Best Places to Hide Gold and Silver at Home

For gold and silver bullion buyers, the question arises of where to keep your gold and silver. Taking physical delivery of your gold or silver is often the most rewarding part of the purchasing experience, as it gives you, the bullion investor, a fuller understanding of the real value of tangible monetary assets.

But with this tangible asset comes the risk of theft. Owning even small amounts of gold and silver makes you a target for burglars. And the more visible these precious metals are, or the more people know about them, the greater the risk.

Furthermore, not everyone can afford a safe to store their bullion. And even if they can, a safe can actually make metals less safe. Ordering and installing one — or even the mere sight of it — might alert the wrong people to a gold stash. Nevertheless, finding the best place to store your gold and silver is a crucial part of keeping your investment secure.

As one of the industry's leading bullion dealers, we at GoldSilver pride ourselves on investing and buying bullion right alongside our customers. Like many of our bullion customers, we typically choose to take physical delivery first and then secondly store additional purchases of gold and silver at one of the many gold vault and silver storage locations we offer.

Because we are such proponents of taking physical delivery first, we have compiled a few creative storage solutions based on voluntary, anonymous customer feedback.

But before we can begin, we are obliged by our legal department to state the following to you:

GoldSilver.com does not recommend or endorse any of the listed storage solutions in this report. 

The following are only examples of storage ideas aimed to spark the creativity within our customers and expose the nearly limitless array of options available. 

Finally — and we never thought we would have to say this — common sense demands that sensible bullion investors refrain from posting their stashes or storage locations on Facebook, YouTube or any other social media websites.

 

The safest bullion investment stashes are those which are well-diversified in location, disclosed to as few people as possible and unknown to one's circle of acquaintances or strangers. As Gandalf says about the One Ring, “Keep it secret, keep it safe.”

Protect Your Gold & Silver Against Damage

As a bullion investor, whether you have purchased government-minted bullion coins or bullion bars, your metal’s value is mostly dependent on its intrinsic value, not aesthetic properties.

However, regardless of your chosen storage selection, certain precautions should be taken to account for gold’s malleability and silver’s tendency to tarnish.

Protective layers, cases, tubes, linings, etc., may help prevent structural damage or oxidation and are always practical for keeping your metals in good condition for if and when you choose to sell them. You should also wear lint-free cotton gloves or use plastic tweezers whenever possible while handling your bullion; after all, it’s a lot easier to keep it clean than to actually clean it.

Choose an Ideal Concealment Container

Now that we have the formalities out of the way, let us share with you some creative options and ideas for hiding your gold and silver bullion. From garage and outdoor suggestions to gold and silver living room ideas, we hope you see something that might inspire a unique, safe storage solution.

 Cold Gold: The Freezer

Regardless of whether you own or rent, the freezer is an indispensable appliance found virtually in all homes, apartments, etc. The accessibility and convenience of this option is excellent as it does not require any structural modification to your living space. Food items such as turkey, chicken, ice cream containers, etc., can be carefully stuffed with your valuables, effectively fireproofing them in the process. The temperature itself will have preservative effects. Space is a limitation here, but because freezers are rarely robbery targets, they can serve as a discrete secondary storage option. (Just remember not to prepare the food with your metals still inside.)

Valuable "Rocks"

Camouflaging your storage site into the local topography is a time-tested solution. Rocks typically do not draw much attention and can fit into a variety of landscapes. Artificial rocks with hollow storage cavities can be purchased online through a simple internet search. Search results will feature a wealth of shapes, sizes and colors, ranging in capacity to accommodate a few dozen to several hundred ounces. This solution is essentially fireproof and can be extremely labor intensive in the event of theft.

 Silver Soil: Gardening Pots

The density and weight of larger gardening pots can make them ideal for storing larger quantities of precious metals. Their bases can be altered to feature a spacious non-visible compartment within. Larger pots can weigh several hundred pounds and require skill to successfully penetrate, reducing the probability of theft. The layer of soil acts as a protective fireproof barrier. A larger base can work well for several dozen coin tubes or even bars. Remember to always waterproof your metals before storing.

