Baúl VS cofre
Baúl VS cofre. Maria says there is a major difference between these two, she says that a Baúl is made of wood, a big wood trunk for clothes and stuff, something an older person might have up in their attic.
Whereas a cofre is a smaller trunk, well I don't really know what kind of trunk a cofre is I guess.
11 Answers
cofre
s. m. Caja pequeña y resistente de metal o madera, con tapa y cerradura, que sirve para guardar objetos de valor: los piratas enterraron el cofre del tesoro en una isla desierta. arca.
As this definition shows I always thought of cofre as like a treasure chest
I cannot remember it in Spanish, but when I asked what "baúl" meant, it was explained that it meant "wardrobe" as in the type of luggage or trunk that a wealthy woman would take on cruise at the turn of the last century.
Some of the cross connections between terms arises from the fact that some of the more elaborate steamer trunks used by the wealthy were very similar to wardrobes (armoires).
This is actually an elaborate steamer trunk...notice the handle and wheels?
Not much different from a normal wardrobe
Baúl es una caja grande que se usa para guardar objetos viejos que no vas a usar más.
Cofre es una caja ya sea grande o pequeña, pero te sirve para guardar objetos de mucho valor y por lo regular incluye una cerradura.
Saludos! 
I always think of a cofre as a "treasure chest", then the car thing and finally the jewelry box.
On the other hand I usually think that a baúl is a big wooden box where people put their clothes or treasured stuff and that is usually under the bed or in a cabinet.
I agree with the other answers concerning "Baúl."
Maria apparently forgot to tell you that "Cofre" is also a very common term for the engine bay in a car/truck, etc. And the trunk of a car is called "La cajuela."
I just happen to have a baúl de cama a large very old wooden trunk,the kind you indicate would be found in an attic. Mine happens to be in the recámara principal. a cofre, can be a smaller trunk or a small chest, your jewelry box could be considered a cofre.
When I saw this question, jeez, first thing that came to mind was:
cofre = pirates
baúl = container to keep stuff, like the ones you have in your attic
My Colombian mother-in-law had a saying about "baúl."
If a woman showed up "dressed to the nines," she would say that she was wearing her entire "baúl" -- basically, her entire wardrobe, or everything she packed.
I cannot remember it in Spanish, but when I asked what "baúl" meant, it was explained that it meant "wardrobe" as in the type of luggage or trunk that a wealthy woman would take on cruise at the turn of the last century.
My understanding is that a baúl is large and can be made of any material and a cofre is small and can also be made of any material. A wedding cedar chest is a baúl (large) and a jewelry box is a cofre (small).
These answers make sense, except that I always imagine a treasure chest as a huge wooden box of the kind you might imagine a baúl to be, and I now think of a cofre (because of this thread) as a small jewelry type box, or any smaller box that can contain valuable objects, (even if it is wood, right? it doesn't have to be metal?) Gracias
