NOTE: This is article is for educational purposes alone. SD Bullion does not recommend or endorse any of the listed storage ideas in this report. The following are merely examples of storage ideas aimed to spark the creativity within you and help uncover the nearly limitless array of options available.
How to best store silver and hide silver bullion safely for the long term is a question every buyer should think through.
This article may seem to be common sense, but there are some ideas presented here which you might never have considered before.
Some ideas presented may sound silly, and indeed, some also may be unsound given one's particular specific situation.
How to Store Silver Bullion Ideas
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Think of this merely as a thought exercise — a place to brainstorm and have space to think about potential safe silver storage solutions.
Unlike gold bullion, palladium bullion, or platinum bullion products, the silver bullion products investors buy are way more affordable per troy ounce (80 to 55 times less expensive vs. those mentioned above other physical precious metals).
Silver bullion is also less dense and thus takes up more room or space in terms of square footage when safely storing silver vs. the three other physical precious metals we just mentioned.
For those readers who have never had the privilege of taking possession of physical silver bullion, let us give you a few examples of the amount of space silver bullion takes up.
As an example, many government mints strike silver bullion coins. There are also many private mints which strike silver bullion rounds (these look like coins, yet they cannot have legal tender face values and therefore referred to as rounds in the silver bullion industry).
Finally, there are also silver bullion bars which are mostly produced by private silver mints yet also the Royal Canadian Mint strikes gorgeous silver bullion bars as well (e.g., 10 oz and 100 oz).
You can get a sense of the size of these various silver bullion products in the image below.
The bottom left product is simply a US Mint Tube containing 20 of 1 oz American Silver Eagle Coins held within its silver storage confines.
For decades now, the most popular of all silver bullion products (between all silver bars, silver rounds, or silver coins) has and remains the 1 oz American Silver Eagle Coin (in terms of sheer troy ounce sales volumes).
When buying them in bulk allotments of 500 oz, American Silver Eagle Coins arrive in US Mint cases (i.e., often also nicknamed ‘Monster Boxes’) which weigh about 40 pounds in total weight.
Below you can see them getting produced at the US Mint’s West Point facility.
A mint case of American Silver Eagle coins has 25 protective mint tubes which contain twenty 1 oz American Silver Eagle coins apiece, for a total of 500 oz.
Below are some looks inside of a box of 2009 American Silver Eagle Coin mint box.
If these green ‘Monster Boxes' got stripped of all their protective interior protective mint tubes and silver coins, they could store about 1,000 oz total in 100 oz silver bullion bars.
This statement confirms the point that larger silver bullion bars are the most space-efficient method for stacking silver bullion.
If your silver bullion storage space is at a premium or very scarce, yet you are moving a large amount of capital into silver bullion, you might consider directly buying larger silver bullion bars over government-issued silver coins as they take up perhaps up 50% less space without mint cases, mint tubes, or coin protective acrylic coverings.
If space is at a premium yet you still want silver bullion coins, note too that the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf Coin cases are more space-efficient than American Silver Eagle cases.
Silver Maple Leaf Coin boxes also have inlays in their box tops to make stacking them on top of one another a bit more sturdy than other silver bullion boxes (not necessary as again each box weighs about 40 lbs. And are therefore sturdy regardless in stacks.
Take a look at the difference below; each box contains 500 oz of minimum .999 fine silver bullion coins each. The yellow box on the left contains 500 oz of Royal Canadia Mint Silver Maple Leaf Coins, while the green case on the right has 500 oz of American Silver Eagle Coins.
Now we will discuss some intelligent ways to store silver bullion safely and with care for the long term. We will first start with home silver storage options, ideas, and tactics for safety.
Further along, we will even discuss proven outside of home silver storage options with non-bank depositories, potential bank safe deposit boxes (with 3rd party insurance options), to even more aggressive tactics some might utilize in storing silver bullion in bulk at a low price outside one’s property.
To begin, let’s start with how every silver bullion buyers should start their silver bullion savings. Take direct delivery of some silver bullion first even if it is a small amount of silver bullion to begin.
Taking physical delivery of your silver bullion is perhaps the most rewarding part of the purchasing experience.
Direct physical possession gives the silver bullion investor a fuller understanding of the real value of tangible monetary assets and bolsters a silver bullion buyer's experience and industry understanding on processes and expectations.
