If you own physical gold, it’s essential that you choose an effective storage strategy. Assessing risks against costs when selecting the appropriate option will be necessary in selecting the most efficient approach to safekeeping it.
Professional storage investors can reap the rewards of safe, fully insured bullion vaults that feature independent third-party audits for full protection and instant resale with low fees for storage.
Safes
If you possess a significant amount of bullion, investing in a safe can be wise. Safes provide an affordable means of safeguarding valuables against theft or loss while giving peace of mind in case of disaster strikes.
However, this method has some drawbacks. First of all, investing in a safe large enough for your bullion requires additional investment; secondly, bank safes are only open during business hours which limits accessibility.
Home storage entails additional risks of theft and natural disaster, with fire, floods, tornadoes and earthquakes as potential risks to gold stored there. It is wise to insure your precious metals against theft if stored there in case these occur; additionally, any such storage should remain hidden from anyone other than yourself and trusted confidantes; avoid keeping them visible such as fake cookie jars or books with cutouts for this purpose.
Vaults
Storage at home is an ideal solution for smaller collections who are comfortable with the security risks involved. One method for doing so would be using a safe or gun locker in an obscure place where thieves won’t easily discover it, while other strategies include hiding coins in PVC tubes with caps and even burying them (provided that this doesn’t accidentally lead to someone discovering it and causes erosion to their surface over time).
One option for offsite storage of gold is using a bullion depository or vaulting service, which offers more secure offsite storage options than standard home safes. Unfortunately, however, they typically come with storage fees and often require you to travel or call ahead before withdrawing it from storage. Bullion depositories also provide segregated or unallocated options with segregated being the more secure but more costly solution.
Security Boxes
If you store gold coins at home, investing in a safe is wise to safeguard their investment from burglars – as most homeowner insurance policies don’t cover precious metals.
Security boxes offer another solution, though their use violates the one confidant rule most investors tend to abide by.
An alternative solution for bullion storage is banking vaults. As these institutions specialize in buying, selling, leasing, and lending bullion bars they are more cost-effective at accommodating larger chunks at lower costs than private vaults; making this method of storage an economic alternative to home storage options; however they often charge fees and limit your access to metals stored with them.
At-Home Storage
Even with its inherent risks, some gold investors choose to store bullion at home. This method may prove convenient when handling smaller amounts, yet still poses several unique obstacles.
At-home storage of gold exposes investors to natural disasters that are usually not covered by homeowners or renters insurance policies, including fires, floods and other natural calamities that can do irreparable damage to an investment.
Home storage exposes investors to theft. Storing bullion bars and coins in closets or under mattresses may seem convenient, but this makes it easier for a burglar to gain entry and steal it. Furthermore, breaking this one-confidant rule may result in even more people becoming aware that you own bullion.
Private vault storage providers provide superior protection and care for their customer investments while being more cost-efficient than safe deposit boxes, since they don’t limit hours like banks do.
