The LCS I frequent had a gorgeous half dime (can't remember the year) graded by a TPG (not 1 of the big 3) at a 64/64 (obv/rev). I saw him breaking it out to send to NGC, which came back as questionable color. Not satisfied with that, he broke it out again and sent it to PCGS, which was graded at a PR66! That's one heck of an increase in grade, but hopefully the margin offsets the cost of shipping and grading it twice. It very likely will cover his expenses, but that's just crazy to think about the costs involved for that kind of stuff.
Registered is insured to the declared value and that determines cost. For a value of $13k, registering is 35.70 + 8 x 2.70 = $57.30. See table below. Registered is more secure than regular insured mail plus you can register with coverage to a value of $50k. You can register more than $50k but had best have private insurance for the overage value. Regular insurance tops out at $5k. Actual postage is on top of registration. When you register, postal clerks will offer priority or express shipping for extra cost. This is pretty much a sucker play. Registered mail moves at its own rate because of security measures. I’ve paid priority shipping on a registered parcel going from CA to TX … and it took 8 weeks. That said, I’ve paid for priority on registered parcels and had them go cross-country in a few days. It’s a gamble. If you have private insurance and are not in a hurry, registered can still be desirable. It’s the safest shipping known, so private insurance rates are usually lowest for registered mail. You write zero for value on the form (a big security plus). Will still cost $19 to register it. Cal
