Insuring my collection

News: Welcome to the Canadian Paper Money Forum.

Hello folks;

in the past few years, my paper money collection has come to be worth quite a bit and I have come to the conclusion that it would be a good idea if I included it for what its really worth in my home insurance policy.
My questions are as follows:
- can dealers provide me with an assessment of my collection for insurance purposes?
- can the same dealer take digital photographs of the notes?  
- does anybody know anyone who can do this sort of work in Montreal and vicinity?
- does anybody know how much this sort of work can cost?
- before I proceed with this, is there anything else I need to know???
thank you
sosso  

If you have a camera or scanner, I'd say do it yourself.
Use the Charlton catalogue and CPMS grading standards to establish book value, then sum it up over all your notes and you'll get the number to tell the beancounters at the insurance company. Keep detailed records as to grade, serial number and value of every note, and a reasonably good quality scan (preferably, digital photo if scan is not feasible) for each note.

Outside of Hugh Woods in Toronto, there are very few insurance companies that will insure a collection. There are many restrictions on this insurance coverage, and deductables.

Many professional dealers can give a value on the collection, there are a few CAND dealers in Montreal and area that can do that. Fees for doing this range from about $50 per hour to much higher. for this work.

cand.org has a list of dealers.

Rick

Sosso, save yourself a lot of trouble and expense and rent a safety deposit box at your bank.  As BWJM said, make scans or digital photos of your collection, and keep a listing (e.g. Excel spreadsheet) of your collection that shows denomination, year, grade, serial number, book value, etc.  Keep one copy of the listing at home, and one copy in your safety deposit box.

Mine is 5 inches high, 5 inches wide and 24 inches long (get your minds out of the gutter, I'm talking about my safety deposit box here... ).  It only costs $80 per year and I have ample room for my banknote collection (and other important papers).

I just keep a few common, not necessarily uncirculated, varieties at home for when I want to look at my favourite series/denominations of notes.  My spreadsheet also indicates whether each note is in my SDB or at home.  For my rarer and more valuable notes, I look at the scans on my computer, and visit the originals at my bank if I miss seeing them "in person".

I had also asked to have my collection included under my homeowner's insurance policy, but the cost would have been prohibitive.  $80 per year to keep them at my bank seems to me a very cheap and safe option.

It should be mentioned that as a rule (there may be some exceptions), insurance companies don't give a discount or anything if your collection is in a safety deposit box. I forget exactly the reasoning, but it has something to do with the banks not guaranteeing replacement of anything in there in the event of fire, theft, flood, etc, and also that banks are just as susceptible to fire, theft, flood, etc, as most homes are. Now if you live in the worst crime area of the country, then the insurance company might knock a buck or two off, but it might also be significantly cheaper if you just find a safer place to live, added a security system, etc.

An insurance company, like Hugh Woods, won't insure your collection unless it is in a secure location, including a bank safety deposit vault, or in a modern, proper safe stored within a home in a secure location away from possible water damage areas such as a basement. These are part of the restrictions, including a proper evaluation by a compentent person such as a dealer. These are just some of the restrictions, lack also include a deductible of at least $500.

As others have mentioned, keeping notes in a Safety Deposit box at your bank is possibly the safest place to keep it.

Yes, indeed, banks get robbed and banks can have fire/smoke damage, however, this is rare.

Good photos of the notes with good recording of serial numbers and invoices kept together is an excellent idea. Remember, that to most insurance companies, banknotes have face value, thus the need to go to a company that specializes in collectables.

Rick

Dear Forum Members;
thanks for your precious comments and suggestions; much appreciated.