Safe to protect Stack

[Muscipula]

Hello All, 

My stack has grown to a level where I want to purchase a safe to protect it. Having read this forum and others, I understand the following:

1. Heavier = better

2. Bolted to the ground, or can simply be rolled away with a dolly into a van/truck

3. Other option is to hide the safe, floor safe etc

4. Not tell anyone, ever, that you stack gold/silver (this screams to me as the most important one, hard times can make even the best friend an enemy)

 

I'm pretty sure I'm going for a combination of the above. A large, heavy safe, bolted to the ground, with another small separate 'hidden' floor safe, so all my eggs aren't in one basket.

When it comes to purchasing the safe - I'm worried to simply order a big safe online. Perhaps I'm being paranoid, but seems such as good way to obtain addresses/names of those wanting to protect valuables, by a staff member/courier recording the addresses that these safes are delivered to, not to mention the delivery driver on the day.

Am I right to be this paranoid? I'm instead trying to find somewhere local that sells 50-100kg+ safes, and renting a van for the day so I can collect/install it myself.

Any tips/advice would be most appreciated.

Cheers.

[HelpingHands]

Maybe look if any are coming up in auctions.

If they are difficult to move then there might not be many competing bidders.

Then if you win you can arrange how to collect it.

 

[Muscipula]

46 minutes ago, HelpingHands said:

Maybe look if any are coming up in auctions.

If they are difficult to move then there might not be many competing bidders.

Then if you win you can arrange how to collect it.

 

Good point, will take a look, thanks!

[TringSilver]

Yes if you don't want your address details out there then maybe buy on eBay and collect as I doubt many would want to deliver anyway. 

Re the weight, if you want it heavy enough to stop it being taken away easily you may need a helper which then compromises you telling anyone remember.

Fixings are key, make sure you fix it with the correct hardware and you will need a good place for it of course with suitable substrates. 

Might be an opportunity to reduce insurance with a decent safe but then make sure it has the appropriate insurance rating. 

[iggypop]

This was a deal breaker  when making the decision Gold/Silver, don’t have much myself but for portability/hide ability gold   is so much easier than its equivalent weight of Silver. 
 

this example is a bit extreme though 😉

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-europe-38072135

[Foster88]

47 minutes ago, iggypop said:

This was a deal breaker  when making the decision Gold/Silver, don’t have much myself but for portability/hide ability gold   is so much easier than its equivalent weight of Silver. 
 

this example is a bit extreme though 😉

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-europe-38072135

A little extreme, yes, but it wasn’t stolen was it. Maybe there’s something in the saying, ‘hidden in plain sight’. 🤔

[iggypop]

True 👍 have a garage etc think old rusty  car/ bicycle numerous hollow tubes etc that can be stuffed get creative,

Anything  hidden inside another metallic object also deters a metal detector!! 

[Goldmiester]

Best option is to always store it in a secure location away from your home (bank vault or similar).

[iggypop]

fake tins of beans 🤣 

if it ever becomes Mad Max out there? 
Thieves  would probably be more interested in the beans to eat before PMs? 

[Goldmiester]

5 minutes ago, iggypop said:

fake tins of beans 🤣 

if it ever becomes Mad Max out there? 
Thieves  would probably be more interested in the beans to eat before PMs? 

The stuff he puts in there is absolutely useless lol.

[silenceissilver]

12 hours ago, Muscipula said:

Hello All, 

My stack has grown to a level where I want to purchase a safe to protect it. Having read this forum and others, I understand the following:

1. Heavier = better

2. Bolted to the ground, or can simply be rolled away with a dolly into a van/truck

3. Other option is to hide the safe, floor safe etc

4. Not tell anyone, ever, that you stack gold/silver (this screams to me as the most important one, hard times can make even the best friend an enemy)

 

I'm pretty sure I'm going for a combination of the above. A large, heavy safe, bolted to the ground, with another small separate 'hidden' floor safe, so all my eggs aren't in one basket.

When it comes to purchasing the safe - I'm worried to simply order a big safe online. Perhaps I'm being paranoid, but seems such as good way to obtain addresses/names of those wanting to protect valuables, by a staff member/courier recording the addresses that these safes are delivered to, not to mention the delivery driver on the day.

