Edit: Found! 1795 Flowing Hair $1 (PCGS AU-55)
TypeCollector87
Posts: 30 ✭✭✭
*** Edit 3/9/26: Thanks, all, for your concern and well wishes. The coin has been located. Unfortunately, I cannot share more details at this time. ***
11
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Sorry to hear that. Best of luck getting this resolved.
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
Sent Registered Mail?
DPOTD-3
'Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery'
CU #3245 B.N.A. #428
Don
I do not believe it was sent registered mail. However, I believe it was insured.
Ugh...
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Bummer, bolo
Oof, major bummer, why can’t they just stick with bullion and leave the Americana alone. I’ve had issues with that Jacksonville hub before, too.
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That's a dam shame!
Student of numismatics and collector of Morgan dollars
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JWP
So sorry to hear of the aggravation and loss. I'm starting to utilize familiar shipping bags by known companies unassociated with Coins. TEMU and AMAZON use specific labeled bags to ship their items in even when the items are in boxes. Just save those bags and reuse them. There are so many million shipped daily. Have friends and family save the bags. And everyone is using both. JMO
I wish you the best of luck with your ordeal.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
It may also be a good idea to notify PCGS, NGC and CAC in the event this worthless individual tries to regrade it. It's not that often one of these are received for grading so it might standout to them in the future.
Terrible news, shouldn't have happened, hope it's recovered, etc.
I looked up the cert and PCGS price guide is just under $50,000. I realize that for some people that's not a lot of money but if it were me it would have been shipped Registered Mail.
As for it being insured, I just hope it wasn't USPS insurance. I'd hate to be waiting on that claim to be paid out.
I realize none of this helps you now, but it might help someone else reading this.
I had postal theft
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
It's hard to believe that registered mail wasn't used to ship a coin like this.
If the thief knows anything about coins, it's probably been cracked out and dipped by now to disguise its identity. After some time in a kraft envelope to give it some toning, it can probably be reslabbed again at NGC or CACG.
I asked my mailman about postal theft and he said it mostly happened by contract truck drivers.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Registered mail is not always the answer to shipping expensive items. Especially considering the lengthy amount of time it takes, and stuff still gets stolen registered.
By the way, guide is $50k but this coin is likely not worth $50k considering the lack of a CAC sticker. However, even as a $35k-40k coin, that's something that we would send ONLY overnight all day. Why wasn't it sent overnight?
Collector of Capped Bust Halves, SLQ's, Commems, and random cool stuff! @davidv_numismatics on Instagram
I have to believe that the incidence of theft of Registered Mail is infinitesimal compared to all other service levels.
In any case, at some price point I'd just buy a round trip plane ticket.
What an odd post?
I assume you have private insurance?
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Is there not private delivery services available for just such valuable shipments?
Just curious.
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Yes. But very expensive.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
How is that odd? Every coin dealer has insurance, and sending a mid five figure coin overnight is the best option considering the theft occurrences that seem to plague lower shipping levels.
Collector of Capped Bust Halves, SLQ's, Commems, and random cool stuff! @davidv_numismatics on Instagram
The words "USPS" and "theft" seem to get associated together a great deal these days.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/gold/liberty-head-2-1-gold-major-sets/liberty-head-2-1-gold-basic-set-circulation-strikes-1840-1907-cac/alltimeset/268163
March of Time - 27 Centuries in Gold
https://coins.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/CoinCustomSetView.aspx?s=36590
The high insurance was probably a tip off to the thief. Small package and large insurance. Someone once posted that to deter, ship the coin in a box taped with that reinforced tape inside another larger box. Hard time sticking that under one's shirt or down their pants.
Yes, indeed. I recently had a package arrive missing its two coins. As it happens, the thief got away with a grand total of $30 value for his "effort".
I hope it made his day. I really do.
Official PCGS account of:
www.TallahasseeCoinClub.com
That would be heartbreaking. This is becoming more and more prevalent. I cross my fingers every time I send or receive a shipment. Good luck with getting this resolved.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Hopefully the day comes when the chip in the slab can be turned off during shipping. Anyone with a phone and the PCGS App can scan the box and know exactly what is inside. I am thankful to collect old slabs that do not have that technology.
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$5 Type Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/type-sets/half-eagle-type-set-circulation-strikes-1795-1929/album/344192
CBH Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/everyman-collections/everyman-half-dollars/everyman-capped-bust-half-dollars-1807-1839/album/345572
I am sorry to hear about this. It seems like it's happening more and more.
This is one of the reasons why I avoid all pressure some people put me for sending my coins to CAC. What you pay to CAC is minor compared with risk of losing your coins to mail thieves.
It's not just the Post Office. The notices from the numismatic theft messages also frequently list UPS and Federal Express.
Some coins I receive are wrapped in foil. This hides the chip so I’m told…
It's just odd because we don't know who the shipper was, whether they had private insurance, what the tens were, or even how it was shipped. The only thing we know is that it was NOT shipped registered.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I agree, not just USPS. All of these shipping services have increasing employee theft issues.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/gold/liberty-head-2-1-gold-major-sets/liberty-head-2-1-gold-basic-set-circulation-strikes-1840-1907-cac/alltimeset/268163
March of Time - 27 Centuries in Gold
https://coins.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/CoinCustomSetView.aspx?s=36590
There were several comments above my original comment about how it "should have been shipped registered" so I opined that registered mail would not have been the solution.
Collector of Capped Bust Halves, SLQ's, Commems, and random cool stuff! @davidv_numismatics on Instagram
Registered mail is handled separately from other mail, it's quite possible that it would have been the solution.