The knowledge of having private silver bullion savings within reach helps many citizens have steady sleep-filled nights in our current times where debt/fiat currency expansion, monetary debasement in real terms, and economic ruin may be ahead for many who might choose to remain oblivious to the facts and basic arithmetic.
It often gets touted that silver bullion is one of the only remaining financial assets which do not require the performance of third parties for their value. Many experts within the sector describe physical silver favorably as not having “counterparty risk." This riskless description is correct in the sense that silver bullion will never become worthless.
Silver bullion always has one significant counterparty risk inherent to it, potential theft.
NOTE: This is article is for educational purposes alone. SD Bullion does not recommend or endorse any of the listed storage ideas in this report. The following are merely examples of storage ideas aimed to spark the creativity within you and help uncover the nearly limitless array of options available.
The genuine threat of one’s silver bullion getting stolen from its rightful owner(s) be it by strangers, a rogue government, or most likely, someone within one’s circle of familiarity. The latter being the most commonplace, sadly.
Silver bullion in one’s home is typically either stolen by loved ones or those who learned about the silver through someone close to you. It is safest that the only ones who might know about any silver bullion you may or may not hold are your spouse, older age dependants possibly, and if large enough a trusted executor and legal will documentation (accidents do happen).
The following article below the price charts is not meant to scare you, but perhaps sober you up on the topic of intelligent and safe silver bullion storage. It covers an ugly incident which occurred in British Columbia in early 2011, as the price of silver was rocketing higher in both US and Canadian dollar terms. More than likely, loose lips helped lead to the man’s silver bullion stash getting robbed with force.
Silver bullion is virtually untraceable, even if you would have silver bar ID numbers, the ability to liquidate bullion is effortless in the world we live. In other words, if someone steals your silver bullion savings, you may be entirely out of luck.
With the threat of robbery or possible home invasion in mind, we are about to discuss some creative options to safeguard your silver bullion holdings. To do this well, you have to think like a would-be criminal.
No, we’re not going to tell you to buy a home safe, and then you are done. Hidden home safes can serve a purpose for home silver storage, it may even be good to have a small more obviously located decoy safe with a reasonable amount of silver bullion you would be willing to part with if the worst came to pass.
What we will discuss below are some other ‘out of the box’ creative solutions to diversify one’s silver bullion hidings using some standard objects and locations within a dwelling. Again these are simply ideas for you to brainstorm with, not advice.
Virtually any all living spaces have great hidden locations no thief would ever think to look into and or have the potential to find. Most thieves who break into homes, try to do so when you are not home (lessons the chance of their getting shot and killed or other violent confrontation).
Most are desperate people who want to take things of value as fast as they can.
COMMON SENSE WARNING: Stay OFF Social Media with Your Silver Bullion Stash Identities
Sensible silver bullion owners should refrain from posting their stashes on social media websites.
If you still chose to fraternize within the silver bullion buying community in such a way, please do take some necessary common-sense precautions.
Use a dummy account which never shows your face or location, etc.
Of course, there is a healthy silver Youtube video channel community out there that loves to show off their silver bullion acquisitions to one another and discuss related topics. Perhaps it is likely still somewhat safe to engage in so long as one merely gives away their voice and only close up shots of a few silver bullion items here and there (i.e., never detailed imaging of the interior or exterior of their abode). Your location and address should always stay ambiguous.
Below is a recent example of a customer who is doing all the safety precautions we mentioned for his video.
Before we begin with some at-home silver bullion storage ideas, we must stress a couple of other points of importance.
None of these ideas is fail-safe. They are merely meant to incite ideas. You will have to decide what makes the best sense for your silver storage needs.
Know that virtually any living dwellings have empty hidden spaces between walls, under stairwells, between floors, etc.
Your options are often limited to your creativity and specific circumstance.
Silver Bullion Location Diversification
Even if all your silver bullion gets stored within your property or living space, silver stash location diversification is essential if the worst were to come to pass to possibly limit the risk of losing everything all at once.
Having your silver bullion hidden in multiple spots is prudent so long as they are well protected, and you (and perhaps a trusted loved one, or locational descriptions in a legal will) can keep track of their exact locations.
