So I got an envelope today...

I say we creat a best practises thread for eeach and every activity related to coins. grading, buying mailing, cleaning, you name it. it will give us all a chance to look at it as a referral document and allow both newbies and experienced collectors to learn and not get hurt in the long run. Just a thought.

 

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Registered mail gets stamped on the border of all taping; requires the use only of paper tape, no slippery plastic; and is then logged at every change of possesion from the original post office through all trucks, planes and waystations, to a carrier, to the addressee.

If someone should cut into a package as happened to samjimmy, their tape repair would stand out like a neon sign.

 

I had the same thing happen to me once, not for that much money, but luckily the sender sent me more coins and the second package arrived safely.

 

samjimmy,

I sure hope that the USPS makes good on your Claim but don't hold your breath! The USPS has a regulation stating that high dollar items such as coins, currency, jewelry, etc. must be sent via Registered Mail (with Insurance of course) before they will pay on any Claim for a lost or stolen item. I can't remember the Reg. but you can call their' hotline and ask about this Regulation.

In 2004, I purchased a 21 piece, mixed date set of Silver Dollars which were mostly Morgans but included a 1921 Peace Dollar and an 1876-S Trade Dollar on eBay and the USPS destroyed many of the coins in shipping and I had to eat the loss. I couldn't believe that I won the set so cheap which if I recall correctly was around $370 and around $385 or so with the shipping via Priority Mail with Insurance and Signature Delivery Confirmation. A few of the Morgans were EF to AU but most were MS-60 to MS-63 with the exception of 4 which (one was an 1880-S and another one was an 1884-S but I don’t remember the other Dates/MM’s) were MS-64 to MS-66 or better and PL to DMPL. The coins were in plastic holders in a display case that were shipped in a Priority Mail box. During shipment, something (a rod or pipe) penetrated the box and one of the plastic holders, thus damaging the coin and letting it loose in the display case to do more damage. Well more damage it did as the Silver Dollar broke 8 more plastic holders and freed the Silver Dollars inside to run amuck inside the case and damage each other. I had the Mail Lady note on the box about the damage and even sign it. When I went to file the Claim, the USPS wanted me to obtain a Pre-shipping Appraisal based on the pictures that were posted with the auction and any that the Seller might still have at the time and also to get a Post-shipping Appraisal. As the story goes, I checked with several Coin Dealers and most wanted $100 for each written Appraisal (which they do not re-imburse for) which would put my total cost in the coins at $585 to get back $385 on the Claim so my net reimbursement would have been only $185. I eventually sold the set for $200 which was $15 more than what I would have netted fom the USPS.

 

It is such a shame but remember that the post office doesn't always deliver packages. They contract out to private companies to deliver shipments of packages. You must be careful!!

Tom

 

Comment from another forum...

Money sent by registered mail in a padded envelope by a PO employee who understood how to package it (from US to Tanzania) arrived sealed up and empty.

Apparently that's not reliable either. It may be more reliable however, I don't know.

 

Woohhaaaaaaaaaa..you are in luck. A great article is front page headline on "Coin World" online...
Tells you how to deal with it all...

Good luck

RickieB

 

There is another good tidbit about Registered Mail that I thought I would pass along! If you send something via Registered Mail and it does not go out until the next morning, the item is still signed for then locked up in the local Post Office's safe. Also, if at each point of transfer during shipping, the item (box) is not going out right away, they are required to lock it up in the safe. However, who knows whether they always do so but this as well as the required signature by every person that handles the item, is another reason that Registered Mail almost never gets lost or stolen!

 

Samjimmy, I agree with JD. Unless you want to hand deliver the thing yourself, this is the way you want to go, precisely because of this logged chain-of-custody...

 

Woops! Make that GD.

 

Doug is correct. If your going to send something that's valuable Registered Mail is the safest method. Postal Employees who handle registered mail are held personally responsible and are liable for the wrong delivery, depredation, loss of any registered article due to negligence or disregard of instructions. Security of registered items is provided and ensured by the strict adherence to the requirement for hand to hand exchanges and the use of signed receipts. Registered mail is always processed, handled, and stored in secure locations. The items are processed by registry clerks at the processing plants and are secured in a registry cage. Registry cages are locked at all times and only registered clerks can enter the cages and sort the items. These clerks must sign in and out at all times. The carrier delivering the registered item must check the ID of the person accepting the item delivered. Also the postmaster can request that the person accepting the item come to the Post Office for pick up due to security reasons. In 1958 the Hope Diamond was sent register mail in an ordinary brown paper parcel insured for 1 million dollars. All postal facilities are required to have a secure area for registered mail. Items can be registered for more than 25,000 if you have a corporate account. So listen to Doug, use register mail for your valuable items the extra cost is well worth it.

Lou

 

Just one more thing, registered mail sent within the U.S. once the registered item leaves the U.S. the Postal Service can no longer control the manner in which the registered item is secured.

Lou

 

OK, in doing some more reading it should have been sent registered mail. That's good advice for a week ago, but I guess now I have to move forward with the claims process and see how that goes. If you see a Chicago G00240415A on ebay... let me know

 

samjimmy, try www.USPS.com there's a Q & A section on how to file the insurance claim.

Lou

 

Yeah, it seems I have to wait 21 days, then the fun starts.

 

Are you sure you have to wait 21 days to file a claim? I think the 21 days is for something that hasn't arrived yet. I think if arrives damaged, etc., you can file a claim right away.

 

You shouldn't have to wait 21 days to file the claim. You did receive the registered item minus the contents. So you can file your claim wright away. If the parcel had not shown up (lost in the mail) then there's a 21 day waiting period.

Lou

 

Makes you want to beat the tar out of someone don't it

 

LMAO:thumb: :thumb: :thumb: