Your Silver Stack is Under Attack! How to Store and Protect Precious Metals

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As a precious metals investor or collector, you know the value of your silver stack. Whether you’ve invested in silver coins, bars, or rounds, protecting your precious metals is crucial to ensuring the longevity and value of your investment. Unfortunately, nobody is immune to theft, and this only becomes more true as the value of your collection increases. 

Some stats:

1. Over one million home burglaries occur in the United States each year on average.
2. A home burglary occurs every 25.7 seconds in the United States.
3. Property worth $737,294,919,165 was stolen from homes in 2021.
4. The most common type of crime in the United States is property crime.

But there’s no need to sound the alarm just yet. In this blog, we’ll discuss some of the best options for protecting and storing precious metals, so you can feel confident in your investment and rest easy knowing that your silver stack is safe and secure. I’m also going to share the #1 thing I think everybody should do before anything else. 

Let’s get started.

3 ways to keep your precious metals safe

1. Home Safe

When it comes to protecting your precious metals, one option is to invest in a home safe. While home storing precious metals can be a great option for storage and security, not all safes are created equal. Cheap safes can actually draw the attention of potential thieves, as they may assume that valuables are inside. Therefore, it is important to invest in a high-quality safe that is designed to deter thieves and withstand their attempts to break in.

A good safe is typically heavy enough to require machinery to move and should be bolted to the ground for added security. It should also have a high rating, such as a UL RSC (Residential Security Container) rating, which ensures that the safe has been tested and meets certain standards for burglary resistance.

Advantages of a home safe

• Easily accessible, allowing you access to your precious metals whenever you need it. 
• A home safe offers a high level of privacy since only you and authorized individuals have access to it.

Disadvantages of a home safe

• A high-quality safe can be expensive, which may not be feasible for some investors.
• Storing precious metals in a home safe may not be practical for those living in apartments or rentals, where bolting the safe to the ground may not be possible or allowed.
• No safe is completely thief-proof and determined thieves may still be able to break into a home safe given enough time and resources.

2. Safety Deposit Boxes at the Bank

Another option for protecting and storing precious metals is to utilize a safety deposit box at your bank. Safety deposit boxes are small, secure containers that are stored within a bank’s vault, providing an additional layer of security for your investment. While there are some potential drawbacks to using a bank vault or safety deposit box, such as limited access and the risk of confiscation by law enforcement, many investors find them to be a practical and reliable storage option (myself included!).

Advantages of safety deposit boxes

• Cost-effective: Safety deposit boxes are often relatively inexpensive compared to other storage options, making them accessible to a wider range of investors. For mine, I pay less than $150 per year.
• Ultra-high security: Banks have extensive security measures in place to protect safety deposit boxes, including video surveillance, alarms, and round-the-clock monitoring.
• Access to the bank’s resources: If you need to access your precious metals during normal banking hours, you’ll have the resources of the bank at your disposal.

Disadvantages of safety deposit boxes

• Limited access: Safety deposit boxes are not available 24/7, so you may not be able to access your precious metals outside of regular banking hours.
• Confiscation: In the event that law enforcement obtains a warrant, they have the authority to confiscate the contents of safety deposit boxes. While this is a rare occurrence, it has happened before.
• Risk of theft or loss: While safety deposit boxes are highly secure, there have been instances of suspicious disappearances of the contents of safety deposit boxes. It’s important to remember that safety deposit boxes are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), so any losses due to theft or other issues may not be covered.

Precious metals vaulting

Another option for storing and protecting your precious metals is to use a precious metals vaulting service. These services are offered by third-party companies such as UPMA and Kinesis. 

Ultimately, precious metals vaulting services can be a good option for those looking for ultra-high security and the ability to earn interest on their investment. However, it’s important to carefully consider the potential drawbacks, such as the risk of company collapse and limited access, before deciding if this option is right for you:

Advantages of precious metals vaulting

• Earn interest on your precious metals: Some precious metals vaulting services offer interest on your stored metals, allowing you to earn passive income on your investment.
• Ultra-high security: Precious metals vaulting services typically have top-of-the-line security measures in place, such as 24/7 monitoring, armed guards, and advanced technology.
• Insurance: Most precious metals vaulting services offer insurance on the contents of their vaults, protecting you against loss or damage.

Disadvantages of precious metals vaulting

• Risk of company collapse: If the company providing the precious metals vaulting service were to go out of business, there could be a risk of losing your investment.
• Limited access: Precious metals vaulting services may not be available 24/7, so you may not be able to access your investment at all times.
• Payment to withdraw physical silver: If you want to withdraw your physical silver from a precious metals vaulting service, you may be required to pay fees or premiums.
• Limited variety of types of silver and gold you can stack: Some precious metals vaulting services may have limitations on the types of precious metals that can be stored, which may limit your investment options.

My #1 tip: protect your identity first

As somebody who’s been deep in the coin collecting and silver stacking worlds for well over a decade, I’ve been keenly aware of the need for personal security.

And no, I don’t mean my underground nuclear bunker (how did you know about that?). 

Today, much of our lives unfold online. We bank, invest, shop, and communicate on our phones and laptops and, in doing so, leave ourselves exposed to attack.

KEY STAT: Cybercrime affected an estimated 53.35 million US citizens in the first half of 2022. To put that into perspective, that’s more than 50x the number of burglaries that occur each year!

The fact is that protecting your physical silver stack is just one side of the coin. Securing your personal identity requires the same level of attention as safeguarding your collection. 

Without such safeguards, your bank account can be liquidated, your credit cards maxed out, and your social security number compromised, by hackers who get more sophisticated by the day.

It’s more than changing that password you’ve had since high school and been using for every account you’ve ever opened online (though that’s a start). As we expand more and more into the digital realm, we need to take proactive steps to guard the gates of our sprawling personal ecosystem of digital assets.

The good news is that you don’t need to become a cyber security expert overnight. Recently, I’ve been using Aura. I love it because, aside from being a great password manager and VPN, it’s a full-service digital safety tool, covering the whole spectrum of personal online security. It offers antivirus protection, security against identity theft and financial fraud, and parental control options to ensure the entire family’s online safety. 

The way I see it, protecting your silver stack is worthless if you don’t also protect your identity. Personal online security shouldn’t be something you do after you’ve been impacted by a threat to your assets, but an investment you make as early as possible. 

I use Aura to protect myself and my family–you can get a free two-week trial of Aura here. 

Stay secure and collect with confidence

To sum up, keeping your precious metals safe is crucial and there are various storage options to consider. Each option has its own set of pros and cons and it’s important to weigh these carefully to determine what works best for your unique situation.

However, in addition to protecting your physical collection of gold and silver, it’s equally vital to safeguard your identity online. Cyber threats such as identity theft, hacking, and phishing attacks are ever-present, and investing in a reliable online security tool is essential in reducing your vulnerability to these threats.

By taking proactive steps to protect both your physical and digital assets, you can ensure the longevity and value of your precious metals investment. Remember, staying vigilant against potential threats is an ongoing process, but the peace of mind that comes with knowing your precious metal assets are protected is well worth the effort.

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