Shipping US Coins Insured for Priority Mail

[Hack]

I have read conflicting information about shipping coins Priority Mail and being covered by the USPS insurance. I have seen information that the coin falls under the currency provision and Registered Mail is required for insurance. I read the USPS insurance documentation and it was vague about numismatic coins and shipping Priority Mail.

 

Does the Priority Mail insurance cover coins or do the coins have to be shipped Registered Mail to be covered by USPS insurance?

 

Has any one filed a claim for a coin lost by Priority Mail and received the fair market value for the coin that was insured?

[cpm9ball]

Does anyone really believe everything the USPS says any more?

 

Chris

[coinman_23885]

A USPS claim was filed on a Priority Mail package I mailed about 2-3 years ago, and the purchaser was reimbursed the full purchase price. Since then, I have stopped using USPS and the "steal me" stickers and use private insurance, which is much cheaper anyway.

[Conder101]

Numismatic coins are insurable by priority mail and are payable at fair market value.

 

From the USPS Domestic Mail Manual Section 609 paragraph 4.1 Payable Claims

 

4.1 Payable Claim

[5-31-15] Insurance for loss or damage to insured, COD, or Registered Mail within the amount covered by the fee paid, or the indemnity limits for Priority Mail, or Priority Mail Express (under 4.2), is payable for the following:

 

Subparagraph g covers numsmatic coins

 

g.For stamps and coins of philatelic or numismatic value; the fair market value is determined by a recognized stamp or coin dealer or current coin and stamp collectors’ newsletters and trade papers. The date of the fair market value determination must be current and prior to the mailing date.

 

Bullion on the other hand has to be shipped by Registered mail to be covered for more than $15. This is subparagraph m.

 

m. Except for Registered Mail, the maximum indemnity for negotiable items (defined as instruments that can be converted to cash without resort to forgery), currency, or bullion, is $15.00.

 

 

What is needed to prove value for a claim is covered in paragraph 3.2 Proof of Value

 

3.2 Proof of Value

[5-31-15] Either the mailer or the addressee must submit acceptable proof to establish the cost or value of the article at the time it was mailed. Proof of value should be submitted electronically or attached to the claim form under 1.5; otherwise, the claim cannot be processed. Other proof may be requested to help determine an accurate value. Examples are:

 

These are most applicable (although these are not the only methods) subparagraphs a, e, and f.

 

a. A sales receipt, paid invoice or bill of sale, or statement of value from a reputable dealer.

 

e. A copy of a credit card statement or other documentation indicating the amount paid.

 

f. For Internet transactions conducted through a Web-based payment network that offers payment services through a stored value account, provide a computer printout of the online transaction identifying the purchaser and seller, price paid, date of transaction, description of item purchased, and assurance that the transaction status is completed. The printout must clearly identify the Web-based payment network provider through which the Internet transaction was conducted.

 

 

If you ever have problems getting them to insure a package or in filing a claim it helps to have a copy of their own rules to use to support your case.

 

This is the link to the whole DMM

 

http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/dmm300_landing.htm

 

And this is to section 609 Filing Indemnity Claims for Loss or Damage

 

http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/609.htm

 

 

 

[johnny9434]

Does anyone really believe everything the USPS says any more?

 

Chris

sure, just like i do the weatherman or a politician.

[cpm9ball]

Does anyone really believe everything the USPS says any more?

 

Chris

sure, just like i do the weatherman or a politician.

 

The last time I believed a politician, he was assassinated.

 

Chris

[messydesk]

The last time I believed a politician, he was assassinated.

 

Chris

Yeah, McKinley was reasonably honest.

[e1cnr]

'collectible' coins and currency are insurable - these are things that sell for more than face value

 

 

 

the stuff you get as change at a fast food restaurant is not (unless it is collectible)

[Nutmeg Coin]

The problems are only going to get more challenging with the usps. Though I am generally content with deliveries, recently less so. I shipped a priority last week with really screwy tracking, the guy at the mail hub said he didn't know where it was today, though I was assured the last couple days it would be delivered to the FL address the next day. Also I had an express yesterday, and since I had been working on my car most of the day, could not get it there until the window closed. So the girl said she could not accept it though it was on a corporate account. So I went to FedEx that is open until 8pm, and it was delivered next day, this morning for about the same price, corporate accounts get substantial discounts, it is well worth opening them at no extra cost.

