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Tips for Keeping your Coins and Valuables Safe in Palo Alto
- 3:05 pm
- September 28, 2023
- mvcoinshop.com
Palo Alto is an ideal neighborhood for safety, having one of the lowest crime rates in the Bay Area, being next to the top research university, and being scattered with parks like Briones Park, Monroe Park and Greer Park where neighborhood kids play without worry. Its tight-knit, self-sufficient community is an asset to Palo Alto as the city and the University of California work together to expand the regional transit system and handle future growth.
So it may make you let your guard down when it comes to personal safety and security. But indeed, at Mountain View US and Foreign Coins, we’ve seen many customers of ours unfortunately have their coins and valuables stolen from their pockets or purses, cars or garages at night. The best practice in preventing this theft, besides being mindful of your surroundings and leaving valuables at home, is to invest in a bulletproof and combination lockable safe on you at all times. However, for obvious reasons, this is out of reach for many people.
Based on our experience, here are 5 practical tips to prevent your coins and jewelry from being stolen from your car.
1) Make sure your wallet is not hanging on your seat
Often times people have their purses or wallets hanging on their seats or tables while they are driving, and even if you put your valuables in a lock box, the box will still be visible. Some thieves know just where to look to locate wallets. If you have small coins or jewelry in your wallet, keep it in the center console or in your glove box so that you have to physically open the door to grab your wallet. Also avoid having any coins or jewelry visible through the window.
2) Do not leave your wallet in the car
If you’re planning to run in a store during your lunch break, leave your wallet in your office and make sure your wallet is out of sight at all times. Avoid leaving your keys in the ignition. When you come out of the store, don’t walk out of the parking lot to your car. If you have more than one set of keys, stick the key fob in your wallet to always have one set of keys on you.
3) Take a wallet with you
A basic wallet with your ID, cash, credit cards, and drivers license should be with you at all times. Never keep a wallet in the back seat or in the center console.
4) Park in a garage, not on the street
It’s pretty rare for a car thief to break into a car that is parked in a parking garage, so you can get away with leaving your car parked in the driveway and going into your house. It’s best to park in a garage if at all possible. If you can’t park in a garage, just park in a well-lit neighborhood, a well-lit parking lot, or a parking lot with a security camera.
5) Invest in a Tracking Device
Nowadays, we are blessed with high tech such as Apple Airtags. Rare Coins are often the easiest targets for theives to steal due to their value density: that is, their high value for their weight. In the mind of a criminal, it’s always the lowest hanging fruit that they go after. And coins are exactly such a low-hanging fruit. Good thing is that technology is here to the rescue. A friend of mine from the Sunnyvale Coin show taught me a very secret trick of his, by leveraging Apple Airtags, he sneaks them in the middle of coin rolls in the nooks and crannies of his coin collection and well as anywhere sensitive.
I’m going to share the steps he took, so it’s important to always check your coin roll if you get a chance. So get ready and read on.
Two different ways to do this.
1. I assembled a fake Airtag, I placed it in the middle of coin roll. I then snuck the coin in through the Airtag by running my fingers along its length. The same way you’d open an Apple wallet, only it was a real Apple wallet! I stuffed the coin into my Apple wallet and it works perfectly!
2. Another method is very similar, but you use an Airtag instead. I took an empty Airtag and placed it in the middle of coin roll. Then, while placing it in my wallet, I snuck the coin into my wallet through the Airtag and inserted it in the Apple wallet. This way, I inserted the coin just above the top of the coin and the coin doesn’t fall out when I move the wallet. I’ll explain the next trick in detail.
What I like about the 2nd method is that it is invisible to the naked eye.
There are other ways to steal your coins, but in the long run, this will be the best way to secure them.
