TPG and Insurance

News: Welcome to the Canadian Paper Money Forum.

Folks,

This post is two pronged.  I have only started collecting in the last six months.  Already, I've spent well over a thousand dollars on notes (catalogue value far more than a thousand).  Though this is not much when it comes to some notes (specially those that cost over a thousand), I was wondering how I could protect my investment or my collection.  Whether people here have their notes insured, stored in a safety deposit box, in their own personal safe (if so, what kind of safe? water proof?  fire proof?  theft proof?)

The second part of my question is (for those of you who have taken out insurance on your collection), how do you insure your notes?  Who are you insured through and how does one take out a policy on notes?  As well, do your notes have to be graded to be insured?

When I checked out personal effects insurance with Johnsons, there was a 'coin collection' section that would insure your coins for up to a max of $1,000.  Doesn't seem like a lot.

And finally, as an aside, are TPG holders waterproof?  As in, if your basement were to flood, and you had a few graded notes tucked away, would this damage them?  They look to be sealed all the way around, but it would be nice to know!  Has anybody ever tried this (on purpose or accidentally)?

Sorry there are so many questions here!

Kindest regards,

RJB

Your notes would be safest from theft and fire in a safety deposit box. Having a large safe in your house could be convenient but make sure the humidity is well controlled.

I used to have my collection insured through Hugh Wood Canada at one point and the coverage would include any notes in your house, safe or safety deposit box. A simple application form was all that was required and no inventory list or grades were needed. The total value is all they wanted. It was also useful for shipping banknotes but there was a medium size deductible.

Hope this helps

Couldn't find any info on Hugh Wood Canada.  Googled it, there was a result that was listed, but it didn't work.

Next result I found was TD Insurance.  Gave me an online quote of like 26 a month or something.  Didn't seem too bad.

On the other hand, I just bought a safe today at Staples for the interim.  I feel that a safe would be best.  What's the point in having all this collectible money and silver if I can't look at it at my leisure?  That's just my opinion.  The insurance would cover fire, flood and theft, so why not just lock it an an on site safe...  I may take this safe back and purchase a nicer waterproof/fireproof one.  But, I don't like that the hinge is on the exterior of the safe.

Are there any other insurers in Canada that would cover a relatively decent amount of numismatic valuables (silver, gold, copper, bronze, paper money)?

Thanks

The latest CN Journal has a Hugh Wood ad in it.

Phone #1-800-240-7055, email address gcurro@hwcanada.com. The online link I found (that is now working again) is http://hwcanada.com/sub_menu.php?submenuId=179

Hope this helps!

Personally I thought of purchasing a good safe to store my collection. HOWEVER keep in mind, loose lips sink ships. If you invest in a good large safe you'll probably need someone to install it (bolt it to ground etc) for you. Might make you a target. Anything too small will not adequately protect them as they can be taken and opened off site at a later time.

Now what I do is take really high res pictures of my items, BUT store everything in a bank vault. While not as convenient as keeping it at home, its a LOT easier for someone to break through the various entry points of one's own house, than it is to break into a bank, get through the vault door, know exactly which SDB to open etc. I can still enjoy my collection and protect it from myself (any possible mishandling/accidents) and from would-be thieves. You sorta get my point right?

At least that's my view of things.

Before storing anything valuable in your safe put in a few regular notes and let them sit for a month
If the safe is airtight with no circulation...humidity etc the notes can likely get a mouldy smell and that will ruin any collection
Be careful......

Now what I do is take really high res pictures of my items, BUT store everything in a bank vault.

This is exactly what I do.  A few times a year when I get the itch, I'll go to my safety deposit box to visit my collection.

To help protect against humidity in the vault, I keep a couple of silica packets in my SDB that I change once in a while.