The math doesn't matter. There's less than a 1 in 1000 chance of anything going wrong. Yet people who have shipped 5 packages successfully think it's because of the aluminum foil.
A certain number of packages, apparently selected randomly, get put through various scanners (like X-ray) at USPS Distribution Centers. If they can’t see what is in the box/package and presumably foil blocks that, they may open it to see if it is banned material of some type.
Aluminum foil provides very little x-ray attenuation. A copper, silver, or gold coin will stick out like a sore thumb even if wrapped in foil, even without using multi-spectum x-ray.
Sure, but x-rays are not used to find coins, they are looking for illegal items - contraband, illegal drugs, etc. While the link below is about airport security, it applies to USPS packages as well. If they scan a package, and it is difficult to see some things inside such that something suspicious might be there, they might open your package. Al-foil wrapping can apparently confuse the scan hence they may open it to investigate further. There are other websites that discuss this with respect to USPS processing, and suggest no foil (I just can’t find them right now, must be using the wrong key words in the search). So it is 6 on one side a half dozen on the other. It may be the best solution is to simply wrap the slab only where the chip is (?). I have had packages arrive fully wrapped, and have sent a couple out that way.
So do you confuse USPS in their scans potentially risking that they open it to investigate further, or do you protect a chip inside a slab from being scanned by a nefarious person? Which is the higher risk? The key is to eliminate scanning of chips in the slabs but not raise flags at the x-ray scans for your packages.
Thieves want anything liquid and valuable. I doubt scanning for NFC chips is common given that SLABBED coins represent 0.0000001% of theft-worthy packages.
The math doesn't matter. There's less than a 1 in 1000 chance of anything going wrong. Yet people who have shipped 5 packages successfully think it's because of the aluminum foil.
A certain number of packages, apparently selected randomly, get put through various scanners (like X-ray) at USPS Distribution Centers. If they can’t see what is in the box/package and presumably foil blocks that, they may open it to see if it is banned material of some type.
Aluminum foil provides very little x-ray attenuation. A copper, silver, or gold coin will stick out like a sore thumb even if wrapped in foil, even without using multi-spectum x-ray.
Sure, but x-rays are not used to find coins, they are looking for illegal items - contraband, illegal drugs, etc. While the link below is about airport security, it applies to USPS packages as well. If they scan a package, and it is difficult to see some things inside such that something suspicious might be there, they might open your package. Al-foil wrapping can apparently confuse the scan hence they may open it to investigate further.
What might confuse the operator is wrinkles in the foil, as those change the thickness of the aluminum. A silver dollar in a slab wrapped in foil will be easily identified as such, even in the presence of a single layer of aluminum foil. Aluminum attenuates far less x-ray at 60-140 kVp than silver. This is one reason that the aluminum cent was rejected in 1974. It didn't show up in x-rays, so it could be missed if swallowed by a child. At 60 kVp, the beam energy used for a child, aluminum blocks 1/6 the x-ray of copper. A dual-energy scanner will be able to discriminate the two elements from each other for the operator, not for the purpose of searching for valuables, but visually separating package contents. A bad guy with or near and x-ray scanner can select a target this way. Also, a good guy with a scanner that needs to open a package to inspect the contents will carefully open and re-seal a box, stating it was opened for inspection, not slice a gaping hole in the side and hastily re-wrap it.
With the overall numbers of packages stolen or rifled by USPS is low as a percentage of total packages shipped, I don't know if the benefit of foil vs non-foil wrapping can be measured in a statistically meaningful manner. All theft reports we see are purely anecdotal (i.e., statistically worthless).
@erscolo said:
I would agree with the less than 1 in a 1000 chance of something going wrong. I have purchased more than 2,000 coins online, through eBay and direct from businesses since the early part of 2009. In that time only one package was lost, and it was for three Lincoln Cents and a total price of $8. I have yet to use tinfoil (except for my hat). A few packages get misdelivered along the way, and one time the Postmaster herself came out and tracked down five packages. It is easy to bash nameless people, yet experience tells me clearly it is the rare exception and not the rule.
