TSA Flying With Coins
pmh1nic
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I’m flying out of Islip Airport going to Florida. In my carry on bag I had 5 coins 5 oz and 1 oz silver Libertad, 1 oz gold Libertad and two 2 oz. rounds. The bag comes through the scanner and a TSA officer ask “do you have any coins in here?” to I reply “yes”. She then ask “how many” to which I reply “six” (wasn’t sure). She says “o.k.” and hands me my bag.
Has this ever happened to anyone else? What would be the concern to even ask?
The longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice is it possible for an empire to rise without His aid? Benjamin Franklin
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If the coins were $1 SBA’s, you might have put them on your head and tried to hijack the plane … Medusa-like.
Seriously, maybe she was just a newbie and they probably looked odd on the screen.
I had a big bag of quarters once that they wanted to inspect.
And years ago when I flew through Paris a couple times a year the French security always wanted to inspect my coins.
They show up as solid objects on the X-Ray machine so they need to know what they are if they are not recognizable on their screen.
Soon after 9-11, I was flying to Florida for the Winter FUN show as a dealer. About the only defense you have is anonymity when you are flying with merchandise. You wear everyday clothes and you carry your inventory in a normal suitcase that you cannot check. I get up the x-ray machine, and the person who is looking at screen starts yelling at the top of her lungs "He has coins! He has coins!"
I'll be polite and say that I was pissed. "Unprofessional" would be the nicest word I can use. I requested a private search. They took me to a closed off room and opened all the boxes. That was the end of it, but I felt marked for a thief.
The only other time I had trouble was went I was taking van in from the airport. The driver who picked up my bag as me in front of all the other passengers, "You got coins?" YUCK!
I know some people say you should take a private taxi alone, but that has it's issues too. The driver can take you somewhere and do whatever. Most people say you are better off in the van.
My last three trips where I took coins with me in my carry on, I’ve had to open my coin boxes and show one or two and they said “ok” and I was allowed to proceed.
My worst experience was in Amsterdam, going through security to board my flight to Kyiv Ukraine in 2009 - I had 3 Swiss 1 oz bars and the security insisted on taking them out of my bag and holding them up for everyone around me to see. I was extremely pissed to have the bars held up for all to see that I had those. I felt like I was marked for getting knocked over as those bars represented several months salary in Ukraine at the time.
In contrast I was traveling through Oakland CA to Houston once with about 25-30 $20 gold pieces back in the 1990s. I explained quietly to the security person at the X-ray that I needed a private search and they accommodated me without hesitation and said they had had several collectors going through recently with private searches.
Good to know, I'll be flying from Dallas to Tucson in September with two full NGG boxes of ancients.
And they will be in my hand carry on since I'm not letting gold Caesars ride in the belly, the deserve First Class after 2000 years.
We go down, they go down with me. lol
I came out of Japan in 2007 with a regular sized Crown Royal bag half full of miscellaneous coins leftover from the 4 weeks....not a single TSA even cared about that huge chunk of metal in the carry on....or the small bundle of wrenches and screwdrivers...they were more concerned with the large toothpaste tube...they turned my carry on bag inside out trying to find it.
I would imagine that the TSA agent might not have understood that it would be a security risk to ask that question out loud, otherwise they would have been a little more discreet. You might think it’s common sense, but we are frequently handling higher value items and have it on our mind often, whereas they do not.
Luckily, to the average person, when they hear “coins”, they are likely thinking if pocket change, not high value collectibles.
Most agents are reasonable people. If you respond to them quietly and ask them to be discreet, they will usually accommodate. And if you ask for a private screening, they are required to give you one.
As an aside, while petty theft can be rather common, I really wonder how often larger thefts occur to passengers with valuable carry-ons. It may not be that frequent, though everyone should still be careful and alert.
Back when I worked for the ANA and used to fly to shows to do Counterfeit Detection Seminars (long before 9-11) I always brought along a box of examples of counterfeits, altereds, etc., and flying out of Colorado Springs my briefcase always got checked and coming home it never did, so finally one time going out of the Springs I asked the guy how come the security there was so much tighter than O'Hare and he quite nicely said "We've got three military installations in this town. You would not believe the ordinance that people try to take on the planes with them!"
I've had my bag stopped many times, with plenty of mostly humorous stories of TSA interactions. That said, I've never had any issues where they blew my cover, and to that end, I play each situation by ear. If the area is wide open, I'll let them search my bag right there (if it'll be in a corner with some space) and not draw attention by asking for a private search. When security is busy and/or tight, I'll take the private screening because there's no way to keep others from seeing what I've got.
When the TSA became paranoid after 9/11 I was flying back from the FUN show and had some gold bullion coins in my luggage which had clearly been moved by the agents within the bags which I did not carry on. I just wonder what type of risks you take with possible unwarranted searches or confiscation?
Back during the late 1980s I was stopped coming home from a Dallas Heritage auction with purchased rolls that apparently looked like they could be gun barrels to the x ray screener. At least that's what they said. That was pre TSA.
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As others have mentioned, I am a full time dealer who is on the road 80-100 days a year, so that’s a lot of flights. I have been stopped many times by tsa, but never a worry or an issue. They have gotten a lot better with this, but years back, I used to carry a laminated “card” with me that said I am a salesman, and I need a private screening. Never took more than 10 minutes, but even with full inventory, the few times I travel myself with a lot of coins, I haven’t had any major disruption in many many years. Hope that helps! Far more danger in other places carrying around inventory/coins than the airport.
