PLAYING IT SAFE: BANK SAFETY-DEPOSIT BOXES PROVIDE PROTECTION FOR VALUABLES

The safe-deposit boxes are often used to store important documents that might be damaged by a disaster.

Twice a week, the woman took on a new look.

She would enter a bank with her safe-deposit box key. After she and a bank attendant retrieved her bank deposit box, she carried it into an allotted space.

A few minutes later the woman replaced the box and left the bank.

Nothing unusual. A lot of people go into their bank boxes each week.

But, for this woman, it was like a visit to the beauty parlor. She kept wigs in her bank box.

People keep a variety of things in safe-deposit boxes -- photographs, jewelry, important papers, silverware, coins, stamps and other valuables. One of the more recent items in a bank box is a videotape, showing contents of larger valuable items in the owner's home.

Safe-deposit boxes range from small compartments -- 3-by-5-by-24 inches to 11-by-17-by-24 inches.

Economists say the price is more economical than buying extra insurance to cover certain belongings at home.

A typical homeowners policy covers theft of jewelry, watches and furs up to $1,000 or $1,500. Bumping the coverage to $5,000, could cost another $100 to $150 a year.

On the other hand, safe-deposit boxes rent for anywhere from $8 to $130, depending on size and or bank location.

Homeowners insurance often covers bank-box losses up to a pre-set maximum, such as $1,000. For a small additional fee coverage of up to $5,000 can be provided.

Safe-deposit boxes are safe. But losses, while rare, can occur. Flooding in 1993 ruined a fine violin housed in a safe-deposit box in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

Theft is rare.

It takes two keys to open a box. Renters of safe-deposit boxes have one of the keys. When they enter the vault, they are accompanied by a bank attendant who has the second key.

Renters of safety-deposit boxes can check on their bank's safety quotient. Safety conscious banks normally verify customers' signatures every time they ask to open the box, even if they know them. And careful banks not only allow just one customer at a time into the safe-deposit vault, but also require customers to open their boxes in a separate room or booth.

If a customer loses a key, the box has to be "drilled," and replaced with a new lock. This can be an expensive operation -- usually more than $100, which is charged to the keyholder.

Boxes are drilled open all the time, says an executive of the American Safe Deposit Association.

Rest assured, however, say bank and safe-deposit officials, that nobody whose name isn't on the rental agreement can drill his way in.

It's even possible to restrict access to a jointly-held safe-deposit box, by stipulation "Joint access" when the box is rented. This phrase required all holders to be present to gain access to the box.

When a boxholder dies, rules of access can get complicated. Regulations vary from state-to-state and bank-to-bank. Surviving joint boxholders usually have unrestricted access, but sometimes, the box is sealed, requiring a joint holder to secure a court order just to see whether the deceased's will is in the box.

Where such access is restricted, joint holders are generally allowed to remove only wills, insurance policies and burial instructions until a state tax assessor can examine the contents.

An executor or next-of-kin must secure a court order to gain access to a safe-deposit box if it is rented with only the one signature. Some financial planners suggest that a copy of a person's will be left outside a safe-deposit box, preferably with a lawyer or executor.

Safe-deposit box rental remains consistent -- some customers quit, new ones come on.

Many people regard safe-deposit boxes as a "must" when it comes to storage of important records.

One safe manufacturer recommends that everyone have access to a safe -- an office safe, a home safe, bank safe-deposit box or some combination of the three.

People requiring frequent access to important papers and/or computer data kept in safety boxes, may consider a home safe or fireproof fire cabinet. People who rarely look at certain items may want to invest in the inexpensive bank safe-deposit box.

A small home or office safe designed to protect valuables and paper documents can cost as little as $400. A larger, fireproof and burglar-resistant (not burglar proof) security file cabinet, can cost up to $1,500.

Banking is nearly as old as civilization, and safety deposit boxes are almost as old as banking

That dates the small safety compartments somewhere between A.D. 400 and 500 when the ancient Romans developed a banking system to serve their vast trade network, which extended throughout Europe, Asia and much of Africa.

There is no official record of the first safety deposit box in ancient Rome, but the first safety boxes in the United States were those of Safe Deposit Co. of New York in 1865.

The Safe Deposit Co. used four safes on the ground floor of its operation and guarded them carefully. One of the safes was used for the company's daily operations, but the remaining three were divided into compartments and rented out. Renters paid $1.50 to $2.50 a year per $1,000 in the box.

Like the modern boxes in almost all banks today, renters each had a key.

One hotel joined the safety deposit box craze the following year, in 1866, when the New England Hotel installed a safe with individual compartments at its Boston site.

This historic information indicated that the first banks in the United States probably did not have safety-deposit boxes.

There was no mention of safe-deposit boxes in The First Bank of the United States established by the federal government in 1791. First Bank, largest bank of its day, was the largest corporation in the country.

Safety boxes are available in most banks in six to eight sizes. Some of the more popular sizes are 2-by-5-by-24 inches, 3-by-5-by-24 inches, 4-by-5-by-24 inches, 3-by-10-by-24 inches, 5-by-10-by-24 inches, 10-by-10-by-24 inches and 10-by-12-by-24 inches.