Insurance

[Gollum 2]

No one likes to consider giving money away or their collection being stolen, but.

Can anyone tell me what type of insurance I would need to cover my coin collection once it gets bigger, and if possible which firm(s) and any contact details to go through.

[Peter 615]

No one likes to consider giving money away or their collection being stolen, but.

Can anyone tell me what type of insurance I would need to cover my coin collection once it gets bigger, and if possible which firm(s) and any contact details to go through.

Insurance...I'm the most anti person.

Make it portable and hide it....

[DaveG38 385]

No one likes to consider giving money away or their collection being stolen, but.

Can anyone tell me what type of insurance I would need to cover my coin collection once it gets bigger, and if possible which firm(s) and any contact details to go through.

The insurer that many of us use is Stamp Insurance Services - see http://www.stampinsurance.co.uk/

Most household insurance companies regard a coin collection as a single item and so you quickly run into issues of value v insurance limits, once your collection grows. For me, the realisation dawned when I looked at my standard insurance policy and found it had a limit of £6k for a single item. A quick tot up of values using Spink showed that the total book value was closer to £60k and it seemed to me that I needed to take out more specialised insurance.

It's not cheap and I have some sympathy for the view that the money would be better spent on coins and that maybe a policy of separating and hiding coins can make sense. However, it doesn't protect you necessarily from a targeted theft or from people who force their way in and attack you in order to find out where your coins are kept. There was a case of the latter a year or so ago and I am aware of several occasions where coin dealers and or my credit card company have warned me that they have suffered theft of data from their premises, which means that there are unpleasant people out there, who have knowledge that I collect coins. Having a safe is an option, but again anybody forcing their way in can easily overcome this problem. All this is the reason why I keep my coins at the bank. That too isn't cheap nor convenient, but if I am burgled, all the burglar will find is my decimal coins plus a receipt from the bank, and I can live without the decimal collection, even the undated 20p!

[Peckris 579]

No one likes to consider giving money away or their collection being stolen, but.

Can anyone tell me what type of insurance I would need to cover my coin collection once it gets bigger, and if possible which firm(s) and any contact details to go through.

I've got the maximum "valuables" cover on my home insurance. Separate coin insurance is quite expensive, and you really need to have a collection that makes it worthwhile.

[Accumulator 52]

By all means have insurance and a safe at home, but take good photos of any really valuable items and keep them in a bank. For most everyday purposes, the photographs will suffice. If someone comes knocking you have nothing of real value in the house. You'll sleep better at night.

[Rob 3,002]

And a real benefit of keeping them in a bank is that the insurance premium drops from 0.5% of the sum insured to 0.25%. That's another coin or two.

[argentumandcoins 70]

Alternatively you could get a shotgun, big stick or a wife and present any or all to said Billy Burglar. Although the wife will be the most frightening to him/them she will definitely cost a lot more than the others (especially if she gives your finest coins a shot in the sink because "they're horrible dirty things", at which point you may find another use for the shotgun/big stick).

[azda 973]

Alternitavely move to Germany/Munich where crime is very low, cannot remember when the last time i heard of a break in here, in fact, i've never heard or read of anyone breaking into a house here. My bank charges me €25 a year for a safe, i can come and go as i please, daily if i wanted to without charging anything else.

If anyone wants anything hoarding feel free to inquire, i don't charge much I'm not Dick Turpin/aka UK bank

[Gollum 2]

25 Euros for a safe, do you mean safety deposit box ?, how much is it in the UK, I have never even thought of doing such so would be interested.

[Rob 3,002]

25 Euros for a safe, do you mean safety deposit box ?, how much is it in the UK, I have never even thought of doing such so would be interested.

It depends on size and can be anything from £50-300 a year, but the biggest problem is that most banks have stopped offering the service and so you have to find somewhere else such as a secure storage facility.

[TomGoodheart 373]

Mine are on my household policy as a 'collection' with one coin specified individually because it's valued at over the limit they have. I had a safe deposit scheme at the bank but that just involved them putting a briefcase into the strongroom where every employee goes past all the time. At £60 a year it was OK, but then it was £10 every time I wanted to access the case. Not very handy if you want to be checking your stuff regularly.

[Peckris 579]

I think a bank defeats the object really. It's a hobby not a gold reserve! I can just see the bank manager's face when you tell him "I was just in the middle of a reply to one of the guys at predecimal when I suddenly thought 'Hey is my 1860s bun penny a Freeman 6+D or 6+G?' So if you'll just fetch me a table my good man, and put it in a good light. I'll be about an hour before I have to rush off and finish posting the reply before being logged off."

[Coinery 926]

The tangibility of a hard-won 'sweat & blood' gathered folder/book/page, cataloging man's greatest weakness, just cannot be replaced by a collection of nicely catalogued images on a PC...not for me at least!

