Stolen 1927 $20 Saint Gaudens

bp777

Be on the lookout for this coin. This coin was cut out of a USPS small priority box while in transit from CA to FL.

pcgscacgold

I am sorry to hear that you were hit as well. I had 9 coins cut out of a UPS box last week. Good luck. Let's hope we both get lucky.

bp777

Wow. That’s ridiculous.

sTONER

jherkhoffs

MsMorrisine

NGC 3726806-011
1927 $20
NGC MS 63

MsMorrisine

google indexes this site

put your cert info using TEXT instead of an image

if it is ever found, come back to this thread and say so

bp777

Will do

sumdunce

I do hope they recover it.

Kliao

Hoping for the best and the coins get recovered!

mavs2583

Horrible. Hope it gets recovered. Out of curiosity, did the seller put on the box that there was a coin inside?

bp777

No. I’m the seller. The dirtbags at the US Post Office saw how much I paid for insurance and jacked the coin.

MsMorrisine

did the PO Body Bag the box with an apology note, or did it just arrive taped back up?

ifthevamzarockin

bp777

The box was cut and taped back up. It’s not that big of a deal. It was insured, so I’ll eventually get my money back. But this just makes the PO look bad.

mark_dak

Hoping the crook is stupid enough to sell it slabbed. Yeah, always figured insurance is a double edged sword. Makes the package a target. Hopefully USPS will honor your insurance claim if it's not recovered.

Mark

CoinHoarder

Cut and pasted from the internet:

USPS has a small clause in their insurance policy stating that they will not honor insurance for lost precious metals unless they are shipped by REGISTERED MAIL. ... In the USA Registered Mail is the best way for the average citizen to ship their gold or silver bullion.

CoinHoarder

Cut and pasted from the internet:

USPS DOES NOT INSURE COINS.

bp777

Well that sucks

PerryHall

I was the recipient of this empty box. I found it my mail box like it's pictured in the first post, The cut looks like it was made with a sharp knife or box cutter. After the coin was removed, the thief who had to be a postal employee taped up the box with clear packing tape. Some of the tape wrapped around to the front corner of the box. The postal supervisor said that when they scan the tracking number, a picture is automatically taken of the front of the box. The picture from their scan when it first arrived at my post office showed this extra tape from resealing the cut so the postal supervisor concluded that it must have happened before it arrived at the post office. The $40.50 postage/insurance sticker on such a small box (see the above pic) may have tipped off the thief that something valuable was inside. This is a good example of why it's important to fully insure your packages and get tracking and signature confirmation. This package had a "signature required" label and I never signed for it. The postal supervisor told me they are now requiring the recipient to sign for their packages so whoever delivered it is going to get a lecture from this supervisor. Stay tuned.

MsMorrisine

https://about.usps.com/publications/pub122/pub122_v07_revision_092016_013.htm

Line H.

Numismatic items - proof of value before mailing

ajaan

For a coin like that I would have sent it Registered Mail fully insured. It would have been cheaper and more secure.

LanceNewmanOCC

for anyone putting shipping labels with that much cost showing is just asking for trouble. like a big neon sign saying, empty contents, pass go, collect $20000 dollars!

find a way to ship that DOESN"T show any unnecessary information. anything to do with coins on the label, may as well go sit the coin raw on your dashboard and save yourself the trouble. obviously not one's fault someone else steals but this earth and with its history, it really behooves one to be pragmatic.

i'm pretty sure private insurance eliminates this aspect as well as SIGNIFICANTLY reducing the cost per-package if you ship a fair amount in volume and/or value over the year.

after what i saw last year in at least dozens of videos, the respect of people's property and persons is NOT at an all-time high and that was in public view. in the privacy of shipping trucks, back rooms, etc etc, fuhgetaboutit.

i made a post years ago when some dealers reported HIGH dollar thefts, possibly from their booths at shows and when asked, "did anyone think to take a couple grand split up amongst the many millionaires as the show", all i got was crickets. smh

HOPE it helps.

LanceNewmanOCC

@PerryHall said:
The postal supervisor said that when they scan the tracking number, a picture is automatically taken of the front of the box.

tyvm for that snippet and the rest of the post!

that is some SERIOUS image infrastructure.

