This is a question a lot of people have in their minds when coming to the Owning Gold website. A ton of people search on Google with the phrase, “Is gold fire proof?”
So let me answer this here. Yes, gold is fireproof to a point, but…
The melting point of pure gold is 1947.52 degrees Fahrenheit .
And the average house fire generates temperatures of between 1,200 and 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit.
The melting point of gold is on the safe side of what you might expect from the average house fire.
But what if yours wasn’t an average house fire?
What if it burned hotter, even for a short while? And what if the place where you stored your gold was totally destroyed, and you couldn’t find your gold coins or bars in the debris?
Of course, this opens up the whole discussion about where you should store your gold.
On the face of the temperature issue, it might be tempting to put your gold into one of those portable fireproof safes.
The trouble with that idea is that statistically your home is far more likely to be burgled than it is to catch fire. And a portable, fireproof safe offers a tempting target for any burglar.
But if you hide your gold in a box of old books in the basement – for camouflage – you might again have trouble finding your gold in the aftermath of a major fire.
If you want to store your gold at home, you might be better off keeping it in a floor safe in the basement, away from most of the heat of any fire.
Bottom line. If I were storing gold at home, I would go for a concealed floor safe, set in concrete in the basement. Safe from burglars, and safe from fire.
