurance because my collection is very volatile and most insurance policies for items like this require riders with a list of items and photos. I don't like safetly deposit boxes because I like to have fast access to all items. So today I bought an extremely heavy fireproof (sort of), waterproof safe.

Thoughts on this?

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Disclaimer
I apologize in advance if the above post has in any way offended anyone other than a specifically identified target. I also apologize in advance if reading the above post has been a waste of time for someone whose time is worth more than mine.

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Posted By: Julie Vognar

That way you can keep them in the house. Nobody ever steals anything from us (since Chris graduated from high school, and his friends stopped raiding my BB card collection--the part in his room only). Maybe they take one look at the living room and decide "forget it." (Actually, computers, a TV, VCR and new turntable--hey, those old records sound WONDERFUL) are visable from the door.)

i know a lot of people keep their cards in a safe deposit box, but--no way. Lew Lipset was talking about 18 years ago about the great T202 set he had in the bank, and how he was going to break it up soon. When he did, many of the cards had red mold on them. Speaking of THIN CARDBOARD, the T202 is the perfect example. From the VCBC thread, I still consider T202s cardboard--they're at least twice as thick as paper.

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Posted By: Jeff Obermeyer

Some homeowners insurance policies will cover your collectibles without a rider. You may need to purchase additional coverage, however, as your policy limit may not be enough to cover all of your personal property PLUS your collection in the event of a total loss (generally a fire).

Safety deposit boxes are a good idea as well... but remember, the bank doesn't insure the contents. Your homeowners policy will cover items damaged or destroyed (by named perils only) in a safety deposit box. Convenience is the big problem though... I have one, but don't use it for my collection - but I do keep my COA's and all of my documentation there. This includes a complete inventory of my collection along with digital photos, all on 3.5" discs. That way if the house ever does burn down, there's no worry that the safe contents are melted/singed.

Safes are also great. The heavier, the better. Most theives want to get in and out quick, and aren't going to spend the time on a 200+ pound safe.

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Posted By: leon

I had a 1200 lb jewelers safe built into a hidden, monitored room when we built our house. Great idea if you can swing it. It has a rating of TL15 which means that you can only open it at best in 15 minutes with a blow torch (if you know what you are doing ).......thought about the safety deposit box but then how often would I see them? Haven't seriously looked into the insurance thing because of the obvious caveats/////regards all

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Posted By: Elliot

Leon, they can use the blow torch to melt the ice wall in your Igloo.

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Posted By: John(z28jd)

I also use a fireproof safe,except for my post 1980 and up cards which i have in the 800 count white boxes and i stack them up high and sleep in the middle of them(man,i wish that was a joke)

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Posted By: Dan Mathewson

I think the added security of a safe is a great idea, Scott. I told you earlier about my insurance for my cards. It is a good policy. It is inexpensive ($201 per year for $65K of coverage, virtually all-peril).

But, nevertheless, even if my stuff is insured...i STILL don't want it stolen or damaged! I don't care if they cover the costs. I wouldn't sell my collection for 10x its worth, so why would I just be happy with its market cost? The insurance is just for the fiscal responsibility to myself. I wouldn't be out the money, but I may never get my cards back. And, that would suck big-time. So, the safe is a GREAT idea.

-dan

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Posted By: Dr.Richard Koos

.....My wife, the Devil's daughter herself, actually one part of the drawbacks on the "deal" I swung with the Grim Reaper for Eternal Life...the other: having to buy $21,500 worth of PRO graded cards (remember: In card collector's Hell there are only Pro, AAA, and NASA graded cards available), could open that friggin'* safe in 5 minutes! With a Cigarette-lighter!!...IF she even SUSPECTED that I was hiding either a Coors-coaster with a woman's phone number written on it, or my itemized cell-phone bill in there!!!

*(tm)friggin' used by permission of T-Bob.

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Posted By: scott (runscott)

1,200 pounds!?! That's great - does it double as an air-raid shelter?

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Posted By: warshawlaw

Back in '94 I had a condo in the part of L.A. that got hit very badly in the earthquake. Looking at my place immediately afterwards, I knew that the city would condemn it as unsafe (four years in construction law at the time, with thousands of property inspections in the process). So, I unloaded my 200#+ safe of my cards and took them, my clothes and my cat with me to my parents' house in another part of town. I left that heavy bastard safe behind, especially since it was bolted to the deck and getting it out of there would have been really rough with all the debris blocking the way.

When I came back with the FEMA inspector a few weeks later, the whole complex had been burglarized. They stole the freakin' safe, ripped it right out of the concrete. I would love to have seen their faces when they opened it to find nothing but air.

Sooooo, the moral of the story is that I insure and safety deposit box my good cards now. I am confident that State Farm will pay off (whether voluntarily or by force) if there is a disaster. While I'd love to have the good stuff at home, the main fear I have of having my collection at home is a home invasion robbery. Once you are known to have a valuable at home, the odds go way up that some gang will hear and seek it out. That's another reason for keeping the good stuff at the bank.

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Posted By: Dan Mathewson

I still want to reiterate, though, that the policy I was just provided by NAC is an awesome policy. It is virtually all-peril and has great rates. I think anyone thinking about collector coverage that isn't covered under their homeowners (like me) should give it a look.

-dan

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Posted By: Julie Vognar

which is winging my way, he said, i should buy a firproof safe. I think we think more in terms of disaster thasn thieves.

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Posted By: scott (runscott)

and added weight for anti-thief protection. Fire-resistant isn't going to do you much good without water-proof as well (duh - they use water to put out the fires)

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Disclaimer
I apologize for the previous disclaimer, but that is in no way an admission of guilt or intention to pay reparations for mental damages that may have been suffered while reading my disclaimers.

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Posted By: Eric

My vote is for a 2,000 pound Chuck Yeager safe - dead bolted to the floor!

I tried putting my cards in the wall safe behind the Monet but the collection just wouldn't fit!!

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Posted By: Dan Mathewson

Geez, Eric, never put your safe behind the bidet...!

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Posted By: marty

1500 pound safe.
A coin dealer told me that he knew of someone who had a large safe in a back room. Someone with a tow truck backed up to the front window, run a chain through the house and around the safe and pulled the safe onto the truck and left in just a very short time. It is best to not let the general public know what you have and where it is.

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Posted By: Wile E.Coyote

....in the safe dressed in some of your clothes for an even more riotous, anti-climatic ending when the thieves that heisted it, finally cracked it open!!!!