I was going out to columbus,oh a d had peace $ in backpack, tsa guy takes and yells out (to get attention). I looked at him horrified asked hi.why he did that he just handed back k, I walked
Whenever the TSA person asks what I have, I immediately request a private screening. We go to the private area, he checks what is in my bags, and I'm on my way.
Member ANA, SPMC, SCNA, FUN, CONECA
The guys around big shows seem to learn what coins look like. Usually I go right through. I’ve been stopped a time or two at smaller airports.
Once, the guy had a real fascination with each and every coin. I became a little annoyed. He gave up when I explained that dropping and damaging a coin might be a 6-figure oopsie. I was exaggerating a little, but he was way past determining that they weren’t a threat to safety.
I got flagged just one time, I asked for a private screening and the agents were pretty fascinated by the coins. Took just a couple minutes, and I went on my merry way.
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I flew cross-country last year with a briefcase crammed full with three double-row boxes of slabbed US gold. While the briefcase was on the xray belt, the TSA agent doing the scanning looked up and said, “Coins, right?”
I nodded, and that was it.
When I got aboard, i put it in the overhead bin above my seat as nonchalantly as I could (not easy, since it was darned heavy).
I was SO happy to get off that plane and to the bank….
30+ years coin shop experience (ret.) Coins, bullion, currency, scrap & interesting folks. Loved every minute!
I had a carry-on with 55lbs of bulk coins and silver contained in ammo cans in my suitcase. You bet they checked both sides of every coin to make sure they were safe!
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
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Thanks for the feedback. I guess if she hadn't been satisfied with the answers to the two questions (do you have coins? Yes. how many? six) and didn't hand back my backpack I might have gotten annoyed. But it seems the questions aren't uncommon.
True story.
Going thru the TSA process with my teen age kids from a large U.S. airport this alert TSA officer did this.
He pulled aside my son and explained to me what was his concerns to private search my very shy son.
This only took 5 mins as I watched with out a clue as to why knowing nothing to worry about. Our whole group was giggling. Finding nothing he gracefully escorted us on our way.
We all tried to figure out why he was targeted for the search, and then this came up.
As we were getting ready for the drive to the airport, my son was playing around with those gunpowder spit balls you throw to explode with a small report or snapping sound. A cousin and him were just being kids. He had none on him as he knows better and respects common knowledge.
Bottom line, the TSA officer, like a hound dog, must have sniffed something was a little off.
We also brought back a few pricey coins which were not even given a thought of.
Anyone else ?
I'm sure in the training they get a lot of information about what to look for, especially contraband. The usps knows that a huge volume of coins and even cash get sent through the mail. They are probably profiling people and entering that into databases, Homeland Security, etc.. If you are flying from a major hub for drug peddling such as Miami or LA, I'd think they'd be looking for possible money laundering and may make unwarranted profiles. As gold bullion is used to launder money, or having bundles of $100 bills in luggage, I'd be a little careful carrying those.
I brought home 3 100oz silver bars from FUN a few years back. I packed them in PCGS boxes. Immediately flagged, asked for the private screening. It was quick and easy. They thought it was the neatest thing ever.
On coins in PCGS boxes, it has gone from a 50% check rate to about 20% lately.
Hardly ever a hiccup. Almost never get flagged.
Empty Nest Collection
Matt’s Mattes
A few years ago I was flying out of Buffalo on my way to my son's wedding in Thailand. I had a small bag of Thai 10 baht coins and a bag of M&Ms in my carryon. The TSA agent ignored the coins and had to inspect the closed bag of M&Ms. I have no idea what he was looking for.
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Don
Just ask for a private screening.
Had a roll of the prez bucks in my jacket going through security one time back in the day. That got me flagged for a personal screening and about a 30 second 'oh you're fine' when they pulled it from the scanner box it was in.
I was flagged once coming back from the FUN show. The TSA officer took my bag to a table over to the side. In a whisper he said "let me guess, you have coins". I said yes and he never opened my bag. We got to chat for a short time. He was also a collector. I thought it was cool that he didn't draw any attention to us.
One other time the officer looked inside one of the slab boxes in my bag. He was very careful. He put the box back in my bag and sent me on my way.
On a different trip I was on my way home from FUN. I had a large bronze Lincoln plaque in my bag. They had to open that box to see what it was. They didn't care about the slab boxes in the same bag.
Over all, I have never had a problem with TSA. I'm glad they are there.
Ammo cans??? Why? Are you a glutton for punishment? 😂
BHNC #248 … 130 and counting.
I flew with a box of 20 PCGS slabs, a couple Capital Plastic holders of 1950-1964 proof sets and a couple complete Danso albums in my carry-on. They pulled me aside and looked at them all, asking me if I was a collector. I was not in a hurry and suspect they were a collector also.
10 years ago, I was flying with a PCGS box in my carryon right next to my older style phone charger with a coiled cord directly aligned in the x-ray looking like a wire running through the 20 coins. I cut them some slack on that one...and now pack my phone cord far away from anything of the sort when flying.
Once I was flying out of Germany to the US. The German security people wanted to inspect my carry-on as they saw something odd on the X-ray.
They pulled out a brick and asked me what it was. I told them "it's a brick". They were a little confused but they couldn't dispute the point so they let me proceed.
I thought it best if I didn't mention where the brick was from. I had pulled it out of the ground at the site of Hitler's demolished mountain house in Berchtesgaden.
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