Updated January 16, 2024
Despite all the novel investments like cryptocurrency, NFTs, REITs, ETFs and other fancy-sounding financial instruments, there has been at least one enduring investment people still swear by: precious metals. Gold, and sometimes, its famous runner-up, silver.
If you decide to invest in some gold, whether in the form of bars or coins, Wisconsin resident Chad Venzke has a suggestion. He says to dig a hole in the ground four feet deep, pack gold and silver in a piece of plastic PVC pipe, seal it, and bury it.
The 43-year-old trusts only himself to store and protect his gold and silver—not banks, not investment funds, and certainly not the government. It’s precisely because of this suspicion of institutions that he invests in those metals to begin with. In case of emergency, “you always want to have your precious metals within arm's reach,” he says.
If you have gold, where do you stash it then? Hiding gold in your house may sound like a ludicrous idea, but it seems to work for those who possess a significant hoard.
In this article, InvestmentNews delves into the ingenious ways some people have hidden their precious investment. These can then be used as inspiration for your own gold-hiding techniques.
If you own some gold today, consider yourself luckier than your predecessors. Did you know that in the US, there was a time when it was illegal for ordinary citizens to own gold? It may sound strange to us today, but it’s true!
From 1933 to 1974, US citizens were prohibited from owning gold in the form of gold bullion. To be able to possess gold bullion, they could only do so with a special license.
Banning private ownership of gold was an emergency measure the US government used to counter the Great Depression. This was mainly because the US dollar’s value was still pegged to the “gold standard”. This meant that the amount of gold the US Treasury held determined the US dollar’s value, so the government had to own and control the gold to ensure the dollar’s stability.
The laws on gold remained until January 1, 1975, when these restrictions were lifted. This would have been disastrous, were it not for then-president Richard Nixon. He had already removed the US dollar from the gold standard in 1971, so gold in private hands would not affect the greenback’s value.
It was from then on that gold in any form (including gold bullion) could freely be bought, sold, and owned in the US without any licensing requirements or restrictions of any sort.
Since the removal of gold ownership restrictions after 1975, how much gold then can an ordinary American own legally?
In the US, there are no limits on buying, selling, or owning gold – so you can buy and sell as much gold as you can or want. There are also no restrictions on owning gold for investment purposes.
These days you can buy a 10-oz. gold bar in NYC then take it to LA without being questioned. Gold is one of the few substances that may be taken across state lines without any permit. However, you will have to declare the gold at customs in California if its value is more than $10,000. There are also corresponding taxes on the gold that you own.
Evidence suggests that there are there are growing piles of precious metals in, under, or near American homes. From mid-2010 to mid-2011, US investors bought more than 100 tons of physical gold coins and bars, up from 15.2 tons in 2007.
According to the World Gold Council, worldwide demand for gold bars and coins rose 37% during the mid-2010 to mid-2011 period. This occurred, according to the Council, even as demand from exchange-traded funds backed by physical gold and similar products fell by 84%.
Fortunately, you can buy any amount of gold and pay it in cash. But if your purchase is more than $10,000 in value and bought in cash or its equivalent, the IRS requires filling out Form 8300.
This form requires the necessary details like your name, address, and social security number. All licensed gold dealers are obliged to provide you with this form. Failure to submit this form within 15 days of the purchase can result in significant penalties, potentially costing those involved in the transaction $25,000 or more.
Many individuals who invest in gold prefer stashing their bars and coins at home. Here are some of the common reasons why they choose to store their gold at home, and sometimes in unusual ways:
Having a home safe can deter thieves, but the cost for this type of security measure can be high – too high in some instances. Richard Krasilovsky, president of Empire Safe, says that safes for storing or hiding gold should be very strong and very heavy. In fact, a recent sale his company made was for a 4,000-pound safe that cost $10,000.
A proper safe starts at $2,000 and the cost could climb to as high as $40,000 – a price not usually within reach of many gold bugs. What about inexpensive fire safes? This is exactly the wrong place to put your gold and other valuable items. Krasilovsky calls such safes “handy carrying cases for burglars” as fire safes are designed to protect paper and valuables from fire, not intruders.
Ryan Smith, senior product manager of fire safe brand SentrySafe says, “it wouldn’t be wise to put any more than $20,000 worth of valuables in our products.”
Ideally, gold bugs should invest in a safe with a TL-30 rating, meaning that the safe can resist intrusion by burglars using tools for at least 30 minutes.
This video describes which types of safes are best for your gold, silver, or other valuables. Find a safe with a decent “TL” rating, such as TL30. The “TL” means that the safe is torch- and tool-resistant, so thieves can’t cut their way in with a drill or cutting tool.
There are other alternatives to safes such as safety deposit boxes and offsite depositories.
