Why You Should Never Hide Precious Metals in Your Home
If you do some searching online for “best places to hide precious metals,” you will find dozens of articles that offer advice on the smartest places to hide precious metals in your residence.
We would like to offer a slightly contrarian opinion . . .
There are no smart places to hide precious metals in your home
Why? It’s because in our opinion, it cannot be smart to hide gold, silver and other precious metals in your home . . . it is a fundamentally dumb thing to do.
To support that opinion, let’s examine what is wrong with hiding precious metals in some of the places that “experts” are recommending online . . .
In a Big Home Safe
It is difficult for thieves to open safes, and most of them are too big and heavy for thieves to pick up and lug away. Yet the fact remains that if thieves see a safe, they can be sure that they have found a place where you are keeping precious items. So in effect, a safe leads thieves directly to the precious items that you do not want them to find. And how can that be intelligent? You might say that safes can be hidden behind walls, under floors, etc. But be assured, smart thieves, know how to find them.
In Holes Behind Walls, Beneath Stairs, Under Concrete Floors
Over the years, many people have hidden precious metal items in these nooks in their homes. They believe that crooks will not find them. And while that could be true, hiding precious metal items in this way is unwise. One reason is that if you die or become incapacitated, nobody else will be able to find the items you have hidden. Another reason is that if your home burns down, those items will probably be lost. So while sticking precious metal items in small places around your house might seem to make sense, it doesn’t.
Behind False Electrical Outlets, in Hollowed-Out Books, in Fake Beer Cans
These hiding places are so popular that you can buy them online. Are they a good place to hide valuable small items? Possibly, if you are lucky. If you are not lucky, thieves will find them anyway and steal your metals. Or you will die or become incapacitated before you tell your heirs about these hiding places, and their contents will be lost forever.
So, What Are the Smart Choices?
Now things become easier because there are only a few smart choices.
For smaller items, use bank safety deposit boxes. They are secure, convenient to access, and easy to document in your estate documents. Just be sure to let your family members, attorney and other important people know the location of your box so they will be able to access it if they have to.
For larger quantities of bullion, coins, and other valuables, use a precious metals storage facility. They are secure. Some will even pick up precious metals from you and drive them securely to the location where they will be stored. Again, be sure to let your family members, attorney, and other appropriate people know about where you have stored your items.
For your precious scrap metals, let Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners take care of your storage needs. To learn more and set up an account, call us at 800-426-2344 to discuss your storage options. And if you choose to store your scrap with us until it is recycled, we recommend providing full information to your heirs and attorney.
Related Posts
What Are the Safest Places to Store Precious Metals?
Precious Metal Alert: Are You Protecting Your Precious Metal Holdings from Pilfering?
Open Things Up, Find Precious Metals, Make Money
Checklist of Places to Look for Precious Metals in Your Home