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Coins & airport security
worldcoinguy
Posts: 2,999 ✭✭✭✭
My wife deserves a gold star for her efforts yesterday. She already started a job in Dallas, so she goes down every other week until we move at the end of the month. She has been taking a box of slabs with her each time to put in a safety deposit box down there so I can move with peace of mind and not worry about the collection. Anyhow, when she was at the airport, she has two of the NGC/PCGS 20 slab boxes in her purse (FYI she was already in a bad mood because they were so heavy). When they asked to look at them more closely, she only asked that they do so in private to avoid prying eyes of other travelers. They disregarded her request and opened both boxes and started taking out all the slabs. They completely emptied one and most of the other on the table in front of other travelers and one of the tsa guys even asked the guy at the other station to come "check this stuff out". My wife was pissed to say the least. Before it was over, no less than 4 tsa guards felt the need to inspect. She complained to the manager but I doubt anything will come of it. The whole ordeal makes me steaming mad due to the lack in professionalism.
I do not have any other collectibles to transfer at this point, but I figured I would ask the forum for opinions/advice anyway for future trips.
I do not have any other collectibles to transfer at this point, but I figured I would ask the forum for opinions/advice anyway for future trips.
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Perhaps they are not as accomodating after the fact, i.e the box in the scanner looks strange to them.
Maybe your wife should approach them first.
Just a thought.
NumisTip Coin Values
Since then I have not had problems in the USA or Ukraine. But a couple of years ago on my way back to Ukraine from the USA I had an issue with security in the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. This time I was carrying smaller bars instead of the usual coins - if they were coins they would have not even set off alarms, but the bars were another matter and they made me remove them from my bags and held them up for everybody to see and view. Great. Then I was questioned why I was carrying bullion and for what purpose. More great.
I carried a 14 page album of Canadian Gold and Silver, together with some very old German colonial, Indian and French gold coins through Stuttgart to Frankfurt to Vancouver.
had the album in my wheel on .
I was fully prepared to have airport security examine every coin. coins were either in 2x2's or plastic envelopes.
Yes, the x-ray guard asked what these round things were in that book. So I told her. she looked at me and asked : what are these worth? and i said ; a lot...
then she asked If it was ok to have the coins looked at and gave me 3 options:
1 have them looked at right here or
2 in private in a special room just for occassions like this. or
3 check it in ( she said even there it might be selected to be opened when xrayed.
I chose the private room
she informed me that there were 4 cameras in that room and that 3 armed guards will be in the room ( 2 of them carried sub mchine guns + a holstered hand gun), 2 federal Border guards and one federal police officer in plain cloth.
off we went to the room 20 ' away. All the officers automatically identified themselves with their police id's and made sure one of the cameras, as well as a scanner would record their info. then they asked me to have py Passport also scanned.
they wanted me to open the album which i did. within seconds they could not see enough of these beautiful coins and completely forgot why we were in that room. they were amazed. They all said that they see a lot of things, including coins and old stuff, but these were exceptional to feel and look at.
all of them wore cotton gloves with rubber gloves under them.
the discussion was all about coins, not about security.
then one of them opened a drawer and took out a small but sturdy plastic pouch. he suggested that we place the album inside and they officially seal it so I would not have a problem in Frankfurt where I again had to go through security.
and so it was done. It totally blew me away. what a very welcome courtesy.
this whole proceedure was a extreme pleasant experience with perfect professionalsim very evident. there was no power trip, no ifs and buts. No: you do as I say or else.., just very polite humans and professionals.
In Frankfurt it was a breeze going through security. They removed the coin book from the pouch and handed it back to me. the guard who did this made a comment: they must have been impressed in Stuttgart..., have a nice trip
One of the officers in Stuttgart asked for my business card, as he is coming to British Columbia in 2012 with his wife for a holiday. They will be my guests for a few days.
that was my experience with taking coins through airports.
I know this is an unusual experience, as I believe such a thing would never happen in the US or Canada.
why not one has to ask????
simple: neither country employes professionals to do this job
H
I recently took a box of coins & medals out of Munich and the experience was similarly professional and polite. (Although I was flying Delta and will say that US airline personnel are of the same poor quality worldwide, regardless of nationality.)
I completely agree with your conclusion. The TSA rules here in the US are written to be executed by monkeys without any thought or common-sense application. Witness the groping of young children and the elderly.
Flying in the ex-USSR is still a bit of an adventure, but becoming much less so by the days. Airlines are customer oriented, gotta make money and please the oligarchs with earnings so customer service is becoming quite like what it used to be like back in the USA 30-40 years ago. The only sometimes scary thing is occasionally there are still flying relics of the USSR era in service - but they are disappearing quickly because nobody likes them. Did I mention you now get a decent palatable hot meal with tea and soft drinks - all free? Most of the air hostesses are very well mannered now, and they remind one of what they used to look like in the USA 40+ years ago - Very easy on the eyes.
At least they were protected in plastic and they did not get their grubby fingers on the coins.
When I made my great escape from Minnesota to Colorado, I sent all of my coins to my dad's house registered using flat rate priority mail boxes. It was expensive but secure, plus I had a good moving stipend allowing me to do it (in the good old days not long ago when companies had relocation packages that actually covered the true cost of a move). I think your chances of having your coins lost or stolen are much greater going through the airport system. Of course, I wouldn't trust a postal system for an international move, let alone pay for the postage to do it. In that case, I would recommend using airtites or similar storage methods, and keep careful count, because you have to assume that security types aren't going to give a rat's hair about what you own (except in those rare cases noted above).