Bullsitter

$40.50 postage got the suspects attention.

bp777

I agree. i was in a rush and wanted to get it out asap. ive been buying, selling, and flipping gold and silver for over 10 years. Ive shipped all over the world. This is the first time i hv ever had a problem. I usually just roll the dice and ship flat rate. But this time I didnt and look what happened

bp777

Luckily it wasn’t anything important. Its nice. But nothing very important. The pics of the box dont look good. I went down to the po and showed them. They know its wrong

kaz

I don't have anything constructive to add, just that THIS STINKS!

PerryHall

Would it help to mark the package "FRAGILE! COMPUTER PARTS" or something similar?

MsMorrisine

Electronics can be pawned too

Shipping metal? Label it as something metal - Custom Steel Brackets

PerryHall

Can you ask the post office to not show how much you paid for shipping and insurance on the package? A high dollar amount makes the package a target for a postal thief.

vplite99

All the PO stole from me was a few half a few years ago. There are definitely thieves working there.

philographer

Fingerprints on the tape?

Downtown1974

Ughh so sorry to hear about this…for both Perry and bp.
Hoping for a positive outcome for both of you guys.

Coinscratch

It’s kinda odd the delivery person didn’t hang around for a signature. Plus, if the thief was at Perry’s PO he could have cut and taped the box before taking the scan/picture.

liefgold

@bp777 said:
The box was cut and taped back up. It’s not that big of a deal. It was insured, so I’ll eventually get my money back. But this just makes the PO look bad.

Sorry to hear of your loss. I hope you get your money back. If it was insured by the post office I hope you have good receipts and proof of value. They lost my package for 59 days and denied my claim because I did not have "proof of value". Even though I had a paid invoice, a statement from a Heritage VP on $ value, and a canceled check.
My story did end well when they finally delivered it, but I have no confidence in the PO and will not insure with them again.

JimTyler

@bp777 said:
No. I’m the seller. The dirtbags at the US Post Office saw how much I paid for insurance and jacked the coin.

I don’t buy insurance for this reason. My insurance is a small priority box in a priority padded envelope and lots of tape. One time I accidentally let my tape hit the padded envelope where I didn’t want it and was absolutely impossible to pull it off. I just stuck it down in the weird position it landed and kept going. Sometimes I think it might be better to buy a minimal amount of insurance to give scum suckers like the guy that cut into that box the idea the contents isn’t worth my job and jail.

relicsncoins

@philographer said:
Fingerprints on the tape?

Postal workers wear gloves while sorting and handling packages in the event there is a hazardous substance on the package.

Pnies20

We need to mail a box back and forth to each other like this to see who’s doing it 😈

https://youtu.be/h4T_LlK1VE4

Dug13

File it with Doug Davis. He keeps an on going list of thefts.

derryb

mailing the priority box inside a sealed priority bubble envelope might offer more security and it only costs a few more pennies. Marking the packages "Fragile - Glass" may also help.

Print your own labels where you can choose not to show cost of postage on the label.

savitale

Disgusting. I hope there is a special circle of Hell reserved for those who steal coins.

I assume you have informed NCIC?

bp777

Ncic, yes

SonnyD

It's like "tracked and insured" is a another way of saying "free merch" . Time to go postal on these workers!

Herb_T

@PerryHall said:
I was the recipient of this empty box. I found it my mail box like it's pictured in the first post, The cut looks like it was made with a sharp knife or box cutter. After the coin was removed, the thief who had to be a postal employee taped up the box with clear packing tape. Some of the tape wrapped around to the front corner of the box. The postal supervisor said that when they scan the tracking number, a picture is automatically taken of the front of the box. The picture from their scan when it first arrived at my post office showed this extra tape from resealing the cut so the postal supervisor concluded that it must have happened before it arrived at the post office. The $40.50 postage/insurance sticker on such a small box (see the above pic) may have tipped off the thief that something valuable was inside. This is a good example of why it's important to fully insure your packages and get tracking and signature confirmation. This package had a "signature required" label and I never signed for it. The postal supervisor told me they are now requiring the recipient to sign for their packages so whoever delivered it is going to get a lecture from this supervisor. Stay tuned.

