Apart from midnight-gardening, what are some of the truly safe and cost-effective storage methods for gold and silver bullion?
This is for core bullion with no numismatic value. I am looking specifically for bullion storage so any suggestions regarding e-Gold/Gold funds can be avoided.
I used to open safes and vaults for a large US bank and have a fair bit of professional experience breaking into safes/vaults (legally).
I would avoid safe deposit boxes many banks keep poor records and I have seen way to many safe deposit boxes that were drilled and opened accidentally (wrong box number written on entry card happened fairly often).
Things to look for in a safe for gold and silver.
Thick door and side walls the thicker the better.
Door must have a bar or bars that when the door is shut the bars interlock with the walls to prevent prying. Many cheap safes
The other consideration I would have is that it is important that you hide the location of the safe as best as possible.If a thief can't find it they can't steal it. Also if you are planning on storing documents or other things that could burn it would be a good idea to get a fire rated safe.
I don't think there is anything that will 100% protect your stuff from getting stolen but with a decent safe and some reasonable precautions you can thwart all but the most ambitious and skilled criminals.
Wherever you end up storing it just make sure you don't tell anyone. You can't know how little secrets can slowly spread, especially over many years. You don't want someone vaguely connected to you try to rob you when they're really desperate.
Hide it in plain sight. A thief would look in obvious places (like a safe or the refrigerator) first. Use your imagination, and don't tell anyone except maybe your spouse, or in your will.
Something like unscrewing the bottom of a vegetable juicer you don't use, putting a bag of silver in there, and screwing the bottom back on. More elaborate would be opening up a wall panel, putting some in there, and then repairing the panel so that it looked untouched.
(Please don't break into my house to take my juicer. There's nothing there.)
The safest place would be inside of a safe deposit box.
You should consult with your insurance agent about insuring the bullion. You need insurance whether you keep bullion in a box or at home. Insurance companies may have specific storage requirements in order to store bullion over a certain amount.
If you are concealing the existence of the bullion for tax or some other purpose you have no legal recourse.
A safe from a reputable manufacturer is a definite necessity. Also, take a good insurance policy to protect against any theft if it ever happens. It is also a good idea (depending on the additional expense required) to save the bullion in more than one safes. That way you can spread out the risk.
What about allocated (or even unallocated) storage in a vault - I know very little about it myself except but you own numbered bars (or rights to a percentage in the case of unallocated) in a vault. Worth mentioning anyway I think. Here's the first link I found it may help
You can store it in a house, but I wouldn't feel that's safe enough. A safe deposit box in multiple banks(possibly multiple locations) is your best bet for storing gold bullion.
I got a small used TL-30 rated safe from a store that was closing for pretty cheap. There's several online stores that sell used safes and you might have some local locksmith/security shops that do as well.
I think as long as you bolt it down and don't plan to store millions in it that's a good way to go.