I purchased a 1937 proof set in the UK years ago, and that set naturally became the target of a search by London Gatwick security. I had to open the box, but luckily the agent decided not to touch the coins. He did ask if I had a 1933 penny in my bag (!!).
However, my last box I am having issues with. I'm using the USPS it just so happens they are located on overseas bases--but I dropped a nice box into the mail on the 10th of August. There are coins, but also photos, paperwork etc that truly does mean more...In any case, the box was logged into the Yokosuka branch zip code 10 August. Nothing until the 20th of November (after a few inquiries of course)--and it shows up at the...Yokohama mail sorting facility. Oh joy. 15 miles in 3 months. I did a rough calculation and should see my box in about 112 years.
I think that though there was a happy ending this tale does bear telling for a reminder to the rest of us to be aware, and perhaps worldcoinguy by raising awareness will help us all to remember that complaints do sometimes help by making a paper trail and/or showing a pattern of behavior when eventually someone gets mugged or killed for their coins.
Thanks for posting and it will be a helpful reminder next time I fly (and last time I flew I'm happy to say I got screened in Japan, and only passed through Dallas where my few coins--thankfully my best ones I didn't put in that registered box--did not even garner a raised eyebrow.
Cathy
I talk to many close friends and family that do however.
ALL of them say flying is not an enjoyable experience anymore.
Whether it's security issues, lack of meals, increase boarding hassles, lack of comfort (I could go on and on).
It's definitely taken a turn for the worse.
"“Those who sacrifice liberty for security/safety deserve neither.“(Benjamin Franklin)
"I only golf on days that end in 'Y'" (DE59)
BTW I have heard horror stories of westerners buying up older Russian or Soviet coins and having them seized in customs when they were leaving the country. It is illegal to remove items older than 50 years from the country, but it happens all the time.
<< <i>I am less concerned with TSA theft and a lot more with airline employee, ie baggage handlers, theft. There your bags are in backrooms, aircraft holds etc and there are fewer if any cameras.
BTW I have heard horror stories of westerners buying up older Russian or Soviet coins and having them seized in customs when they were leaving the country. It is illegal to remove items older than 50 years from the country, but it happens all the time. >>
LOL! I scared the crap out of myself in Kiev a few years back! I bought a bunch of old large 5 kopecks from a street vender. He said no problems due to the quality. Well...I was in line after the 1st check going to the 2nd check. I'm thinking they are gonna see this things...all this with my tour guide telling me I can't take them out of the country and would hold them and send them to me when it was OK! My lightbulb lit up...I'll just stick them in my camera bag and protest what the x-rays will do to my film. After being bent over shuffling things around...I stood up when I was finished to see a security gaurd standing right beside me with his arms crossed...yikes! I play it cool and procede to the x-ray. I tried and tried to get them to not x-ray my camera. Well...after I realized it was a no go I tossed it onto the conveyer. Luckily for me it landed smack dab at the bottem between 2 large carry ons! Well.....I sat in the farthest corner of the airport bar just waiting to get nailed. I actually expected to be removed from the plane! BUT! I made it home. If they had detained me it would mean at the least a top priced 1 way ticket after loosing my flight.
Arrive at London heathrow on a Lufthansa flight from Rom via Frankfurt ( 2 time security already), to connect to Air Canada to Toronto.
remember, already 2 security checks! No problem.
after spending 2 hours in the Lounge, proceed to the gate.
have to go through another check.
there this 350 pound woman decided to search my bag and... wanted to know what is inside these 2 plastic containers besides the coins she can see. And she said: how do I know these coins are real coins and not hollow?
well she had me right there. i said , perhaps you might want to run them through an xray machine.....
wrong suggestion... as she felt i was questioning her authority.
she made it very clear, suggesting the choices;
take them and check them in (which would have been ok , but timing and she knew that)
open up these plastic cases so she can see what is inside
or
go back out and mail them
she made it very clear that these items will not go past her unless she sees inside!
well know, i said to her word for word:
please call you supervisor to attend.. and I do not care if I miss the flight or not..these plastics will NOT be broken open. they are sealed for a very specific purpose, namely to protect their integrity and the coins value.
there is always the next flight, as I have a very flexible ticket.
she the realized that I was serious and started to make small talk. my back was up and I insisted for a SV to attend.
another woman arrived, looked at my ticket and Boarding Pass, went on the computer, came back, handed me the slabs and said: please accept my apologies, have a nice trip.
I asked her why the change of attitude. her answer; I checked with Air Canada and you are good to go.......
makes me think... what 350 pounds of attitude in the wrong place can do to someone who is not an experinced and FF flier with some recognition by the airline he / she is booked on???
any suggestions how to handle this in the future, perhaps at an airport in the US of A???????
I rest my case and say Good Luck...
We dare not "profile" likely targets based on ethnicity due to political correctness, but it's ok to physically molest children and senior citizens... all so it appears like something is actually being accomplished.
Please.
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Thanks for the note on Dallas. I'm ready for the move but I think I will miss the pacific NW. I'm not ready to let go of the outdoors and scenery yet. This was taken last week looking east from the playground at my kids school when I dropped them off in the morning. I can honestly say this view never gets old. We sit up around 1000 feet and the valley was blanketed in an amazing layer of thick fog that looked like water. Tumbleweeds just dont have the same appeal yet.
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I rest my case..as long as I have some sanity left...and, I am in Canada.
they hire a bunch of East Indians, run them throug a few weels of "training' and let them loose with AUTHORITY...
some of them barely know the English alphabet...
I have a few more stories that happened throughout my (1,2 Million miles, 64 countries) air travels.
unfortunately, Not coin related..