While REGISTERED mail is slower, you will find it cheaper to send a box like this registered mail with the same amount of insurance coverage. Package has a better chance of arriving, costs less to send and has signature sign off along its way to the recipient.

Herb_T

@Coinscratch said:
It’s kinda odd the delivery person didn’t hang around for a signature. Plus, if the thief was at Perry’s PO he could have cut and taped the box before taking the scan/picture.

I am going to call BS on photos being taken at the PO upon it receiving the package. That has never happened at the post offices I use. What do they do with this photo? I would ask to see the photo, if such a thing exists.

Herb_T

@relicsncoins said:

@philographer said:
Fingerprints on the tape?

Postal workers wear gloves while sorting and handling packages in the event there is a hazardous substance on the package.

While that might happen at A post office, when I mail anything, the person behind the counter doesn’t have gloves, nor do the postal employees at the PO have them when I pick up. Our mail carrier doesn’t have gloves. Perhaps that an indication of the risky PO you have!

Herb_T

@derryb said:
mailing the priority box inside a sealed priority bubble envelope might offer more security and it only costs a few more pennies. Marking the packages "Fragile - Glass" may also help.

Print your own labels where you can choose not to show cost of postage on the label.

Shipments from APMEX as well as a handful of others, use two sided sticky tape and bond the item on the inside to the box. If you have have gotten one of these you know how difficult it is to get it out, I can’t imagine how difficult it is when you are trying to be nonchalant while trying to get that coin out. You have to just about destroy the box to get it out!

MetroD

@MsMorrisine said:
https://about.usps.com/publications/pub122/pub122_v07_revision_092016_013.htm

Line H.

Numismatic items - proof of value before mailing

This.

For a USPS claim, you will have to prove "fair market value" before the mailing date.

Additionally, you will have to convince them that the coin has "numismatic value". If they consider it to be "bullion", the maximum indemnity on non-registered mail is $15.00.

Reference: USPS DMM 609, Section 4.1.m

PerryHall

@Herb_T said:

@PerryHall said:
I was the recipient of this empty box. I found it my mail box like it's pictured in the first post, The cut looks like it was made with a sharp knife or box cutter. After the coin was removed, the thief who had to be a postal employee taped up the box with clear packing tape. Some of the tape wrapped around to the front corner of the box. The postal supervisor said that when they scan the tracking number, a picture is automatically taken of the front of the box. The picture from their scan when it first arrived at my post office showed this extra tape from resealing the cut so the postal supervisor concluded that it must have happened before it arrived at the post office. The $40.50 postage/insurance sticker on such a small box (see the above pic) may have tipped off the thief that something valuable was inside. This is a good example of why it's important to fully insure your packages and get tracking and signature confirmation. This package had a "signature required" label and I never signed for it. The postal supervisor told me they are now requiring the recipient to sign for their packages so whoever delivered it is going to get a lecture from this supervisor. Stay tuned.

While REGISTERED mail is slower, you will find it cheaper to send a box like this registered mail with the same amount of insurance coverage. Package has a better chance of arriving, costs less to send and has signature sign off along its way to the recipient.

I mailed someone a coin and the postal clerk explained that registered would actually be cheaper than insured. He even calculated both prices and registered was indeed cheaper although slower. I had always assumed that registered was always more expensive but that isn't always the case.

PerryHall

@Herb_T said:

@Coinscratch said:
It’s kinda odd the delivery person didn’t hang around for a signature. Plus, if the thief was at Perry’s PO he could have cut and taped the box before taking the scan/picture.

I am going to call BS on photos being taken at the PO upon it receiving the package. That has never happened at the post offices I use. What do they do with this photo? I would ask to see the photo, if such a thing exists.

The postal supervisor scanned the bar code on my package and the picture came up on his computer screen. I don't know if the bar code reader has a built-in camera or if it's separate process. I lost a package a few months ago and my letter carrier told me that every time a package is scanned a picture is taken and the GPS location of the package is recorded.

Namvet69

My sympathy for your loss. It is aggravating to say the least. Hope it shows up for sale somewhere we can spot it. Peace Roy