The thought of keeping one’s gold in a safety deposit box is anathema to many gold bugs.
Gold bug and prepper Chad Venzke, who predicts “runaway inflation” and a crisis leading to a “new form of currency within this decade,” worries that the boxes won’t be accessible if banks shut down in a crisis. Even if statistics show a decline in bank robberies in the US, the FBI still deals with a significant number of armed bank robberies each year.
Compared to the other investments available, gold remains one of the most liquid investments. Gold is easily convertible to cash and has seen upticks in value over the years. In fact, many financial experts believe that gold prices will go up in the coming years as well. Some even dare to say that other investments, like bitcoin, will not replace gold anytime soon.
Cyrus Amini, chief investment officer at Helium Advisors, says that “bitcoin has too much price volatility and doesn’t appear to be a true store of value.” He adds, “While gold prices fluctuate over time and especially in recent rallies, it has historically proven to be a store of value and a haven for investors.”
Owning even a small amount of gold and/or silver makes you a target for thieves. Should you decide against renting a bank safety deposit box or buying an expensive safe, you have other options. Here are some suggestions.
“Inside hides” are stashes of your gold coins, bars, or other valuables that are concealed or contained in your home’s interiors. These hides or stashes can include:
This is a common stash where you cut a hole into the floor then install a safe. It can be the best way to hide and store a large cache of precious metals, especially if it’s embedded in something solid like a concrete slab.
You will need to place a trapdoor or a door with a combination lock. Then, conceal it with a piece of furniture or decorative object like carpets or rugs.
Most modern furniture pieces can be taken apart, then have hidden pockets or compartments installed into them. When done properly, there can be no obvious signs of alteration or tampering, making no one suspect that this is a gold stash.
Wooden tables or chairs can have their legs hollowed and used to stash gold coins or small silver or gold bars. Be sure to avoid weakening the legs and conceal the work so it doesn’t appear tampered.
As with the dug-out floor for a floor safe, you can make a similar stash in your wall. Hollow out a space in a wall, place the items inside, then conceal the hide with sturdy boards. Be sure to add a layer of concealment like wallpaper, plaster, or paint that matches the entire wall. Prepare extra material used to conceal the hide in case you want to access the stash and cover it up again.
These are stashes that are in features or disguised as features just outside your house or in an outdoor spot close to your home. Some good outdoor hide ideas include:
As basic as it is, this way of hiding gold is still effective. The trick is to dig the hole at least more than two feet deep. Two feet is the range of most commercially available metal detectors, so digging a hole deeper than that can help your precious stash avoid detection.
You can stack other types of metals above the stash to confuse any metal detection devices. By placing other useless metals for them to dig up, this will hopefully frustrate and trick thieves into giving up trying to find the gold.
Another good strategy is to place the stash where a metal detector would get tripped, such as close to underground pipes or a manhole.
Large gardening pots are ideal for storing gold and other precious metals. To turn them into effective hides, modify their bases to accommodate a spacious, non-visible compartment.
Make sure to waterproof your precious metals before storing them here. With gold or other metals placed inside, the weight can be increased to hundreds of pounds, and reduce the chances of theft. A layer of soil in these pots can also work as an additional protective fireproof barrier.
One of the oldest tricks for hiding metal that mimics the topography of your home is using larger, hollow logs from stockpiles of firewood. Drill out these logs and hollow out their interior, then place your bullion inside. Plug the drilled holes with pieces of wood shaped to fit and glue them on with wood adhesive. Stack them among other large logs.
Another effective outdoor stash for your gold or other metals is to use artificial rocks that have hidden storage compartments. These may be bought or made as DIY projects. Just make sure that they look convincing enough and are made from sturdy, waterproof and fireproof materials.
Remember that all your efforts in hiding gold or other valuables can all be for nothing if you fail to do one thing first: keeping it secret. Don’t speak of it to anyone. Also, never mention or share any information (not a word, picture, or video) about your stash on social media. You could become like the celebrities who were quickly targeted by thieves after they displayed their wealth online.
Gold, silver, and other precious metals are a double-edged sword. While they provide a measure of material security, they can also be a source of anxiety by attracting the prying eyes of thieves. The key to hiding gold, like Fight Club, is not to talk about it. Next, use conventional ways of secure storage like renting a bank safety deposit box or installing an impenetrable vault in your home.
If these methods prove too costly or risky, you can use some of the "hides” listed here. Also, consult a professional to show you other options. They may know of more advanced storage options you didn’t know existed.
What do you think about clients stashing their gold, silver and other valuables at home? Would you recommend this or champion using bank safety deposit boxes or bank vaults? Don’t forget to check out InvestmentNews’s section on gold and other investments today!
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