-- Posted 27 January, 2010 | | Discuss This Article - Comments:

After amassing a collection of silver coins, you quickly realize you have to find a place to store it – quickly.  There are a number of ways and places to safely and discretely store your silver to protect it from corrosion, as well as theft.

Never Store Bullion in Safety Deposit Boxes

Anyone who lived through the Great Depression will tell you that a safety deposit box is one of the worst places to store bullion.  Although safety deposit boxes are generally regarded as being the safest place to store valuables, it isn't always safe from the law.  In 1933, then President Franklin D. Roosevelt made it illegal for US citizens to own more than $100 worth of gold. 

As a result, safety deposit boxes of wealthy individuals were seized, and federal marshals were deployed into private banks to watch customers open their boxes.  The contents were routinely examined, and the gold was immediately converted into paper currency.  Very few gold coins survived the era, and the few that did are so rare that they fetch anywhere from $2000 to $30,000 each. 

Although silver was never made illegal to own, the possibility is most certainly there, especially in times of extreme hardship.

Don't Bury Precious Metals

Avid silver collectors and “gold bugs” recommend burying silver and gold as a means to protect it from unsuspecting robbers and the government should bullion again be made illegal to possess.  Unfortunately, burying silver is hardly a good idea, as it is a metal most prone to corrosion and loss of value.  In fact, silver investors should handle their pure silver holdings as little as possible; even the oils from your own skin will tarnish and devalue the silver content. 

Besides corrosion, many people bury silver only to forget its location or move without recovering the silver.  Year after year, news headlines showcase the huge hoards of paper money and bullion left behind during the Great Depression – only to be found by new lucky homeowners. 

Although you may think it’s hard to leave a cache of precious metals behind, most buried silver remains buried for years and becomes merely an afterthought when moving to a new home.

A Bolted Safe is Best

There is no better solution to safely storing your silver than the ownership of a heavy safe in your own home.  Not only is it in your possession at all times (unlike a safety deposit box), it is also kept safe from the elements and is incredibly difficult to steal. 

Ideally, the safe should be bolted to the ground in the least elevated part of the home, such as the basement.  Storing your silver in a basement safe ensures that any potential burglar will have to either pick the safe or move the safe and then carry your treasures up a flight of stairs before exiting.  Although there is no such thing as 100% security, making theft a difficult task increases the time it takes to steal your belongings – thus increasing the chance the thief will be caught red-handed.

Holding physical silver in today’s inflationary economy is a smart strategy, and finding the right place to store your investments will help protect your wealth.