Prized Pipes

Pipes are both abundant and distributed throughout most homes. A gas or water pipe which is no longer in use is ideal. Caps can be added to the ends of pipes to hold additional metals. Coins can easily be hidden either within a non-functional pipe or within a pipe cap you may easily purchase. Pipe storage also is a theft deterrent because of the unlikelihood that a time-constrained intruder will have time to scan your entire plumbing or gas pipeline system.

Golden Flames: The Fireplace

Incorporating your storage site into a living space is one of the best solutions for concealing your stash. Rooms associated with leisure are often the last location a culprit would search. This solution may require some masonry work to create a compartment within the base or along the walls of the fireplace. The compartment can be customized to meet your storage needs. Once finished, seal the compartment, and you now have a sturdy, fireproof storage solution.

Precious Pets: Pet Beds or Cat Litter Boxes 

Dog beds and cat litter boxes offer ideal spaces for concealment, typically having several layers embedded in them which can provide ample space for gold and silver storage. The only limitation to this option is the depth and width of the litter box or pet bed. Ensure the storage container is reinforced for protection against your own pet and that the box or bed is reassembled properly. The scent and appearance of the storage site will limit the attention any burglar gives to the area.

Wooden Logs

Integrating your metals into the natural topography of local landmarks is a time-proven concealment alternative. Those living in rural or mountainous areas where stockpiles of firewood are the norm can find a storage site within some of the larger logs in their stack. A large log can be drilled to create a customized hollow in its interior. 

Treasure Map

If you are using multiple sites, create a treasure map with clear instructions for accessing your metals in the event of an emergency or if you need to disclose your storage locations to a loved one.

Anti-Detection Box for Hiding Gold From a Metal Detector?

To the best of our knowledge there aren’t containers that will block a metal detector from detecting metal. Burglars usually don’t carry metal detectors with them anyway, so a good hiding spot is usually the most effective strategy.
If you bury your bullion, depth is a good way to avoid detection (most devices can detect up to about two feet deep), though that does make retrieving it more difficult and time-consuming. Iron can mask the signal from a metal detector, but you’d need to make sure it covers the entire stash of bullion (and of course someone could look under the iron if they find it).

How Often Should I Check to See if my Silver Has Tarnished?

Silver tarnish is normal. But silver bullion that is 99.9% pure will tarnish less and more slowly than silver alloy products, like a piece of silver jewelry that is only 14-karat (58.3% silver). How fast it will tarnish depends on the environment in which you store it. Heat, humidity, and exposure to air will speed up the tarnishing process, so try to keep it in a cool, dry place, with low exposure to oxygen.

If you can store your silver bullion in that manner, you can probably just check on it once/year for tarnishing. And it may not show any tarnish in many of those checks. If you do find tarnish, use a polishing cloth. If opting for a jewelry cleaner use sparingly (and don’t scrub hard!).

Final Thoughts on How to Hide Your Gold and Silver

Almost any storage solution can be customized to meet your unique security and living configurations.

As with any investment choice, diversification of risk is an important part of the process. Using multiple locations will not only mitigate your risk but also give you peace of mind. Do not limit yourself to your own dwelling; there is a limitless array of options in the outdoors.

Your own creativity is the only limitation in finding the ideal storage solution(s). Flexibility is critical, and most importantly, use diversification of location to safeguard your metals against the most probable and improbable scenarios. And remember: sometimes the best hiding places are the ones in plain sight. Thieves are more likely to focus on “obvious” hiding places for silver and gold than they are on pet beds or paint cans.

This concludes our report on some potential ideas for hiding gold and silver. We wish you safe and secure stashing of your gold and silver treasures.

We will leave you with a few potential bonus brainstorming ideas for storing gold and silver coins and bars.