I started this hobby again last year and have picked up some higher end cards/sealed product since. At this point my collection is now breaking the five digit value range- which I know isn’t anything significant compared to some of the monsters on here.
After coming to the realization of how much it’s currently worth, I’m having a big internal conflict. These cards and boxes are art, and I love displaying them. It’s so cool to sit back and reflect on these pieces; appreciating what they are. It’s now at the point to where I’m rethinking whether its worth it to put these on display in my hobby room. The risk of natural disaster, fire, and theft is always there, and to be honest it is concerning when working with a collection of that value.
I’d really like to get other members’ thoughts on this topic. Do you store or display your collection? How do you protect? Do you insure the collection? Etc…
This is something I’ve been struggling with as well, I’ve even been picking up some highly collectable figures to match each set and make each display look amazing. That said with my collection now hitting the size of a small house deposit value wise I’m not sure if I should just be storing them instead.
I am also now starting to focus on cards towards the higher end and I know I should store them but I’m still so torn.
If in doubt, store it! Dont risk it thinking itll be ok or ill just keep a few expensive cards to look at. Get those bad bois locked away safe! Bank deposit box or whatever…feel free to go visit them regularly for some alone time But dont put them at risk of being damaged or stolen.
Take some pictures of them, frame them if need be and put on display…but protect the goods brahhh, lock them uppp
I’m actually an admin on a team rocket themed group so I’m looking to make a team rocket display which I think I’ll deck out and keep on display. I may keep this as my main set up and store the majority of the rest.
What storing options do you guys use? I just found out my local bank’s branch doesn’t have deposit boxes. The option I’m thinking about is an actual anchored vault, but boy are those pricey.
I would at minimum have them insured when it’s getting to this value. Make sure you have a complete collection record incase you ever need to make a claim. I photograph the majority of my collection including all my psa cards.
Alpha investments had a pretty decent video on this topic awhile back. I chose to store the majority of stuff and keep some low value cards out on display.
As far as storage I picked up a decent sized safe used. If you go the used route make sure it comes with a combination; mine was free but i had to track down a previous owner to figure out the combanation. I keep my money cards inside a small Wal-Mart fire safe inside the larger safe for longer “burn time” protection. Always bolt your safe down. Mine is about 5 feet tall and weights 500 lbs.
With sealed product however I don’t have much room inside the safe for a lot of boxes. I’ve recently repurposed a large chest freezer for my cheaper sealed stuff. Not a perfect solution but it will survive smoke damage and light fires, but not theft.
The first thing I thought when I read the title to this thread was Rudy’s video he posted a while back discussing this very subject. You can find that here:
I’ve actually done a fair amount of research into protective safes as well as how to best secure a collection. I’ve got a few tips that might be useful:
Multiple location strategy: that is to say, don’t keep everything in one place. Safety deposit boxes, self storage places, more than one location in your home/apartment are all viable options.
“Gun safes” are a really good idea! HOWEVER getting the RIGHT safe is pretty critical. I could write a whole thread on protective safes but for the sake of trying not to derail this entire thread I’ll say this: You’re wasting your money with anything less than a UL TL-15 safe. Those safes you can buy at sporting good stores, home depo, and other big box stores are entirely a waste of money and not something I recommend.
Insurance is expensive. You are looking at 100’s of dollars extra per year (dependent on lots of factors of course) to cover a collection that could be spent on shiny bits of cardboard. Again I stress the safety deposit boxes much cheaper and far less likely to be affected by fire/theft/Snorlax using self destruct/flood or whatever it is you worry your cards might be ruined by.
Inventory Inventory INVENTORY! If you are going the insurance route, make sure you know what you have and make a list. You can also make a video if that’s a little easier, but you’ll need to verify everything you have should you have to file a claim.
Keep what you communicate in mind. We live in the world of Facebook, Youtube, and IG. You can quickly show off your *Insert high price item here* to anyone in the world with an internet connection. As collectors we should take pride in this, it’s part of what makes this hobby fun! But you need to minimize yourself as a potential target as well. Don’t post your item and immediately follow up with a post about going on vacation for a week. You’ve made yourself a target for team rocket faster than you can blink.
Other things to keep in mind at least about PSA slabs: They offer zero UV protection, are not water proof, not fire proof, and offer very little impact resistance. Keep these factors in mind when you assess what your collection needs in terms of protection.
When it comes to displaying, Rudy makes an excellent point in his video. Best way to do that is to just pop the safe and have it staged so you can enjoy it. Then lock it up once you’re done. I would suggest the same as it brings balance to both display and protection. I would argue it even optimizes it but that’s a thread for another day
Final note:
As I mentioned before I’ve done plenty of research when it comes to safes. I would be happy to help anybody out who is looking to invest in one (Just PM me). Or, if anyone has interest in a thread that covers the topic I’ll see if I can jot one up.
Just some useful info about storing your collection in a safe. Obviously the safe needs to be fireproof. Don‘t go for the cheap options. It‘s important that the safe is fire proof up to at least 1 hour. Also, most safes have a fireproof rating for paper. I recommend buying a safe which is also fireroof for digital media for up to 1 hour. The digital media fire ratings require the temperature inside the safe to stay lower than the paper fire rating.
Reason being, I think with a fireproof safe for paper only the cards could still take damage (PSA cases could start melting or bending and so on).
So many questions answered! Want to display some of my PSA cards and I always thought they were UV proof. Hear that all the time but ok I’ll invest in a bank deposit box. Sounds like the easiest solution. Plus it’s always fun to see cards after a long time apart. I love “unboxing” lol (is there a way to follow a thread without posting in it?)
But dont put them at risk of being damaged or stolen.
(is there a way to follow a thread without posting in it?)