Segregated and allocated storage are not the same thing.

Both mean the metal is yours and not the custodian's. The difference is whether your specific pieces sit in their own physical space, or whether specific pieces are assigned to you inside a shared one.

Segregated storage gives you a space that holds only your items. Allocated storage assigns specific, identified items to you within a shared hall. Neither is pooled, and neither permits us to lend, lease, or borrow against your metal.

Which one you need

Collectors and estates usually want segregated, because the items are individually identified and often individually significant. Refiners and manufacturers moving lots in and out on a cycle usually want allocated, because handling is faster and the items are fungible within a lot.

“Pooled storage is a fourth thing, and we do not offer it.”

Vault operations · GoldenCor

In both cases every item carries its own certificate, its own seal number, and its own insurance rider. The record does not change between them. The physical arrangement does.

What to ask any custodian

Ask whether your metal can be lent or leased, whether it sits on the custodian's balance sheet, who is able to open your space and under what rule, and how often an outside firm counts it. Every answer should be in writing.

“If a custodian cannot tell you who can open your space, that is the answer.”

Records team · GoldenCor

Our storage agreement states all four in plain terms before you sign it.