Hiding your jewelry and valuables in a place that is not secure, such as a dresser drawer or jewelry box, may not provide sufficient protection. Burglars often target these areas first because they know that jewelry is commonly kept there. 

If you do choose to hide your jewelry in your home, make sure the hiding place is not easily discoverable. For example, do not hide your jewelry in a typical hiding spot like a sock drawer or under your mattress. Instead, consider a more creative hiding spot that is not as obvious.

We have already written on this post about taking steps to protect your precious metals from theft. We’ve recommended keeping your gold scrap, silver scrap and platinum scrap in bank safety deposit boxes. We have also recommended keeping an inventory of your holdings and taking out insurance to protect their value in case they are stolen.

For some reason we don’t quite understand, some people who invest in precious metals think it is smart to hide them where no one will ever find them.

The question is, why is it smart to hide precious metals and conceal all the clues to where they are? If you do that, you are only inviting a lot of problems. If you pass away or become incapacitated, your heirs:

People often call us and ask for advice on how to package and ship precious metals to us for testing and recycling. When they call us, we tell them what to do, based on our years of experience. They follow our advice, nothing goes wrong, and their gold scrap, silver scrap, platinum scrap or other precious materials arrive safely at our facility.

Investing in precious gold scrap, silver scrap and platinum scrap is not gambling, for a very simple reason:

When you invest in precious metals, you are relying on experience and knowledge to reduce or even eliminate risk. When you are gambling, you can’t eliminate risk completely.

When one investor was examining a batch of thermocouple wire, for example, he was able to know what it was because he had seen the same kind of wire before. He knew how much silver was contained in the thermocouples he was looking at, and he knew what it would sell for. So he applied his experience and knowledge and made a profitable buy of silver scrap.

We recently had the opportunity to visit a metal scrapyard – one of those big outdoor places, five acres or more, that are littered with stuff like piles of aluminum windows, with machinery and even with big car and truck engines. It was quite an impressive site. And it made us realize that people can get scared when they start thinking about investing in metals of any kind.

Do you have parents who are downsizing? Or are you planning to downsize your own residence? It’s an issue that seems to be on more people’s minds in the aftermath of the covid-19 crisis.

Deciding what to keep and what to part with is a very personal matter. Certain possessions, after all, have great emotional value for you that exceeds their dollar value. So perhaps the first step to take is to identify those items and set them aside if you have no intention of getting rid of them. With them “off the table,” you can focus on finding items like these, which contain precious metals, and which can be worth quite a lot.

Don’t worry. When you call us to discuss sending your precious metals to our refinery for testing and processing, we will explain what you need to do to send them safely.

The purpose of today’s post is to help you avoid some of the more common mistakes people make when sending precious metals – and valuable items of all kinds – to other people and businesses.

Over the last weeks and months, people have been logging more time at home. And many of them have been thinking up new ways to spend their time. Some have been attending exercise classes online. Others have been taking piano classes. People are discovering all kinds of new interests and enthusiasms.

You’re someone who loves to invest in precious metals. But what have you been doing to keep yourself motivated about your investments while you’ve been logging time holed up at home?

Over the last few weeks on this blog, we’ve suggested some motivational ideas that will work, whether you invest in gold scrap, platinum scrap, palladium scrap, silver scrap, or something else. We’ve suggested, for example, that you inventory your precious metals holdings, review your 2019 tax strategies, or search your home for precious metals you might have overlooked.

It’s comforting to keep your cherished pieces of bullion and jewelry in your own home. When no one is looking, you can pull out your platinum, gold or silver items – maybe some of which also contain gemstones – and enjoy looking at them or wearing them.

There are many reasons to avoid buying stolen items of jewelry. One practical reason is that if you do buy items that were stolen, they could be confiscated by law enforcement agencies. Another, more important reason is that even if you buy “hot” items without knowing they were stolen, you are supporting a number of criminal gangs that engaged in violent crimes. Even if you buy those items from pawn shops or legitimate jewelers and have no idea that you are trading in stolen goods, you are contributing to a form of crime that is big and getting bigger.

Let’s start today’s post by asking two questions . . .

• First, a pleasant question. You own precious metals, and that is good. But do you know exactly what you own, how much they weigh, and where they are located?

• Second, an unpleasant question. If you were to die today (unpleasant!) or contract some illness that would incapacitate you for a period of time, would your heirs know exactly where to find the precious metals you own, or would they be at a loss? Or could they fail to find some of the precious metals you own?

Have you ever shopped online for miniature safes and other “safe spots” where you can hide gold, silver, platinum and other small valuables in your home?

If you have, you know that the variety of products you will discover is nothing short of amazing. When we did some online shopping recently, here are some of the products we discovered . . .

Up until a few years ago, it was difficult to see genuine videos of thieves at work. But now that security cameras are just about everywhere to record activity in public places, homes, and stores, it is easy to watch videos of thefts of all kinds. If you search for “theft” or jewel heist” on YouTube, you will find dozens of actual videos of crimes taking place.

Where to find hidden gold and other valuables under fake bottoms

Over the years, people have devised some very clever ways to hide valuables. They have buried jewel boxes in their yards, painted diamonds black to disguise them, stashed gold under floorboards, and hidden jewelry in hollowed-out banisters and behind loose bricks in the basement.