Onwards with some ideas for potential silver bullion hiding spots.
Furniture
New, mass-produced covered chairs, sofas, and ottomans disassemble easily and reassemble quickly without showing signs of tampering and can be fitted with easily accessible hidden pockets.
The staples, screws, or pins used to secure the upholstery to the underside of the unit’s frame can be removed or loosened, depending on what you want to hide within their structures.
Speakers
Stereo speakers often come in several useful shapes and sizes which can be easily opened and stashed with gold or silver coins in the unused space they often have within.
Careful here if you have an expensive stereo system. More than likely, most thieves like music too and high-end stereo speakers are not cheap (they might get stolen).
False-bottom Drawers
The false-bottom drawer or secret cupboard is still a useful way of quickly stashing some silver bullion. Don’t get greedy and try to block off 90 percent of the drawer’s total area though. Perhaps use several narrow hides rather than one large, obviously altered one.
Converted drawers and cupboards should also contain plenty of junk to hide their underlying conversions from would-be thieves.
Kickboard
Typically an option for the kitchen, the kickboard hide is worth a mention. These kickboards are the piece of finishing wood or molding at the base of kitchen units, cabinets, and so on.
The kickboard can usually get easily removed for access to considerable space behind and underneath kitchen accompaniments.
The kickboard can then be nailed back into place and re-levered off when re-access to said silver bullion stash is needed.
Hidden Book Safe
Buying large old books in a second-hand book store could be an outside the box solution for storing some cash, jewelry, and other silver bullion valuables.
Bed with Hidden Trunk
Many new bed designs are hitting the market today with secret or armored compartments to safeguard your valuables.
If your budget and desire allow, you could even go next level and make your bed’s underlying frame a fireproof safe, able to hold a potential tonne of large silver bullion bars if needed.
Burying Bullion
Sometimes treating your bullion like a pirate may make more sense than having others look after it.
If you want to have bullion hidden yet not under the roof of your house, burying it may make some sense especially if you have lots of lands.
When to possibly bury silver bullion?
We are specifically referring to the time of day, week, and year. The more secretive you want to be, the later and quieter the hour of digging will be required. Dawn, dusk, after midnight, would be a good idea. Avoid the winter or spring months. The soil is soggy in the spring and hard in the winter. Think of digging ahead before actually burying your goods.
Where to potentially bury silver bars, coins, or rounds?
Three important points to consider about where to bury silver bullion possibly: location, accessibility, and security.
Creative locations with not very obvious landmarks should get considered. Treasure hunters and law enforcement officials know that humans use close milestones for reference points so be as creative as possible when selecting your markers.
Accessibility refers to how easy it is to access your goods. If burying within your personal property, you will have to dig at least 10 feet to avoid metal detectors and be beyond law enforcements limits for digging. For the urban and suburban survivalist, the cache should be at least ten miles from a population center like a small town and no more than 30-40 miles from home. Don’t waste time looking for likely spots, use a map and perhaps a GPS device.
Security refers to the measures you take to cover your tracks when you select a burial spot or are doing the actual burying. Use low reflection equipment; make sure no one is following you and make as little noise as possible.
Off-Property Silver Storage Ideas
There are various proven third party non-bank bullion depository services we can provide customers who have an interest in direct fully insured bullion storage either domestically (here in the USA) or abroad (in safe jurisdictions).
Often people think to store some silver bullion in a Bank Safe Depository box yet there are some important additional details (insurance, access, privacy) to consider with that option.
Some of the cheapest off property (yet uninsured) options for storing lots of silver bullion in bulk may merely by renting a self-storage unit although this has inherent risks associated as well.
Conclusions on Safely Hiding Silver Bullion
Perhaps you aren’t going to grab your shovel and treasure map right now.
Admittedly some of the suggestions above will not fit your circumstance and are for mere entertainment purposes.
The point of this "How to Store Silver Bullion" article is that one can be conservatively creative utilizing sensible locations to conceal silver bullion stashes.
Discretion and common sense are paramount here. If you have dependents, make sure you always have a legal will and directions on how to find any hidden treasures.
Consider too new home insurance policy offerings for silver bullion options are now available.
As well possibly using direct non-bank fully insured silver bullion storage depositories for diversification and wealth protection.
Thanks for visiting us at SD Bullion.
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