Speaking for myself though I'd probably say it's cheaper in the long run to store your collection in a bank, as I have become aware that every time i make a coffee, or pour a glass of wine, and 'treat' myself to an audience with said folders, i always come away surfing the 'scene' for 'a better one,' or 'the missing one,' even just 'another one' ('cause it's cheap!) you know the illness that is passion, I'm sure!

[Rob 3,002]

At the lowest cost for a box, the break even point for a collection's value is about £20K. i.e.0.5% of £20K sum insured is £100, say £50 for the cheapest bank storage option and a reduction in premium of £50 arising from a reduced rate of 0.25% compared to 0.5%. With a collection value above this you are spending less money with the bank storage option subject to the price of the chosen box size.

[Gollum 2]

I will not be getting a box at those prices, rather dig a hole in my back garden and bury it all, or stick it under my greenhouse !.

[Rob 3,002]

I will not be getting a box at those prices, rather dig a hole in my back garden and bury it all, or stick it under my greenhouse !.

I can sense a plague of verdigris about to descend upon the bronze and cupro-nickel in your collection. Putting them anywhere like the above would be foolish.

[TomGoodheart 373]

Depends what you want the insurance for. While it would be nice to get back some money if my collection was ever nicked, it couldn't replace it. Being hammered, all the coins are unique and some are so scarce there simply will never be a chance to buy a similar variety or type. They are irreplacable.

The logical thing would therefore be to lock it up in a strongroom where nobody can get to it, because the loss wouldn't really be financial. Rob however, runs a business. I imagine for him, insuring his stock makes as much sense as for any other business person ..

But that's no fun for me. Unlike the copper collecters here, I can pick up my coins and handle them without worrying about fingerprints spoiling their perfect patina! And that's what I like to do. There's a certain connection with the past, holding a coin that circulated 380 years ago. They were made to be held, used, spent. I like to see them in their little box. They are mine! My own, my precious!

Oops ...

And as for your coins Gollum ... my Dad used to pop nice coins into an envelope or fold them in a bit of paper. They kept pretty well like that in an old chocolate box, but his were change pickings. If you have nicer coins then Chris sells little plastic envelopes here on predecimal, or other dealers, acid-free paper ones.

Then when you have coins you've spent money on you might consider one of those coin storage trays. They are relatively inexpensive, most systems are designed to stack together and that allows you to organise your coins. Or your coin box idea, though it's a bit of work cutting the holes so your carpentry will need to be better than mine! If you do that, line the holes with felt to avoid friction.

But until your collection is a collection and not a drawer full of coins I'd say just enjoy them and don't worry about insurance!

[Rob 3,002]

Hide them in a wall safe behind the calendar hanging next to the Picasso Then you only lose the picture.

[Gollum 2]

Hi Tom.

My collection is erm Very Very small at present, but I have high hopes, both of lots of copper coins because their relatively cheap and easy to get in comparison to your choice, and to have some nice gold ( 1 or 2 perhaps )and silver coins. There have been a number of break in's around Newbury of late and so do get a bit worried in that respect. It's nice to have a little ambition but reality says I will never have a mega collection worth a fortune.

As for a box, i don't know why my interest's are not showing in my name bar as yours does, but I used to be a carpenter and joiner until I had to give it up owing to severe heart Asthma back in the late 70's, I then took up Motor Mechanics and was certified as insane to work for peanuts by the proper authority ( C&G ) some many years past, sadly I had to give that up to, I suffer with Nickel dermatitis that leaves me with severe sores up both arms and it got to the point I could not take it any more !, unlike coin collecting you can't wear gloves all the time, I now only fix my own cars or my motorbike if I need to.

I like the way you say drawer full of coins, I wish I had that many even. Maybe one day, as I said, I will perhaps have a shoe box full to gloat over. Even if as Rob who has cursed my collection would say, covered in Verdigris ( I think green is a nice cool colour, maybe the Americans will buy them as green rainbow tints at vast prices ).

[Rob 3,002]

Hi Tom.

My collection is erm Very Very small at present, but I have high hopes, both of lots of copper coins because their relatively cheap and easy to get in comparison to your choice, and to have some nice gold ( 1 or 2 perhaps )and silver coins. There have been a number of break in's around Newbury of late and so do get a bit worried in that respect. It's nice to have a little ambition but reality says I will never have a mega collection worth a fortune.

As for a box, i don't know why my interest's are not showing in my name bar as yours does, but I used to be a carpenter and joiner until I had to give it up owing to severe heart Asthma back in the late 70's, I then took up Motor Mechanics and was certified as insane to work for peanuts by the proper authority ( C&G ) some many years past, sadly I had to give that up to, I suffer with Nickel dermatitis that leaves me with severe sores up both arms and it got to the point I could not take it any more !, unlike coin collecting you can't wear gloves all the time, I now only fix my own cars or my motorbike if I need to.

