Greek locks, however, were generally viewed as unsecure. Many examples can be seen today in their temples. It was not until the ancient Greeks developed a more democratic and individualistic culture with small, self-contained communities (around 2500 years ago) that the equivalent of our modern vault first developed. The first traces of a lockable device that resembled keys were discovered in the tomb of Pharaoh Ramses II who reigned in the 13th century BC. The history of generic safekeeping dates back many thousands of years to ancient Egyptian civilisation, where powerful individuals were entrusted with valuables in return for a fee in arrangements that resemble modern banking practices. Though the vast majority of safe deposit boxes still reside in bank vaults, their withdrawal raises questions about the future of the safe deposit box. In the past decade, banks in many parts of the world have been withdrawing from providing safe deposit services to their customers. To a lesser extent, safe deposit boxes are found in post offices, hotels and now increasingly in private vaults. Modern bank vaults typically contain columns of safe deposit boxes alongside other valuable assets belonging to the bank or its customers. Vaults or strongrooms were built in the basement of banks where the ceilings were vaulted, hence the name.
The same has been the case in Europe and the US. Traditionally in the UK, the need for safe custody of valuables was met by the clearing banks. Having a safe deposit box is a regular feature of life in the US and continental Europe, where the incidence of ownership is far higher than in the UK. In France, it is estimated that one in five rent a box.
In Sweden, as many as one in three people have a safe deposit box. There are, by some estimates, 25 million safe deposit boxes leased in the US. Having acquired one of London’s oldest safe deposit businesses, Christopher Barrow of Metropolitan Safe Custody explores the life of the safe deposit box during its 150 year history. Our News The History of the Safe Deposit Box
0 kommentar(er)
