Coins lost in the mail Official Thread

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by bcuda, May 23, 2020.

  1. bcuda

    bcuda El Ibérico loco

    I have lost two coins in the mail in the last six months.
    It is kind of frustrating but nothing I can do about it, except post
    the pics of the lost coins.

    So lets make this the official lost coin thread and give those lost
    coins the respect they deserve.

    Never got to hold this one.

    caspig 4.jpg

    Castulo. Ancient Spain
    Late 2nd century BC.
    Obv: Diademed young male head
    right
    Rev: Boar standing right;
    star above.
    AE quadrans
    Burgos 735 , CNH pg 337 , 48

    This one would have been a third variant of mine.

    s-l1600sagunto.jpg
    Spain, Arsaos (Saguntum), AE sextans, mid 2nd Cent. BC.
    Scallop shell / Dolphin
     
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  3. QuintupleSovereign

    QuintupleSovereign Well-Known Member

    The most frustrating case is when you purchase an item, track it all the way to your mail carrier ("Out for Delivery), only to have your package mysteriously vanish into someone else's mailbox or, worse, a postal worker's pocket. Don't get me wrong; I support USPS and the services they provide. Still, the lack of accountability on their end is really starting to grate on me. Wish they would make it part of a future postal reform.
     
  4. Inspector43

    Inspector43 Celebrating 75 Years Active Collecting Supporter

    Fortunately, we are in a small rural community where you can be on first name basis with most people. We know our carrier and all the people at the local USPS. We don't seem to have that problem.
     
  5. Fugio1

    Fugio1 Well-Known Member

    In 45 years of collecting I've lost only 2 coins in the mail. Both being sent to me in the USA via international registered mail. I have had a LOT of close calls including mis-deliveries where the mail carrier left the registered package in someone else's mailbox without signature. (always ultimately delivered to me by the neigbor who found it in their box). I routinely find my international registered packages just left in my mail box, even when it is clearly marked "signature required", but I must admit, only two losses in 45 years is not that bad a record.
     
    Two Dogs, rrdenarius, ominus1 and 2 others like this.
  6. QuintupleSovereign

    QuintupleSovereign Well-Known Member

    Lucky you. I just had to file a case with the Inspector General for USPS because they failed to deliver six financial documents. For goodness sake, the images were right there in informed delivery, too!
     
  7. Muzyck

    Muzyck Rabbits!

    This one has not been seen since it "Departed" Greensboro NC in April. sent First Class with signature.

    TET owl.jpg

    I have also had a few items go missing while transiting through "ISC New York" at JFK airport in the last two years. All were registered. Probably more of a CBP than USPS issue there.
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2020
    ominus1 likes this.
  8. Carausius

    Carausius Brother, can you spare a sestertius?

    Anything sent in the last two months is likely to be severely delayed, particularly if air travel is needed. I've had a coin in transit to me from San Marino for the last month, and it still hasn't gone through U.S. customs - likely because there's no flights to carry it over. A shipment from London sent in early April also took nearly a month. So, don't give-up hope.
     
    rrdenarius, ominus1 and Alegandron like this.
  9. seth77

    seth77 Well-Known Member

    Lost 2 deniers mauvais of Aimery de Lusignan for Jerusalem, a follis of Edessa of Baldwin II and a denier tournois of Mehun-sur-Yevre. Of them all, the Mehun-sur-Yevre is the one I regret the most.
     
  10. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    NNNNNnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo !!!

    Great coins, HOPEFULLY, they will get found!

    I have only had ONE coin lost in transport! And it was a LONG time ago.
     
  11. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    Follis of Diocletian lost in the mail a couple of years back. That is the only time it has happened to me.
     
    ominus1 likes this.
  12. ominus1

    ominus1 Well-Known Member

    (knocks on wood)..never a lost coin in the mail (yet)....lots o other thangs haven't made it but so far not coins....
     
  13. robinjojo

    robinjojo Well-Known Member

    Here's the toll-free number to talk to your local post office's postmaster:

    1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777)

    Also, here's the help request form (tracking number needed), select option #2:

    https://www.usps.com/help/missing-mail.htm

    Missing and super slow mail is very frustrating - I've had two items stolen out of my mailbox (actually contacted the county sheriff), and one item disappear off of a mail truck several years ago.

    Just two days ago I got a notice of the burglary of a local mail truck. Sad to say that many people are in dire straits (economically, drug addiction, etc), so this problem will likely continue and even get worse.

    Generally, I've had good luck filing a help request. Recently I had a rather high price coin, arriving from the Netherlands, delayed. The delivery date was supposed to be May 5th, but then the transit date was stuck on May 4th for about a week. I submitted a help request form, and in about one day the item cleared the main post office, transferred to my local post office, and delivered the same day. It seems that the package was somewhere in the local main post office, where, I imagine, it would have eventually forwarded and delivered, but who knows when?