May be a naive question, but how are the chips used to identify the coins? I've never used that feature personally. Would the app detect the chip and identify the coin within the box? Would make sense as it seems some pretty big coins are targeted. Unless itis just by luck within many smaller value thefts that don't make it here for us to read about.
Its called PCGS coin cert. If you have your phone on, and able to detect RFID chips then when you place it within a foot or two of the box, it brings up the coin that's in the holder. We ship coins in foil if they have RFID chips.
Micah Langford - https://www.oldglorycoinsandcurrency.com/
Yes. If a slab has the NFC chip, scanning it with your phone brings up the PCGS certification. It has to be very close to it though, like within an inch or two, hence the "near" part of "NFC"
Collector, occasional seller
What is the cost to insure $50k and what insurance do you have you would recover the actual value if collected. I have never had to incur an insurance loss on a coin, so do not claim to know much at all, that's why I ask. I know that I sent a $25k axle hub to Kansas City by local delivery service for $500 and it weighed a couple thousand pounds. I cannot imagine that a bonded delivery service would be so expensive as not to be used just for the comfort and lack of worry. Jus' sayin'.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Plane tickets are cheaper and faster
Micah Langford - https://www.oldglorycoinsandcurrency.com/
There is quite a bit of talk about insurance and shipping methods in this thread and I don't recall that these specifics were shared regarding the coin in question.
However, as someone who has shipped quite valuable numismatic packages, I am willing to share some of my experience. I would expect most dealers to have private insurance, like I carry, and the parameters of the policy can include things such as specifying the courier (FedEx, USPS, UPS, etc...) that can and/or cannot be used for any given shipment and this requirement can vary based upon the courier service level chosen (overnight, express, priority, registered, restricted delivery, first class, etc...), the value of the package (total value or value of the most expensive piece inside), the time of day the package dropped off for possession of the courier, the days that the shipment is expected to be in the possession of the courier (weekdays only, weekends only, both weekdays and weekends, holiday weekends, etc...) and, depending upon the insurance amount, the destination city (zip code, city, country, etc...). Of course, there is the plain paper packaging requirement that must be universal at this point and the requirement for secured packaging with tape, often times requiring at least a box-in-a-box level of packaging.
If I had been shipping a coin valued at $35k or thereabouts, and I have done it many times, it would have been packaged securely within a small box that would have been packaged securely within a larger box that would have been packaged securely within a large Express Mail box and each box would have had several layers of tape along and across the seams and corners, such that nothing inside moved or rattled at all, and then it would have been dropped off personally at the USPS in the AM timeframe. No additional insurance would be purchased and I would simply pay shipping costs with my private insurance being in force.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
My dealer policy has blanket coverage over everything I ship, up to various limits based on shipping method. Compared to what big dealers would do I have what's probably a pretty light policy, but I'd assume a dealer handling coins like this also has blanket insurance, so they aren't paying anything to specifically insure this one package.
When i hear about a coin (or multiples of coins) with this kind of value being stolen i wonder why the buyer or seller wouldn’t fly to pick up the items in person? Granted there could be some scenarios where this wouldn’t be possible but the cost of a round trip ticket and a one day car rental pale in comparison to the value of the coin much less the worry…
Often, plane tickets are more expensive. So, stating what you did could give readers the wrong impression.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
As a one time purchase, this makes sense. On the other hand, many individuals purchase high value coins frequently, while major dealers sell quantity at the same time. Constant plane flights get inconvenient quickly. There is a lot of money in this business.
"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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Registered Mail still has theft issues, I know of 1 dealer who had a large package stolen within the last week at a major hub.
Collector of Capped Bust Halves, SLQ's, Commems, and random cool stuff! @davidv_numismatics on Instagram
Yes, it can happen with Registered Mail, but it is far, far less likely than with other shipping options. And registered mail has a very strict tracking procedure within the post office.
I didn't say there was no risk of loss, just that it's reduced.
I like to wrap any slab with a chip in it with foil before I ship. This prevents the chip from being scanned. Another option is to have packaging thick enough to where the device can't detect the chip. I've tested both and they've prevented my phone from picking up the NFC chip.
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For people with the expendable income to purchase 5 and 6 figure coins, the time spent flying somewhere is often more precious than the potential cost of a plane ticket (or shipping).
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
No. We also know that it's a ~$50K coin.
What was "just odd" was sending it regular USPS by anything other than registered. Overnight would not have been "odd," given that is routinely done with high value shipments. Either with private insurance or with insurance sold by the overnight shippers.
@MasonG @JBK
We can all agree that registered mail has much lower odds of being stolen, great! I never said registered mail was not a good option in general. By the way, usually coin dealers don't ship via registered mail either
TomB nailed his response.
I was replying to the various comments regarding the stolen coin which should have shipped registered mail, which were neither helpful to the OP or the coin seller.
Collector of Capped Bust Halves, SLQ's, Commems, and random cool stuff! @davidv_numismatics on Instagram
My comment about using Registered Mail ended with this sentence:
I realize none of this helps you now, but it might help someone else reading this.
It's possible to both commiserate with the OP and help people avoid the same fate in the future.
I should start a side gig offering to fly around and transport peoples high value coins due to their time being too precious to do themselves. Think I will call it "Gutter R Us" RGDS!
P.S. Sorry for the OPs loss.
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I thought shipments via the USPS insured for over $5k required it to be registered?
Or maybe the clerk at my PO was mistaken.
I also hope this gets resolved to the OPs satisfaction.
I’m sweating a missing $200 shipment, the first lost package I’ve had in many years and hundreds of shipments. Not a big deal I realize, but dealing with the USPS to track it, and then filing a claim, been very tedious.