Where to keep my precious metals?

boisdevie · Post by **boisdevie** » 05 Jul 2019, 16:39

I have approx Â£2500 in gold and Â£500 in silver. I live on a boat but sometimes I go away in my van. When I go away it can be for a week at a time about 300 miles away. I'm wondering what's the most prudent way of keeping my money - some on the boat and some in the van? Take it all with me (well hidden of course) when I'm away for a week?
It would be a bit of a hassle if the SHTF and I'm 300 miles away from most of my portable assets.

Your view?

vtsnowedin · Post by **vtsnowedin** » 05 Jul 2019, 16:49

Safe deposit box in your local bank if there still is such a thing. Myself I keep some cash in my gun safe but few Brits have one.

boisdevie · Post by **boisdevie** » 05 Jul 2019, 16:54

vtsnowedin wrote:Safe deposit box in your local bank if there still is such a thing. Myself I keep some cash in my gun safe but few Brits have one.

I don't trust banks to give me access when I want access. If they shut their doors then I'd be right royally screwed.

Post by **adam2** » 05 Jul 2019, 17:08

Take a little with you, in case the world ends whilst you are away.
I do not consider valuables to be safe in an unattended boat or vehicle, no matter how well hidden. The vehicle or vessel might be stolen or destroyed in some mishap.

It is simple to slightly modify underpants or other clothes with a couple of very small hidden pockets. One gold sovereign and two half sovereigns might be prudent kept about the person.

Leave the remainder hidden at your home.
Have a couple of gold coins to hand, but out of sight. Secured to the underside of a table or shelf with blue tack is one possibility, or atop a high shelf, out of sight from anyone standing.
This small stash might be needed to pay for a taxi or other transport home if paper money was no longer trusted.

The remainder should be well hidden in your home or garden, it need not be easy to get to as is more of a long term prep.

woodburner · Post by **woodburner** » 05 Jul 2019, 18:44

Hell!! I wouldnâ€™t trust blue tack to keep my gold safe.

With Â£2500 in gold, thatâ€™s not even a couple of ounces, so it should be easy enough to carry it around I would have thought.

Post by **adam2** » 05 Jul 2019, 19:11

A single gold coin should be fine secured with blue tack to the underside of a table or low shelf.
And remember that if it does come unstuck, it will only fall to the floor and should still be safe unless you get burgled at the same time.

vtsnowedin · Post by **vtsnowedin** » 05 Jul 2019, 21:16

boisdevie wrote:
vtsnowedin wrote:Safe deposit box in your local bank if there still is such a thing. Myself I keep some cash in my gun safe but few Brits have one.
I don't trust banks to give me access when I want access. If they shut their doors then I'd be right royally screwed.

While that point of view is of course paranoid it still carries some weight. My father always griped about the $67.00 he lost when FDR declared the US bank holiday back in 1933. That of course was before federal bank insurance and when we were still on the gold standard.
For your small (By volume) amount plenty of good hiding places come to mind. A cut out section of a old bible or an encyclopedia for example. Not something a crook would pick up much less thumb through. Your old college text books if you still have them collecting dust on a shelf are probably safe from anything short of a fire. After all when was the last time you cracked one of them open?

careful_eugene · Post by **careful_eugene** » 06 Jul 2019, 15:45

Are the metals in the form of coins? If so could you sew them into a belt? That way they'd always be with you and even if you get mugged you're unlikely to get your belt stolen.

Post by **adam2** » 06 Jul 2019, 15:54

careful_eugene wrote:Are the metals in the form of coins? If so could you sew them into a belt? That way they'd always be with you and even if you get mugged you're unlikely to get your belt stolen.

Well worth considering for SOME of the gold, especially when away from home.
I would not care to keep it all thus, it seems unwise to keep all ones "eggs in the same basket"

careful_eugene · Post by **careful_eugene** » 06 Jul 2019, 16:22

adam2 wrote:
careful_eugene wrote:Are the metals in the form of coins? If so could you sew them into a belt? That way they'd always be with you and even if you get mugged you're unlikely to get your belt stolen.
Well worth considering for SOME of the gold, especially when away from home.
I would not care to keep it all thus, it seems unwise to keep all ones "eggs in the same basket"

True but he lives on a boat which is vulnerable when he is away. Also Â£2500 in gold coins isn't that much weight to carry around.
There probably isn't a perfect foolproof answer to this.

boisdevie · Post by **boisdevie** » 07 Jul 2019, 17:16

There are no end of places I can hide such a small quantity of gold on my boat.

PowerswitchClive · Post by **PowerswitchClive** » 09 Sep 2019, 00:22

boisdevie wrote:There are no end of places I can hide such a small quantity of gold on my boat.

Having lived on a canal barge for 8 very happy years... some of those floor boards in a hidden area will come up!