I like the way you say drawer full of coins, I wish I had that many even. Maybe one day, as I said, I will perhaps have a shoe box full to gloat over. Even if as Rob who has cursed my collection would say, covered in Verdigris ( I think green is a nice cool colour, maybe the Americans will buy them as green rainbow tints at vast prices ).

Don't get too worried about what could happen. Take simple precautions like good locks and an alarm and don't leave your front door open! Burglars tend to be opportunists and always choose the easy option unless they are aware of rich pickings to be had and have a means of disposal. They are unlikely ever to be stealing to order unless you have a collection of known, publicised desirable pieces, and the scrap value is minimal given the low weight of metal involved (gold excluded). Business premises are obvious targets simply because they have to have stock for sale, so that is usually a case of the burglar taking a punt on likely pickings. Society gets too paranoid about risk, as a few simple precautions will ensure most potential problems are unlikely ever to arise.

[Gollum 2]

I have security lights all round my house, and a burglar alarm ( currently not working, but the box is there as are the sensors in the rooms clearly visible through windows so may deter ), and I suppose living in the country in a small village helps, although there have been warnings about thefts lately that worry.

Rob, is there no way to save my pennies from the Verdigris, there are some nice dates on them, from 1860 ( inc) to 1938, I would hate to see them just waste away, if I cleaned them ( I know....heresy )just so I can see them and not for collectors items which they sadly will never be, would they be ok, or continue to deteriorate ?. I have to be honest, I am unemployed and have been medicaly for a while now and so every coin I get is precious to me, I rarely go out ( hence the times and amount of posts I make ) because of my health, lack of transport and other such things, so losing even one coin hurts, even if it was only saved just to look at or for comparison would be a bonus to me.

[Gary D 76]

Depends what you want the insurance for. While it would be nice to get back some money if my collection was ever nicked, it couldn't replace it. Being hammered, all the coins are unique and some are so scarce there simply will never be a chance to buy a similar variety or type. They are irreplacable.

The logical thing would therefore be to lock it up in a strongroom where nobody can get to it, because the loss wouldn't really be financial. Rob however, runs a business. I imagine for him, insuring his stock makes as much sense as for any other business person ..

But that's no fun for me. Unlike the copper collecters here, I can pick up my coins and handle them without worrying about fingerprints spoiling their perfect patina! And that's what I like to do. There's a certain connection with the past, holding a coin that circulated 380 years ago. They were made to be held, used, spent. I like to see them in their little box. They are mine! My own, my precious!

Oops ...

And as for your coins Gollum ... my Dad used to pop nice coins into an envelope or fold them in a bit of paper. They kept pretty well like that in an old chocolate box, but his were change pickings. If you have nicer coins then Chris sells little plastic envelopes here on predecimal, or other dealers, acid-free paper ones.

Then when you have coins you've spent money on you might consider one of those coin storage trays. They are relatively inexpensive, most systems are designed to stack together and that allows you to organise your coins. Or your coin box idea, though it's a bit of work cutting the holes so your carpentry will need to be better than mine! If you do that, line the holes with felt to avoid friction.

But until your collection is a collection and not a drawer full of coins I'd say just enjoy them and don't worry about insurance!

With luck you would be able to buy them all back again a couple of weeks later on ebay for a fraction of there value.....mmm there's a thought

[TomGoodheart 373]

With luck you would be able to buy them all back again a couple of weeks later on ebay for a fraction of there value.....mmm there's a thought

I'm sure they would be melted down to make some nice nose studs or something. I imagine the fact that would entail a loss of many ££K would ironically be lost on the *ahem* new owners.

As for verdegris, all I can suggest is olive oil. Pop your nice green coins in and leave, possibly for months. Gradually the verd will be reduced, though it will also effect the coin itself. I don't believe there's any way to avoid that.

[Peckris 579]

With luck you would be able to buy them all back again a couple of weeks later on ebay for a fraction of there value.....mmm there's a thought

I'm sure they would be melted down to make some nice nose studs or something. I imagine the fact that would entail a loss of many ££K would ironically be lost on the *ahem* new owners.

As for verdegris, all I can suggest is olive oil. Pop your nice green coins in and leave, possibly for months. Gradually the verd will be reduced, though it will also effect the coin itself. I don't believe there's any way to avoid that.

If the coins are not very high value, another way - and much quicker - is to soak in balsamic vinegar overnight, then rinse off throughly (vinegar's an acid). You will find the verdigris is merely a dark stain, but the rest of the coin will be considerably lighter.

[Gollum 2]

Thanks Peckris, none of them are of any real value except maybe the 1860/1 one I have, their mainly just to say I have them and for comparison kind of thing.

Garry