Shipping certified coins
JoeLewis
Posts: 1,907 ✭✭✭✭
Hi everyone. I'm sending off 26 PCGS/NGC certified coins to GC. Should I ship them in PCGS "box of 20"-type boxes? Or, should I put them each in some kind of padded envelope and pack them that way? Thank you for your advice on this.
US and British coin collector, and creator of The Ultimate Chuck E. Cheese's and Showbiz Pizza Place Token & Ticket Guide
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I ship mine in the pcgs/ngc style boxes
Regardless of what type of box you use, I recommend that the shipment be double-boxed. And that you place paper, or other space filler in between the slabs so they don’t rattle.
Be sure to include your contact information inside the inner box. I also strongly recommend registered-insured mail. It’s usually not fast, but I believe it to be the safest practical option.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
IMO Registered Insured (and heavy) mail sends up red flags to me kinda like "steal me"
I send expensive coins all the time in double boxed signature priority boxes. Never once have I had a problem.
USPS priority is super reliable and fast.
Use Registered.
I thought that the maximum insurance value was only $5000 for Priority Mail Express and Priority Mail.
Is the information linked below incorrect?
https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/503.htm?_gl=1*nuzvbg*_gcl_au*MTc1NTk4NTE3MS4xNzA4ODAwMjc0*_ga*MTgwOTQzMTAwOS4xNzA4ODAwMjc0*_ga_3NXP3C8S9V*MTcwODgwMDI3NC4xLjEuMTcwODgwMDc2Ni4wLjAuMA..#ep1233501
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Seconding @MFeld and @Golden
I use the cardboard boxes that PCGS sends their boxes in. I put my Slabs in poly bags, and pack tight with filler as necessary. I can usually get 26 to 28 slabs in one box.
Then put that box in a bigger box. Ship USPS Registered (up to $50.k), unless you have private insurance.
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
That is correct but he likely has a supplemental insurance policy as many of us do.
If he does and @JoeLewis does, too, fine. But if not and the shipment’s worth more than $5000, I wouldn’t risk it for myself or recommend it for others.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Thank you, everyone.
US and British coin collector, and creator of The Ultimate Chuck E. Cheese's and Showbiz Pizza Place Token & Ticket Guide
NGC will not ship coins back in plastic boxes for obvious reasons. I cannot understand why PCGS will return ship that way. Who's responsible for shipping damage ? Your coins will see fewer bids in chipped or damaged holders. Order some shipping sleeves to protect those slabs and like previously stated double box those slabs.
Definitely registered.
100% agreed. Prior to purchasing a policy everything I sent was Registered.
Write something like Cumnard Tunsten and Plutonium Bearings instead of your name on the return. Golden State does it; makes me feel a little better.
"Tunsten and Plutonium" sound like premium material to me ... I would a name more like "Dog and and Cat Litter Supplies"
OMG ... My Mother was Right about Everything!
I wake up with a Good Attitude Every Day. Then … Idiots Happen!
Just so the weight makes sense. Cat anchors?
I agree with most of the above, but I would ship in a medium flat rate, and insure with ship and insure!
Included is that if there is any damage they cover that also.
"Plutonium"...I wouldn't write that anywhere. You can't even mail perfume.
You're gambling. I choose Registered to avoid the gamble.
Natural forces of supply and demand are the best regulators on earth.
Chris doesn't believe in gambling...or cheerleading.
Speaking from experience, "Registered."
Natural forces of supply and demand are the best regulators on earth.
Okay, tungsten works.
All of these things!
BHNC #248 … 130 and counting.
I use a lot of bubble wrap and rubber bands and leave nothing to rattle. That goes in a box with the paperwork. That goes in a second box with a lot more bubble wrap. Now the box gets wrapped with a lot of the proper tape for Registered Insured mailing.
As much as I trust the USPS, I would rather send two packages worth 20K over one package worth 40K. It cost more but I feel better. I have the Registered Insured slip ready when I reach the postal clerk at the counter. We don't ever have to talk about the value of the package. Most clerks understand how private things need to stay.
I send mine FedEx Priority Overnight. I have my own insurance, but I think speed is also insurance!
Wayne
www.waynedriskillminiatures.com
What if he's mailing Vault Box coins?
Or is it wrong to gamble with the "proceeds" of gambling? Or do gamblers let it ride and extend the risk? 🤔
For me, if they had significant value I'd send registered. Yes, it's a potential red flag, but there are eyes on it and accountability every step of the way.
For those of us who are a little thick, what are the "obvious" reasons? Having sent and received many dozens of shipments in PCGS boxes I have not experienced any problems.
Rather than respond to the obvious I will point out that Great Collections will describe damage to a holder which oddly enough is usually damaged corners or ridges on PCGS holders. Some damaged NGC holders are encountered as well though only few are seen.
But if I understood your post, you are alleging that the damage is coming from shipping slabs in PCGS boxes. What is the theory to support that? Being a little thick, I don't see how shipping coins in a PCGS box contributes to slab damage. Why is the damage to the slabbed coins on GC not caused by other handling events?
I believe the insurance companies make huge profits.
I choose to put the money in my pocket on every coin that I ship.
I self insure.
I have been shipping coins for 25 years now.
I never once had to pay out a claim.
That is quite a bit of money saved up and of course reinvested in the business in the form of cool coins.
........
Gambling .... I do not gamble. I do play Poker for cash, but that is not gambling as it is a game of skill.
I don't know how common actual damage is. However, you generally want a soft packing material that gives. That way it absorbs any impact rather than transmitting the force of the impact. Further, plastic on plastic will scuff if it rattles, especially the softer PCGS plastic.
Right. But in a PCGS box, the slabs are held at the sides with a mm or two of play. The "rattling around" will cause little damage. It would take a significant impact to result in any damage. Yes, a cushion of some sort would protect the slab in that event, but double boxing the PCGS box should solve that. Having received hundreds of submissions back from PCGS, I have yet to receive a damaged slab. I have damaged slabs by dropping them though.
@fiftysevener said there were obvious reasons why NGC will not ship coins back in plastic boxes and I'm still struggling to understand those reasons. I'm not sure the cardboard boxes they (NGC) use would protect coins significantly better. With the reasons being obvious, I feel stupid that I don't understand the reasons.
Edited to add: FWIW, CAC stickering returns my coins in the PCGS boxes that I send them in. They do add some packing materials, but they do not see fit to replace the box.
Crush damage. If you crush a corrugated cardboard box, some of the corrugations deform, but the box as a whole doesn't explode. The same force applied to a rigid plastic box: boom.
ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
I actually disagree. The plastic boxes, especially when completely full of slabs are going to withstand quite an impact and I feel the slabs would be fairly well protected. The coardboard box will crush and leave the slabs vulnerable to damage, IMO. In an extreme impact, yes the PCGS box may crack. I don't think it will exploded. I don't think the slabs will be any worse off other than shards of plastic may scratch some of the slabs. If the slabs are damaged from the impact in a PCGS box, they will be just as likely to be damaged in a cardboard box. Only layers of bubble wrap or foam would probably protect a slab, and from what I have seen no TPGs do this for the regular sized slabs.
I tend to agree with most of the posted comments but there is always the handlers that show no respect for a shipped package. When I have shipped high grade proofs to CAC, I put them in Intercept Shield sleeves that fit either NGC or PCGS slabs. In a brief conversation with JA he indicated he not only appreciates shipping in these sleeves, he gladly returned them in the same sleeves as received.