I've had what I would call great to excellent service over the years with one damaged [but contents unharmed] and 2 lost; one incoming and one outgoing. Packages plucked from my mailbox at noon have been delivered in Hawaii in 2 days. However some hubs and PO branches are just problematic. I'm reading on other sites that Indianapolis is currently something of a black hole for packages, especially firearms.
@winesteven said:
I don’t know if it helps or not, but ever since I read on a thread on this forum a suggestion to wrap the inner box in aluminum foil to stop thieves who use rfid readers/sensors, I’ve been doing just that. Maybe every little bit helps?
Steve
I've never used aluminum foil and never had a slab stolen or lost in the mail. And that proves...
...you have been lucky. But the odds are not in your favor.
Really? You think that he has a more than 50% chance of having a package with non-foil wrapped slabs stolen in the mail?
You should reconsider the math here because you are really tremendously mistaken.
@winesteven said:
I don’t know if it helps or not, but ever since I read on a thread on this forum a suggestion to wrap the inner box in aluminum foil to stop thieves who use rfid readers/sensors, I’ve been doing just that. Maybe every little bit helps?
Steve
I've never used aluminum foil and never had a slab stolen or lost in the mail. And that proves...
...you have been lucky. But the odds are not in your favor.
Really? You think that he has a more than 50% chance of having a package with non-foil wrapped slabs stolen in the mail?
You should reconsider the math here because you are really tremendously mistaken.
No time.
Successful transactions:Tookybandit. "Everyone is equal, some are more equal than others".
I looked for another article on this perpetrator and in the process, eventually just typed in the term "postal theft" and hit news tab and it is one story after another. Tons of them. Is alarming to see that many, and only went back a few weeks.
Comments
Thieves want anything liquid and valuable. I doubt scanning for NFC chips is common given that SLABBED coins represent 0.0000001% of theft-worthy packages.
What might confuse the operator is wrinkles in the foil, as those change the thickness of the aluminum. A silver dollar in a slab wrapped in foil will be easily identified as such, even in the presence of a single layer of aluminum foil. Aluminum attenuates far less x-ray at 60-140 kVp than silver. This is one reason that the aluminum cent was rejected in 1974. It didn't show up in x-rays, so it could be missed if swallowed by a child. At 60 kVp, the beam energy used for a child, aluminum blocks 1/6 the x-ray of copper. A dual-energy scanner will be able to discriminate the two elements from each other for the operator, not for the purpose of searching for valuables, but visually separating package contents. A bad guy with or near and x-ray scanner can select a target this way. Also, a good guy with a scanner that needs to open a package to inspect the contents will carefully open and re-seal a box, stating it was opened for inspection, not slice a gaping hole in the side and hastily re-wrap it.
With the overall numbers of packages stolen or rifled by USPS is low as a percentage of total packages shipped, I don't know if the benefit of foil vs non-foil wrapping can be measured in a statistically meaningful manner. All theft reports we see are purely anecdotal (i.e., statistically worthless).
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Woke up this morning to see this local news story from my county of residence:
https://www.wbiw.com/2025/02/19/postal-carrier-and-youth-league-president-charged-with-theft-and-official-misconduct/
My Carson City Morgan Registry Set
Should have wrapped the minidress in foil...
I've had what I would call great to excellent service over the years with one damaged [but contents unharmed] and 2 lost; one incoming and one outgoing. Packages plucked from my mailbox at noon have been delivered in Hawaii in 2 days. However some hubs and PO branches are just problematic. I'm reading on other sites that Indianapolis is currently something of a black hole for packages, especially firearms.
No time.
I looked for another article on this perpetrator and in the process, eventually just typed in the term "postal theft" and hit news tab and it is one story after another. Tons of them. Is alarming to see that many, and only went back a few weeks.