    The pandemic has been a very difficult time in many respects. The postal workers I think are generally very conscientious and try to maintain services amid challenges to avoid contracting the sars covi2 virus. So far, 44 USPS employees have died due to covid19.

    There's yet another looming problem: the USPS is running out of money for operations. Their revenues have dropped due to the pandemic, while also being required to prefund 75 years of pension benefits (2006 law). The USPS is now seeking a bailout in the form of cash, loans and grants totaling $75 billion.

    USPS rates for shipping packages, compared to the rates of UPS and Fedex, are much lower. There is pressure on the USPS to increase package rates, but that would hurt middle and lower income families, many of whom depend on shipments of essential medical supplies and medications through the USPS.

    What would happen with the demise of the Postal Service? The implications for people living in rural areas and many other folks would not be good. Currently Congress is wrangling over a relief package, but the White House is saying "no" right now.
     
    DonnaML likes this.
  14. Muzyck

    Muzyck Rabbits!

    I've used the missing mail form on a few occasions and here is my experience; either you get bot mail every few weeks indicating that they are looking for it without success and your item gets delivered or you will get the same email and it won't get delivered. In all cases I eventually received an email after six months or so apologizing that they could not locate the item, even the one's that were scanned as delivered. A total waste of my time to even fill out the form. They have been nice enough to give instructions on how to properly address mail so your sender won't make the same mistake again in the closed case email.
     
    DEA and DonnaML like this.
  15. tartanhill

    tartanhill Well-Known Member


    I guess we wouldn't be able vote by mail then either, would we.
     
    DonnaML likes this.
  16. Limes

    Limes Well-Known Member

    I feel for you. Is the USA the bermuda triangle for packages, I wonder... There have been many complaints uttered before, about the USPS. Is there no other shipment option? If its too unreliable, is it possible to not use their service?

    Luckily I have never got a package lost. And most auctioneers use FedEx or DHL.
     
  17. THCoins

    THCoins Well-Known Member

    Living in the Netherlands, i have had numerous packages from the USA seen going AWOL. More in the last 2 months than in the 5 years before. Especially Chicago distribution center seems to be a black hole from which nothing re-emerges. Lost.jpg
     
  18. Romancollector

    Romancollector Well-Known Member

    The one time that I used USPS was a disaster. Usually I request fedex, but on one occasion I didn’t bother looking at the shipping on my cng invoice and USPS was selected. Initially, I wasn’t worried as I never used USPS before. Then I looked up reviews for the local branch and was horrified to find hundreds of reviews that said packages were lost. On the day of the package’s arrival there was no delivery truck to be seen and someone else (a neighbour) apparently signed for it. Luckily it was returned to me later in the week. In any case, I will never use USPS again. For anyone wishing to receive their coins I highly recommend using a courier.
     
    UncleScroge likes this.
  19. Jim Dale

    Jim Dale Well-Known Member

    My problem with the mail, is the sorter, supposedly. I have had mail properly addressed to my house on Wayne Avenue, but is delivered to Watauga Avenue and vice versa. The person at Watauga Avenue and I have exchanged mail several times this year. I bought an electronics item and got the notice from UPS when it would be delivered, so I sat in my house with the doors open. After a while, I checked to see if they left it (I was supposed to sign for it.). I found their sticky note telling me they couldn't deliver it because no one was home (while I was sitting in the living room next to the door where the note was left. I called UPS and they told me where the next three stops would be, so I went to the first stop, no truck, second, no truck, third, there was the truck. I called to him when he was coming out of the building and I told him he had my package and I wanted it. I got it and signed for it then I told him that I was in the chair with the door open when he dropped the note. He said, "I didn't see anyone." Did you knock? Maybe, he said. Don't get him mad. He might drop the package off on the corner, or worse..take it home. I've even seen UPS sign for the package themselves.
     
    DEA likes this.
  20. JeffC

    JeffC Go explore something and think a happy thought!

    Do you know that the USPS can find out where the lost coin is if it was dropped off at someone else's mailbox? They have GPS coordinates. I learned this some time ago here in CoinTalk. When it says "Delivered", but you didn't get it, you can go to the Post Office and ask the manager to check their GPS. They can find out where they actually left the coin.
     
  21. Muzyck

    Muzyck Rabbits!

    That's why I like to know what to expect on a daily basis. I use the Informed Delivery dashboard on USPS.com so I keep track when larger dollar items go go out for delivery. I had one item "delivered" at a different time than two other items the same day. I went right down to the post office to ask the Postmaster if he could help. I had screen shots of the scan history on all of the items so he took it seriously and took my number. A U.S.P.S. truck pulled up in front of my house after hours and dropped the item in my box. Don't know if it was GPS but suspect it was.
     
    TIF, robinjojo and JeffC like this.
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