Coins and travel...

dan1ecu

Greetings, All -

I was wondering if they give people carrying coins a hard time at airports. Is it something that they will ask you to explain when their X-ray machine detects them in luggage? Do insurance policies generally cover losses if coins are stolen from luggage?

Is there ever a problem with changes in pressure as far as slabs are concerned? Do they ever pop open at high altitude in an unpressurized compartment?

Dan

jbsteven

this could be an interesting thread.

nwcs

I understand that most people bring their coins as carry-ons and show them to the xray person and attempt to get through with less hassle.

nwcs

>Do they ever pop open at high altitude in an unpressurized compartment?

Rubber bands would help with that.

kieferscoins

Carry them on and never check them trough. What if they lost the bag? Happens all the time.

In the cabin it is pressurized and the slabs are fine. They would have to attack me to get to the slabs, whereas if you check them on, a sorter or somebody could just "lose" the baggage.

Cameron Kiefer

jeffnpcb

I don't believe you would ever have a problem either way you travel and pack them. I definitely would carry them on as you can buy new clothes and a shave kit. Plus, with all the news on baggage handlers having an inside of xray scans, they probably wouldn't reach the destination with you!
A friend of mine back in 70's that worked for the defense department would have his baggage sent via military transport because of lost luggage in prior trips to D.C. {wire and laser guided weapons developer}

AmericanSilverEagleCoins

Not sure if you are talking about carrying a few coins or like an entire briefcase full. Remember there is a weight limit and you only get 2 carry-ons. Sometimes for work I carry my laptop and materials for a presentation and I'm out of carry-on allotments.

jdimmick

Finally, a thread I can mention this from an occurence the other week.

I was carrying a few slabbed Morgans in my jacket pocket on the way back from Madison, WI. I had took off my jacket and sent it thru the x-ray conveyor, a woman ask to look in the jacket to see what the strange round thing was on the screen. When she reached in and pulled out one of the Morgan's, she showed another TSA agent and said " It s okay, it just a medallion" thats when another agent looked at it and said no, "Thats a Morgan silver dollar, they used to use them back in the old west" Thats pretty nice!

I kind of smiled and was so impressed that he knew the type, that I gave him one of the silver dollars and he was thrilled.

newsman

When I travel overseas, I usually bring back large quantities of coins (bank bags, BU rolls, etc) in my carry-on luggage, and always get called aside for a search. It seems that the screeners are trained to be alert for large masses of metal, but no one has ever hassled me about carrying that much money on the plane. I NEVER put coins in my checked baggage.

I will say however that in some countries it's illegal to import or export certain quantities of currency.

BAJJERFAN

Well slabbed coins are shipped by air all the time by USPS priority mail, FEDEX, etc. I have never heard of a slab popping or exploding from being stowed in the unpressurized cargo hold. Also there is (or at least should be) very little air inside of a sealed slab.

haletj

I've flown with lots of coins in my carry on and never even been searched. I kept my best (a 26-s penny) in my pants pocket and it didn't set off the metal detector as copper and clad coins don't (I don't know about silver and gold).

Coinosaurus

Last time I went through the Baltimore airport the security looks at the scanner and goes "Are you a coin collector?", loud enuf for everyone to hear. Ugh.......

jpumper

Is your dog or cat deprived of air during shipment in the cargo holds of your airplane? Its pressurized for altitude. Perhaps some cargo planes do not follow this with known cargo, but rest assured, the plane does have pressurization. I hope your smampoo doesn't explode/implode when you travel with it???

mrfred

I carry a 1922 Peace Dollar with me almost all the time, for good luck. It is the year that my mother was born, and she is still hale and going strong. At airports, I usually dump it into the little basket w/ change and my watch and such then send it thru the xray. Once in a while, an inspector will pull it out and look at it, which allows me to tell the story about its good luck value and about my mother.

rottnrog

When I flew from here in northern Ohio to FUN in January I had all my coins in a carry-on and when they wanted to go thru it I requested a private search. They took me in a room and went thru it there.

When I returned, in Orlando I told them I had coins in there and wanted a private screening if they wanted to search it , but they ran it thru x-ray and gave it back to me and that was it!!

Tootawl

When I went thru security in Orlando coming back from FUN, I had my 1912 Saint in my jacket pocket. When my jacket went thru the xray machine, the tech looked at it and asked me if I went to the show.

Pistareen

Hi all:

I've flown with a pretty substantial amount of coins on me about a dozen or more times a year for several years, so it's become a well rehearsed routine. In talking to the TSA people (who, in my experience, are friendly and easygoing), they tell me that coins just appear in the x-ray as metal -- it doesn't matter what composition the coins are. Metal comes through as opaque, so the reason they want to search your bags is to see what is behind the metal more than to see what the metal is. At Baltimore, my home airport, the staff seems to know when a show is in town and knows how to recognize a slab box, double-row, etc.

I have had some inexperienced screeners ask "why do you need a private search?? What do you have in there??" If you are carrying valuables, always ask for a private search -- in a polite and professional way (this is key). No one needs to know what you're carrying, and you have a right to a private search. Once you're in the private room, feel free to tell the searchers what you have and how they should handle it -- no reaching or grasping, but a polite "hold them by their edges," "that envelope contains a rare coin," or "all the little plastic cases are sonically sealed shut" never hurts. The nicer you are to them, the quicker you will be on your way. They're not there to steal your stuff, and most frankly don't want to take the time of going through hundreds of 2 x 2s.

Of course, FedExing coins ahead saves all this potential trouble. There is nothing more liberating after a few of these kind of experiences than striding through the x-ray with no worries about being eyed by the big guy with the patches on his arm.

JK

dorkkarl

<< <i>if they give people carrying coins a hard time at airports >>

YES BIG time. been busted more times than i care to say trying to carry my coins through the metal detectors. pistareen's post gives excellent pointers.

K S