Am I right to be this paranoid? I'm instead trying to find somewhere local that sells 50-100kg+ safes, and renting a van for the day so I can collect/install it myself.

Any tips/advice would be most appreciated.

Cheers.

I think you are right to be this paranoid. It won't be an issue with most online orders but it will be with some and why not avoiding this risk. Data can get hacked, it might be someone in the company itself, you don't want to risk that.

Another thing to think about, can your neighbours see you are transporting a safe? You might want to wrap some packaging material (or even just a few big bin bags) around it so it could be something else, e.g. a fridge or whatever. However, depending on how much you struggle to get it inside, they could possibly figure out it's too heavy for a fridge or whatever.

You will need a sack barrow and straps and should make sure the sack barrow will carry the required weight, beforehand. How many steps do you have? If the safe tips over, things will get very messy, particularly if you are alone. Although one person could get even a 200kg safe over a few steps on a sack barrow, it would be somewhat dangerous even with 100kg (and probably even with 50kg).

You will also need a wooden board to get it over steps and even door sills (that you might destroy with just rolling over them with a lot of weight). For the steps, you want very thick, square wooden bars to support the board.

Getting it on the sack barrow is the most difficult part if you are going for a high weight.

 

An alternative to a sack barrow are a few round iron bars to role the safe on, maybe about 2 cm thick, although personally I would prefer the sack barrow.

 

Personally, I think a 50kg safe is not heavy. I would also avoid second hand safes (do you get new ones at auctions?) Heavy starts with a quarter of a ton for me but you won't be able to move that alone (but 2 people could).

[stackerp5]

9 hours ago, silenceissilver said:

Personally, I think a 50kg safe is not heavy. I would also avoid second hand safes (do you get new ones at auctions?) Heavy starts with a quarter of a ton for me but you won't be able to move that alone (but 2 people could).

I agree. I don't own a safe due to the size of my stack, it's not that large or valuable yet.

However, I believe the weight of the stack will definitely add to the carry weight of the safe. A bolted quarter ton safe + stack weight, wouldn't that be overkill? I am asking genuinely out of inexperience  

[silenceissilver]

2 hours ago, stackerp5 said:

I agree. I don't own a safe due to the size of my stack, it's not that large or valuable yet.

However, I believe the weight of the stack will definitely add to the carry weight of the safe. A bolted quarter ton safe + stack weight, wouldn't that be overkill? I am asking genuinely out of inexperience  

The heavier, the saver. There are stackers out there recommending safes weighing 4 quarters of a ton. But of course, you would need to be Hercules to move that alone.

[iggypop]

Guys not to be too dramatic, they don’t have to move it, they just need to  persuade you to open it. 
what if you had several smaller safes? You could give up one and save some of your stash. 
When we where toddlers Mum wouldn’t keep all the biscuits in the same place!!! 

[iggypop]

Is it not business advice? 
“Don’t  keep all your eggs in one basket”

[Robda1986]

Get some dummy / fake bars coins keep them in an accessible place and keep the real stuff somewhere else and if the neighbours question what your trying to move just tell them it's a washing machine 

[danmc82]

IMO hiding is better than a safe. Best if you can do both. Hide the safe the best you can.

[RacerCool]

Maybe just build a safe in place, in the floor. If you know how to weld then buy some thick quality steel plates and create a safe. Then pour concrete around it.

Sure it can be broken into but only by the most determined professional thieves, who will also probably be able to get into whatever carry-able safe you could buy. It'll deter 99% of everyone else. 

[Muscipula]

Many thanks for the replies all. I have much to consider!

 

 

[Connor]

You can buy safes in most hardware shops, just go and buy one yourself and put a dust sheet or something over it when you take it in the house. I'd rather stop an intruder before they get to the point of having access to a safe though, so maybe consider your home security as a whole, not just the safe. Lighting, cameras, alarms, secure windows and doors, blind spots behind vegetation etc. Prevention is better than cure. 

And make sure your insurance policies are robust and up to date. Would you be covered for fire damage etc?