 

Plus there was this little gem today, a carrier who sat on mail for over a year: http://news.yahoo.com/philadelphia-postman-charged-22-500-pieces-mail-found-173535275.html

[coinman_23885]

The last time I believed a politician, he was assassinated.

 

Chris

Yeah, McKinley was reasonably honest.

 

No. I don't think the whole Spanish American War was very kosher (McKinley asked Congress for the declaration of war). We had already expressed an interest in Cuba, and modern evidence supports the claims that the USS Maine did suffer a boiler explosion that was not the result of nefarious behavior.

 

We must look back even further.

[messydesk]

The last time I believed a politician, he was assassinated.

 

Chris

Yeah, McKinley was reasonably honest.

 

No. I don't think the whole Spanish American War was very kosher (McKinley asked Congress for the declaration of war). We had already expressed an interest in Cuba, and modern evidence supports the claims that the USS Maine did suffer a boiler explosion that was not the result of nefarious behavior.

 

We must look back even further.

So, Lincoln, or are you thinking something like Julius Caesar?

[cpm9ball]

The last time I believed a politician, he was assassinated.

 

Chris

Yeah, McKinley was reasonably honest.

 

No. I don't think the whole Spanish American War was very kosher (McKinley asked Congress for the declaration of war). We had already expressed an interest in Cuba, and modern evidence supports the claims that the USS Maine did suffer a boiler explosion that was not the result of nefarious behavior.

 

We must look back even further.

So, Lincoln, or are you thinking something like Julius Caesar?

 

 

The last time I believed a politician, he was assassinated.

 

Chris

 

I was referring to Kennedy. How old do you guys think I am?

 

Chris

 

 

[Conder101]

He said that he believed a politician, not that the politician was a good one.

[jom]

He said that he believed a politician, not that the politician was a good one.

 

A good politician? Oxymoron.

 

jom

[BillJones]

You guys are too cynical. McKinley was a decent president, and he did not lead the charge to get into the Spanish-American War. Hot heads like Theodore Roosevelt did. There were things to admire about TR, but he did have pugnacious attitude about war and killing defenseless animals ... except for the little bear that he refused to kill because it was a "set up."

 

As for the boiler explosion on The Maine, that theory did not get a lot of play until many, many years after the war was over. From what I've read, historians think that coal dust was to blame.

 

I would not shed too many tears over the fate of Spanish Empire. They treated the Native Americans brutally for centuries. They deserved to get their butts kicked, although one could have made the argument that the Americans didn't need to the kicking.

 

[coinman_23885]

As for the boiler explosion on The Maine, that theory did not get a lot of play until many, many years after the war was over. From what I've read, historians think that coal dust was to blame.

 

I would not shed too many tears over the fate of Spanish Empire. They treated the Native Americans brutally for centuries. They deserved to get their butts kicked, although one could have made the argument that the Americans didn't need to the kicking.

 

I am not praising Spain either, but in light of the Ostend Manifesto issued about 40 years before the Spanish-American War, I find it hard to believe that politicians simply didn't seize the opportunity to do what they wanted to do all along: seize Cuba. The Ostend Manifesto strongly implied the use of force to take Cuba if Spain would not sell it.

 

So, Lincoln, or are you thinking something like Julius Caesar?

 

I guess we would need to go back to Lincoln. I wonder how honest "Honest Abe" really was? By politician standards, he doesn't look too bad.

[coinman_23885]

I was referring to Kennedy. How old do you guys think I am?

 

Chris

 

 

You mean you weren't around for the passage of the Bland-Allison Act? I always thought you pulled your VAMs from original bank bags.

 

 

(I am obviously joking and do not mean any of this in a disrespectful way...)