This is for shipping as well as for your collections at home, or even in safe deposit boxes.

You can check, but most homeowner insurance policies won't insure your coin collections, or will severely limit coverage on a coin collection to a couple of hundred dollars. (This seems like it's unrelated, but trust me, I'll get there.)

Further, homeowners insurance companies MAY be willing to "schedule" your coin collection, similar to valuable jewelry items, but if you check, you may find the cost to be exorbitant, and the reason your insurance agent will probably tell you is that the company simply doesn't know anything about coins. They will also likely require a FULL INVENTORY of every coin to be scheduled - UP FRONT.

Next, I actually didn't realize that you were shipping from outside the U.S. For those shipping within the U.S., the safest option for shipping coins is Registered Mail (not to be confused with Insured or Certified Mail). Registered Mail is essentially outside the normal mail stream and is lock-boxed every step of the way. It is extremely secure, and "a" method of choice for NGC as well.

I believe that I have heard that UPS and FedEx have issues with insuring coins, and have HEARD) that the "fine print" of regular postal insurance (U.S.) has exclusions as well. I can't swear to that. Again though, Registered Mail is extremely secure.

However, this is where alternative insurance comes in. Since personal collections become valuable quickly, particularly those which may contain bullion items, and easily grow to thousands, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, an insurance policy for a coin collection is almost ESSENTIAL, but so many collectors go without one, just as so many people living in flood zones have no flood insurance, and people in hurricane prone areas have no wind damage coverage, and so forth. The time to buy a burglar alarm is NOT the day or week AFTER you are robbed, but before -- the same goes for an insurance policy for your coin collection.

Now, I finally start to get to the coin and respond to JayH749. I can be long-winded that way, so I beg your indulgence.

If you are a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA), they have arranged for their members a deal with the Hugh Wood Agency in New York to be able to purchase a coin collection policy underwritten by AXA, a reputable and solid insurer.

They have various levels of coverage, but among them are policies that will cover your coins EVEN WHILE SHIPPING THEM (as long as using certain insured or trackable carriers (Such as Registered Mail) -- see their policy terms and conditions) anywhere within NORTH AMERICA. I didn't pay as close attention to other carriers since I use Registered Mail, but UPS or FedEx MAY be options, so if you aren't a member of the ANA, you may want to join, or check with the agency about the policy first, and if they have terms which meet your needs, THEN join, because ANA membership IS a requirement of the policy.

Further, they have less expensive policies for collectors who keep their coins in safe deposit boxes, and limit coverage, for instance, to travel between your home and your safe deposit box location. You may ask "But if it's in a safe deposit box, why do I need insurance?" For so many reasons, of which just a few are:

1. The contents of a safe deposit box are not insured by a bank, nor by any federal or government agency.

2. While thefts from safe deposit boxes are rare, they do occur.

3. Where is your safe deposit box? Is it in a dry location such as Fairbanks, or in a damp location such as Miami? Is it in a basement or above ground location in your financial institution? The question becomes are the contents subject to environmental damage. While this sort of "limited" damage may not be covered by an insurance policy, they are important questions to ask and consider when selecting a safe deposit box for coin storage. IS the safe deposit box room climate controlled? Some banks actually HUMIDIFY the rooms because they consider it MORE likely that people are storing DOCUMENTS (or CASH) in boxes, and they work to preserve that. The humidity can DESTROY coins. These are all important questions to ask your bank, and front line tellers may not know. Silica gel packs (to absorb moisture in your box) are also something to consider.

4. REAL environmental damage. What if your safe deposit box was in a bank that was in New Orleans, Mississippi, or elsewhere along the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and was LITERALLY UNDERWATER for days, weeks, or longer? How would your precious or even priceless collection of coins fare then? What about in a bank in Southern California during their recent wildfires, or perhaps that got buried in a mudslide? Again, an insurance policy of your own would be essential!

These may sound like extreme examples, but they are hardly out of the realm of possibility. These things happened to hundreds of thousands if not millions of people in several states -- whether they lost coins, stamps, stock certificates, or precious documents: ALL was destroyed.

Lastly, the insurance policy that the ANA arranges for through the Hugh Wood Agency and underwritten by AXA specializes in coins and thus does not REQUIRE you to schedule every item in your collection. However, in the event of a loss, clearly, an inventory would be required. They do, however, require you to list any items that are INDIVIDUALLY worth in excess of $10,000 I believe. Hardly an unreasonable request.

For other inventory purposes, some people make their lists on paper, some people use an Excel Spreadsheet, some people circle coins in the Red Book, some people take pictures or video (in combination with lists). I've seen special software that includes downloadable values that can be updated pediodically, though I don't have personal experience with it, and I believe it may be limited to certain kinds of coins (such as U.S.). Personally, I made a Microsoft Access database, which is extractable to Excel, so I have a friendly data-entry method with drop-down boxes for common fields, and then searchable and sortable and reportable outcomes afterward.

Probably more than you bargained for when you made your posting, but I at least HOPE many can benefit from some of this information.

And before I forget, the ANA can be found at www.money.org and the link to insurance information I believe is under BENEFITS.