Registered Package apparently stolen from Baltimore PO Zip 21210 Pictures of Coins
amwldcoin
Posts: 11,269 ✭✭✭✭✭
For the 1st time in 20 years I have a registered package that was apparently stolen by a postal employee. The supervisor has basically told me to file a claim. The logs show the package was locked up in the safe 4/3/17 after the carrier couldn't deliver because my customer wasn't there. He went to pick it up Saturday morning 4/8/17. The package could not be found although another that was with it was.
This Post Office has the worst reviews humanly imaginable! I began an investigation with the Postal Inspectors and was told they would certainly send an inspector due to the value of the package. This is a small satellite post office with very few employees. I hope the catch the crook but I doubt it.
Now the battle begins to have my claim paid.
Below are pictures of all the coins in the package but 1. I have more pictures of the certified coins if anyone needs them.
I would appreciate everyone's eyes to be on the lookout if any of these coins show up. Most certainly the certified coins will probably end up being raw(fingers crossed the perp is stupid enough to sell them as is)
1902 Barber Half PCGS AU50 Cert # 13733807 Looking for my pictures
Comments
You should either register them as inventory in a PCGS registry or notify PCGS that the coins in their holders have been stolen. That way it will be flagged if someone tries to put these in a registry inventory. Not sure what else you can do other than contact the Numismatic Crime Information Center: Doug Davis, 817-723-7231,
doug@numismaticcrimes.org. Good luck!
Thanks...that was my next step!
Was a Police Report filed? Is there a way to notify local Pawn Shops?
I sure would hate to be the last person to sign for it or someone who has access to the safe key......
Getting help with Priority or First Class Mail issues is one thing..... registered mail is another matter entirely. The postal inspectors will take this seriously and you'll be made whole, assuming the actual value was listed and paid for.
Terrible! The US Postal Inspectors are pretty good. lets have faith that they catch this crook!
Well! I called the Federal Marshalls In Baltimore and since it is the Post Office it has to go through the postal inspectors. Yeah...they have their own police. I'm hoping the last guy with the key to the safe too but it was sitting there 5 days. I am encouraging my customer to get a PO Box to eliminate a lot of the risk!
Well...I am out my profit as I insured them for basically what I paid for them. That is due to all the hassles others have had getting the PO to pay up. From here on out my registered packages will be insured for more!
I've never heard of anyone having issues getting the PO to pay up for a Registered parcel that went missing.
In fact, I'm not certain I've ever heard of a Registered piece going missing before...... That sucks. That's a nice bunch of Barbers that disappeared.
Well then you should probably have insured them for PCGS guide value since that is easy to document.
Must be extremely rare for anything registered to go missing. It's kept under lock and key (should be) and signed for every step of the way.
So mad that this happened to you! It could be anyone of us. Sorry for your trouble. I will be on the look out for those coin in the Northwest..
They should be able to find out what happened. Good luck.
Whoever has a key to the cage/room could remove 2 packages and sign for one if nobody was looking.
I don't know if you are aware. But Most Barber coins trade for more than PCGS Price Guide if they are nice for the grade!
That said (and there are always cameras everywhere, let alone secure parts of facilities) it should basically come down to "who was the last one to access the area" since it was last seen -- and rightly or wrongly, they will have to pay the price.
I'll just add that every once in a while...a USPS registered package can sometimes bounce it's way around the country for up to 6 weeks before getting to it's final destination...all without updating any tracking info...here is to hoping that it still shows up buddy
I went to a local police station recently trying to get them to file a report as I have lots of documents on a usps parcel myself with contents pilfered apparently. It showed one scan in the town, but the police would not do a report since it is federal.
Maybe the postal inspectors will have success? If you can talk to the detective on the case at usps maybe they will keep you updated. It will be up to you to hit all the shops, vest pocket dealers, pawn shops or flea market where they may surface because the cops and usps will not do that. Keep the heat up.
Well I was going to add that to my comment, but since there are so many cases of of people saying that PCGS guide is too high I didn't.
I appreciates that!
The package is missing after a delivery attempt!
I spoke to two pawn/gold shops today; one said that with things numismatic, you get nothing at pawn shops for rare coins so check in with the coin shops first. Usps thieves probably have a system to avoid getting caught with the surveillance cameras; if there is a pattern originating at some facility inspectors are pretty good at nabbing the thief. Some states and cities require any purchases at licensed facilities or precious metals buyers to submit invoices to law enforcement. A thief could wait a good while before fencing the coins. I hope they get caught.
The one time I had an issue with a piece of registered mail it was of low monetary value but high sentimental (We were moving and I registered mailed my son's bear he'd outgrown, plus a few other things). Online tracking showed no movement for over month at one point soI filed a complaint online and had a very rapid reply. From a real person. In that case it had been locked up and forgotten, but within days started moving and was delivered. HOWEVER, the complaint was taken very seriously even though the insured value was on the order of $50 or so.
When I do registered mail I state the insured value either from catalog (online/paper/whatever) or from an invoice.
@amwldcoin
Hopefully the perp** is** stupid enough to sell them as is.
I will do my [limited] best to look for them and wish you the best of luck.
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This is past the stagnant stage! Delivery was attempted...logged in as locked in the safe after no recipient available...and now gone!
Thanks!
Got it, just that once I complained it was taken VERY seriously. In my case there was a good resolution, which in your case will hopefully be a quick restitution. Better would be if the coins showed up somewhere by magic ('oh look boss, it must have fallen down over here and we found it after all').
This really, really sucks. But as registered they should not be able to wiggle out of it. Bummed for your client who will miss out on coins s/he wanted, and bummed out for you for the awful situation.
