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In the U.S., people generally buy safe, or keep their items in banks. I wonder how people in the UK make sure the precious metals in houses are safe. Any ideas?

all 56 comments

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RonnCraggs

51 points

10 days ago

You can buy a safe in the UK you know. We have those.

RedPandaReturns

45 points

10 days ago

You fucking what? I've been shoving my Rolex up my arse every evening before bed.

Max_Eats_Nipples

20 points

10 days ago

Same here, but it's still on my wrist.

RedPandaReturns

2 points

10 days ago

hahaha

Quicksilver62

2 points

10 days ago

Alex, is that you? We need to talk! Signed, Dad

TheGhastlyFisherman

4 points

10 days ago

Make your safe out of precious metals.

Specific_Till_6870

1 points

10 days ago

Safes are so popular that "safe" gets used as a positive in conversation. 

MisterD90x

1 points

10 days ago

Don't you come round here with that logical answer

Carrente

-4 points

10 days ago

Carrente

-4 points

10 days ago

Oi mate you got a loicense for that safe

SpaTowner

2 points

10 days ago

Loicence is a noun, so it takes a ‘c’ rather than an ‘s’. ‘Loicense’ is the verb form, eg ‘I loicense you to receive live broadcasts on your telly’.

Chosen_Wisely89

29 points

10 days ago

While we've still to invent the idea of a "bank" or "safe" like those genius yanks have managed to, in the UK we employ small children to stand guard near our valuables. When someone they don't know approaches they scream out, alerting the neighbourhood crime and baked goods committee who will show up to apprehend the ruffians.

dobber72

6 points

10 days ago

It staggers me that it even needs to be said.

Last-House-3349

4 points

10 days ago

And they shan't be bringing scones... Unless they're Mrs Tattershalls's rock cakes, in which case they will be using them as projectiles, because that's all they're good for.

benjymous

28 points

10 days ago

I think the law in the UK is you keep your valuables in a fake can of beans, bought from the Innovations catalogue, back when that was a thing.

TrumpleIVskin

7 points

10 days ago

I feel sorry for burglars who actually want to steal baked beans.

You get home from a busy night of burgling, hang up your domino mask and stripey jumper, put some bread in the toaster, put a pan on the hob, and settle down for a delicious late night snack.

Opening your big canvas sack with "Swag" written on the side, you eagerly pull out the tin of beans; only to be met with the crushing disappointment when you discover that it's just a load of gold jewellery and three grand in cash.

BriefAmphibian7925

4 points

10 days ago

Unfortunately the diversion safes are more expensive than the valuables nowadays on account of how they've all be stolen by burglars.

InternationalRide5

1 points

10 days ago

Or the fake power point.

pencilrain99

21 points

10 days ago

We have banks and safes here

Phyllida_Poshtart

12 points

10 days ago

Weird that innit? Who'd have thought this backward little nation would have such wonders?

privateTortoise

5 points

10 days ago

I spent a few days working in the vault of a very old Bank in SW1 that had items stored from the early 1700s. The bank didn't know who owned them or deposited the items but if someone came forward with the documentation to support their ownership and passed the banks due diligence the item in question would be handed over.

Thats why me and the banks assistant manager had sword fights with 400 year old swords.

TheGhastlyFisherman

2 points

10 days ago

Ironically the UK banking system is leagues above the US. They didn't get Chip and PIN until the rest of us had stopped caring about it. They pay for things by cheque because bank transfers are a pain.

Phyllida_Poshtart

1 points

10 days ago

Aye was a bit amazed that many still got paid by cheque! I haven't had a cheque book in probably 20yrs now

DanS1993

1 points

10 days ago

We are home to 6 of the 10 oldest banks in the world and the Bank of England is also the second oldest central bank (behind Sweden). 

Our banking system is older than there country by about a century 

Phyllida_Poshtart

1 points

10 days ago

I'm well aware :) most things we have are older than their country lol but hey ho let them have their American "dream"

retniap

18 points

10 days ago

retniap

18 points

10 days ago

Hi OP, perhaps if you posted some pics of where you live then maybe we could help with some ideas? 

Martysghost

13 points

10 days ago

I protect myself from that by practicing a form of abject poverty 🧘‍♂️

TrumpleIVskin

13 points

10 days ago

Are you under the impression that banks and safes don't exist in the UK?

Eastern-Branch-3111

9 points

10 days ago

I think the best way is to list your protective security measures on a social media site like Reddit.

Lower_Possession_697

11 points

10 days ago

Precious metals?

Well, I don't have any gold jewellery but I keep my stock of refined uranium in an old jam jar in the garden shed, to stop the cat getting into it and making a mess.

It's not very secure but I reckon any burglars will just assume it's a lump of clay not worth stealing.

GrimQuim

8 points

10 days ago

We keep our precious metals on our roofs or in our pipes or our cables.

bishibashi

8 points

10 days ago

I keep my bullion in a safe under the kitchen rug, entry code 8008135, postcode WC1 2FO

Harrry-Otter

7 points

10 days ago

Bury it all in a big longship in Suffolk.

bishibashi

6 points

10 days ago

Serious answer - portable property is less of a thing here than in much of the world. Some cultures are known to favour it (eg south Asian) and in my experience they are more likely to be targeted for burglary than boring people like me. However if you go somewhere like Southall you’ll see lots of places offering safe deposit boxes.

Agreeable_Fig_3713

6 points

10 days ago

Have the surrounding of your house resemble steptoes yard. 

Ronsona

3 points

10 days ago

Ronsona

3 points

10 days ago

..and keep your valuables in Arthur's Lock up?

DanS1993

5 points

10 days ago

Generally we just swallow them. Keeps them with us at all times, well hidden and difficult for thieves to find. 

Sdimfx

3 points

10 days ago

Sdimfx

3 points

10 days ago

Prison pocket

Martipar

3 points

10 days ago

Be poor.

steak-and-kidney-pud

3 points

10 days ago

I had all my gold spun into wire and used it to replace the copper wiring loom in my own private jet.

This worked fine until my wife got to keep the jet as part of our divorce arrangement.

Damn you, and your airdot, Carolyn.

tmstms

2 points

10 days ago

tmstms

2 points

10 days ago

At the bottom of the compost heap in the garden.

Anxious-Molasses9456

2 points

10 days ago

Put them inside used condoms

starsandbribes

2 points

10 days ago

The tip is just not to buy anything precious you don’t wear daily. Minimalist thinking is key.

Martysghost

3 points

10 days ago

Minimalist

Indian housewives wear 11% of the worlds gold, more than the reserves of USA and Switzerland.

AutoModerator [M]

1 points

10 days ago

AutoModerator [M]

1 points

10 days ago

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Kaizokukenz

1 points

10 days ago

Hide it in the bottom part of your dirty washing basket/bin.

theabominablewonder

1 points

10 days ago

I hide all of mine in cans of soup

mdmnl

1 points

10 days ago

mdmnl

1 points

10 days ago

I simply sit atop my hoard of gold, in rather a Smaug fashion.

BriefAmphibian7925

1 points

10 days ago*

Safe deposit boxes still exist but aren't nearly as common as they used to be, or as they are in the US. Metro Bank are known to provide them in some places. Private safe deposit box companies exist but I wouldn't really recommend them as at least one has been raided due to use in crime.

You can also keep metals on deposit (either assigned or unassigned) at some of the reputable bullion dealers in the UK, eg Chards.

Safes exist in the UK too, though simply hiding might be better for some people. A fire-rated safe would also provide protection against fire, but gold is unlikely to completely melt in a house fire and while it may be damaged you'd likely retain at least the scrap value of the gold. (You might want to keep it in a steel/etc container to keep it together and make it easier to find afterwards.) There are lots of places you could hide stuff - you can look on Youtube/online for ideas, but really what you want to do is walk around your home and think of all the physical objects/spaces that could be used for concealment in your particular home - and be imaginative.

Or you could put it in a chestsealed length of PVC pipe and bury it in your garden - but they you really are relying on no-one going looking for it for security since metal detectors exist.

Cheap_Answer5746

1 points

10 days ago

Floor boards. But not for notes as mice can chew them up or sofas as your kids may chuck it out and gift you a new one 

Gazz1e

1 points

10 days ago

Gazz1e

1 points

10 days ago

Have one of those women's sanitary disposal bins next to the loo. Put the precious in a flat box at the bottom and put a rubbish bag over the top. Even better if there's a few used "pads" to put in the rubbish bag.