Storing gold at home may be easier and cheaper – however, hiding your precious krugerrands at the back of your sock drawer or even in a “secure” home safe could well turn out to be the wrong decision.
Gold has been running with the bulls of late. Shrugging off the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and even the inflation crisis, it has emerged as one of the safest bets around.
It’s often said that there’s never a bad time to own gold. That’s as true as it’s ever been. The question is though, now that you’ve bought it where do you store it?
It’s no secret that securing a safe storage space is one of the most important aspects of owning any precious commodity. When it comes to gold, the choice is pretty simple: you can either store it at home, or store in a safe deposit box.
Home truths
Home storage has its advantages. It’s relatively cheap. It’s always accessible. You can show it off to your friends.
You’ll obviously need to install a home safe and a high-end alarm system. On the other hand, you could go old-school, and hide your gold under the floorboards, within a drywall, in a concealed storage compartment, or behind a secret bookcase. You could even bury it the backyard or sew it in an old mattress.
But there are important caveats and considerable drawbacks to these arrangements.
Firstly, there’s the all-important question of security. Burglars are becoming more sophisticated when it comes to breaking into properties and locating valuables once they have gained access. Modern home alarm systems are increasingly ineffective, and can be immobilised by savvy burglars with the click of a button. And the unfortunate reality is that most home safes can be breached within minutes.
Ironically, hiding your gold in obscure locations around your house or garden may well wrongfoot a potential burglar. But that brings with it other major problems: you might forget where you hid it; or, even more likely, these hiding places entail exposure to the elements which may cause damage that decreases the gold’s value significantly. Wherever you store your gold, the first step is to ensure it’s in an appropriate environment, away from damp and other corrosive conditions.
The second complication with home storage is insurance. If you’re storing gold at home, you need adequate homeowner’s insurance that covers precious metals and jewellery. That kind of insurance is typically very expensive and could add hundreds of rands to your monthly premiums.
The third issue is unwanted attention. You may love showing off your krugerrands or bullion bars, but the truth is, if people know you have gold in your house, it’s a significant security threat. Ideally, you want as few people as possible knowing about your gold. Be particularly careful about revealing too much information to people you may not know too well – and at the very least, avoid posting about your gold on social media!
The fourth factor is peace of mind. The one thing about an actual physical commodity such as gold – if you lose it, it’s gone.
The continual fear of theft can weigh on your mind. You might even be checking on your gold every day just to make sure it’s still there. You’ve got enough to worry about in your life, this is something you should not have to think too much about.
Put in the vault
For all these reasons and more, a safety deposit box remains the best option for storing your gold. You can avoid all the hassle and potential risks, and leave your gold in the secure vaults provided by specialist gold storage firms like Knox.
In doing so, you will have the benefit of retaining physical possession of your gold, while safe in the knowledge that your assets are protected in a secure vault.
Although there is a monthly fee, you can also save on having to splash out on a high-spec safe and hefty insurance premiums (companies like Knox have insurance cover built-in – and in any case, this cover is relatively inexpensive due to the fact that gold theft from secure vaults is extremely rare).
Our bespoke services are designed to securely store your coins or bars until you are ready to sell or take possession of them yourself, giving your gold maximum protection from theft, loss and damage.
You can view your gold bar or krugerrand in the security and pristine privacy of our booths, or return your gold jewellery after a family wedding or other special occasion.
Our 24-hour maximum security facilities employ facial recognition technology, finger print access, armed guards, armoured doors and cutting-edge fire suppression to bring you safest, most secure storage solution on the market.
In short, the gold standard in gold storage.
Knox is proud to offer customers a bespoke Krugerrand purchase facility – one of the only high-tech safe storage companies offering this service. Click here to open and account, or here to find out more.
We also recently introduced Knox Nugget – an easy and affordable way to acquire Krugerrands, in increments. At the time of writing you can purchase one Knox Nugget for R334 (100 nuggets will give you a one-ounce Krugerrand). Click here to start investing today!