Have you considered the possibility that someone at the Baltimore PO decided to return it to you?
Sorry to hear of the loss. I have had registered misplaced for up to 5 weeks but all arrived safely.
Nothing to add that others have not mentioned. Please update us regarding the resolution.
REALLY sorry to hear this Darrell. Hope springs eternal that they may yet show up.
Here's a warning parable for coin collectors...
Well, Darrell, that surely took some wind out of your sails...sorry for your loss.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
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I have a feeling that only 1 of those packages was put back in the safe after the attempted delivery if indeed they were mailed together. P.o. Box is the way to go. All I can tell you is if I have a registered package, express, anything of real value coming to the house my butt is home waiting on it. I sure don't wait 5 days to pick it up. Whoever took the package has no clue what they stole. They will be caught and fired. Post office will always pay you. Your customer sure didn't help you out any.
That would be nice but unlikely. The carrier left another notice on Saturday. The supervisor says it's gone. If it was on the way back it should show in the tracking.
USPS has a flawed system for securing their registered mail. It would not matter what postal employee last signed for it if anyone can access the secured area that may have many packages and take any package they want.
Maybe they should place a camera in the secured location. At least they have a log of who took what.
I know they now have digital imaging of all your mail so you can preview your mail before it comes to you. Maybe they could take digital images of the registered box, etc. At least they would have a visual of the item and could pair it up with what was taken out of the secured area that would have a camera to see who took what when accessing the secured area. I am not sure if this would work or not.
Probably too much expense for them, since they are essentially a bankrupt enterprise anyway. It probably would be cheaper just to pay the claims of the stolen merchandise.
I live in Baltimore, but not at that zip code. Never had this happen to me and I probably mailed a few hundred registered mail items.
Box of 20
Nobody knows if the package in question even made it back to the PO. The package could have been taken from the truck while the driver was doing his route.
I don't know where you guys get the idea registered packages are locked up. The post offices I've dealt with either have them in an open safe or in a cabinet behind the counter. As stated above anybody has access even the janitor mopping the floor.
Sorry to hear of the hassle!
I have a PO box - this week they put a package in a lobby lock box and put the key in the wrong PO Box. Fortunately the "recipient" was honest and turned in the package, o/w it would have looked delivered and I would have no recourse.
Lots of ways for the USPS to screw up.......
The registered log shows the package was returned to the safe after the attempted delivery. That was the last entry on the log. Of course I am going by the information the Supervisor gave me.
If i was a supervisor at the P.O. I would start with this person, they supposedly laid hands on it last.
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I'm sorry to read this. I hope it turns up somehow.
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In 25 years, had two registered packages stolen internally.
The Post Office refused to tell me of any investigation or any finds.
It took about 6 months to get a check.
One package was being returned by ANACS, who under insured the package and had to pay the difference.
Kevin
Not necessarily. I sent a registered that the recipient ended up not wanting so I told him to write REFUSE on it and give it back to the/a clerk. It came back to me but I don't believe it showed in the tracking. Worth a shot to ask if their internal tracking shows it coming back.
Also, how could the carrier leave a notice unless he/she had the package which they'd have to sign for BEFORE they started their delivery route?
Also when they get back to the PO, the carriers have to reconcile all deliveries that had a tracking number associated with them.
Very few people have access to the registered room at any one location.
Not true here. The window clerk has a lockable drawer right below the counter where they put it and lock the drawer. The clerks here don't have a key to the registered room/cage.
If I was you, I'd be looking at a different branch to do my registered mailing.
I just got a notification from the Hidalgo Coin Club President down in McAllen,TX with a link to the NCIS posting about this (he sends new NCIS notifications to all their members and associates). Word is spreading, even to small communities.
This is an interesting math problem. Registered mail insurance through the PO is expensive.
If you experience a loss one time in 1000, and the average value of that loss is $10,000, then your loss 'expectation' has a value of $10 per shipping event. My recollection of registered mail insurance rates is that it's well north of $50 per $5000 value. Far cheaper to 'self insure' IMO.
As long as you were made whole, the results of any investigation were of no concern to you.
Darrell- Please keep us posted as you get additional information. I'm very sorry you have to go through this, but it's a learning opportunity for the rest of us.
An internet based camera system can be put in place for $200 to keep an eye on the safe; that should DEFINATELY be a requirement at any Post Office. I get angry just thinking about it; Darrell- you must be LIVID!!
In the surface, that statement is usually valid. However, in the case of something like this, where there may be a repeat done, then I would disagree.
If the results were "bad employee, but we will keep you on since firing is so difficult", then I would REALLY WANT to know!
If there results were "inconclusive, we won't spend more time on this and we had too many fingers in the cookie jar and no concrete video", then I would DEFINITELY WANT to know that as well.
They don't have to give a name, but I would want to get enough correct information to make informed decisions about my continued risks using their services. FOIA if necessary.
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
"If the results were "bad employee, but we will keep you on since firing is so difficult", then I would REALLY WANT to know!
If there results were "inconclusive, we won't spend more time on this and we had too many fingers in the cookie jar and no concrete video", then I would DEFINITELY WANT to know that as well."
Nope-if you get caught stealing mail you're gone-no recourse with that.
Yes, financially, I was made whole.
But a theft happened, which also lowered my confidence in registered mail, and if given the choice, would prefer the coin over the money. Same as when you get your car stolen, something else stolen, you would like to see justice done.
Kevin
I would hope so. I really really do hope so. I have heard that before. However, given how things can work at times, I worry about it not being seen as "stealing" if they can make it seem like it was "misplaced" ..... "I accidentally put it in my desk drawer and forgot about it", "I was on meds and not thinking straight", etc.
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment