Mailing Coins

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by centsdimes, Jul 4, 2012.

  1. centsdimes

    centsdimes Active Member

    Once one sells a coin on eBay, what is the best way to package the coin to be mailed to the recipient? I suspect there are different opinions—I’d like to hear them all.

     
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. ikandiggit

    ikandiggit Currency Error Collector

    Are you talking about single coins, multiple coins, slabbed coins, rolls or ....?
     
  4. centsdimes

    centsdimes Active Member

    I was thinking about well-worn single coins, particularly large cents.
     
  5. ikandiggit

    ikandiggit Currency Error Collector

    If it's a low value coin, I put it in a flip and attach that to a folded piece of card stock and tape the card stock closed. I can use a standard office sized envelope. If it's a high value coin I used the cardboard envelope the post office supplies and then send via registered mail.

    Do not just tape the flip to paper, the sorting machines sometimes tears the coin right out of envelope.
     
  6. Pilkenton

    Pilkenton almost uncirculated

    I tape the flip securely to an index card, then tape another index card over that.
     
  7. centsdimes

    centsdimes Active Member

    What is a flip and what is card stock?
     
  8. ikandiggit

    ikandiggit Currency Error Collector

    coin flip:

    [​IMG]

    card stock (as Pilkenton said) like an index card.
     
  9. centsdimes

    centsdimes Active Member

    Thanks. I have both.
     
  10. Morgandude11

    Morgandude11 As long as it's Silver, I'm listening

    Flips or cardboard envelope for raw coins. Slabs should be shipped in cardboard envelopes to protect the slab from being scratched.
     
  11. ow9654

    ow9654 Irish,British collector

  12. ow9654

    ow9654 Irish,British collector

  13. peter1234

    peter1234 Member

    Pop in a small Jiffy bag in a plastic envelope which I tape to the inside of the bag.
    Over £15 registered , over £50 special delivery.Under £15 I just risk at normal post.
     
  14. BooksB4Coins

    BooksB4Coins Newbieus Sempiterna

    Go to the post office and grab a few of the free small flat-rate shipping boxes, then cut into whatever size needed to tightly sandwich the coin (in flip) in between two pieces and tape together. This gives a coin more immediate protection than a plain bubble-mailer does.

    If low-value and being shipped in a regular business envelope without tracking, make sure the pieces are close to the size of the envelope and be sure to ship "non-machineable" at the post office. While this costs a little more (still under $1) it will ensure the envelope is not handled in a way that will tear it and/or damage the coin inside. Keep as thin as possible.

    If shipping with tracking, you can buy plain non-padded 6"x9" shipping envelopes and do the same with the small flat-rate box cardboard. For added protection, you can also buy a roll of bubble padding to wrap the sandwiched coin in before placing in said envelope. Cut to size. This is much cheaper than buying bubble mailers, unless you are only shipping one or two coins.
     
  15. centsdimes

    centsdimes Active Member

    I've never mailed a coin, but I would think those would be just as good as a flip, though I'd tape card stock (index card) around it and mail it in a cardboard envelope, as has been suggested in the above posts.
     
  16. BooksB4Coins

    BooksB4Coins Newbieus Sempiterna


    Look likes PVC and shipping in a PVC flip can be a big turn-off, so I would avoid it.

    You cannot get 2x2 cardboard/mylar flips or saflips in Europe?
     
  17. ow9654

    ow9654 Irish,British collector

    Ok, thanks :)
    I always send them in bubble lined envelopes (around the same protection as cardboard).
    @ BooksB4Coins I found another seller selling 2x2" plastic envelopes says this: Made from best quality glass clear vinyl
    Sorry to throw your thread off track
    Thanks!
    -Owen
     
  18. centsdimes

    centsdimes Active Member

    Don't worry about the thread being thrown off track.

    Like I said, I've never mailed a coin. A bubble-pack seems good to me, with the coin in a flip, with a cut-up index card taped around the flip to protect the coin. I wonder if there should be some cardboard in there, or maybe several layers of index cards.
     
  19. ow9654

    ow9654 Irish,British collector

    Yes put some cardboard in it otherwise a post worker might think it`s an empty envelope (happened to me before with a small watch)
     
  20. doug444

    doug444 STAMPS and POSTCARDS too!

    You don't need flips at all if you're mailing one or two coins; lay the coin on an index card, fold over, fold over again, fold one more time. Now tape the open ends down on another index card; same for the other coin. In the U.S., one ounce non-machinable is 65 cents. The envelope needs to fit the template (the clerk will give you one), and not be more than 1/4 inch thick, or it goes as a non-machinable package at a substantially higher rate. (Another USPS racket). Also, in my opinion, bubble wrap is worthless; anything the least bit sharp can pierce it, and it makes your envelope too thick to send as a letter.

    Yes, index cards can be pierced too, but which would you rather have, two tiny films of plastic with, umm, AIR in-between, or two or three layers of card stock?

    I would not try to mail any coin larger than a quarter in the way I have described above. I use heavy-duty 5x8 cardboard mailers for larger coins or currency. I mail about 10 items a week, so I also buy discount postage at around 65% to 75% of face, plus I have a 5# capacity scale, so I don't create a 3.1 ounce letter instead of a 2.9 ounce; those extra ounces add up, and in most cases, they are absolutely preventable. Sometimes I nip the end off a 5x8 mailer to prevent going over the next ounce; for non-machinable packages,
    it's expensive!
     
  21. BooksB4Coins

    BooksB4Coins Newbieus Sempiterna

    With all due respect and even for the lowest-value coins, wrapping in an index card instead of splurging a few cents on a flip seems very unprofessional.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page