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I wanted to ship some coins to a fellow in Virginia. An election bet I lost.
I wrapped up the coins, first in a small plastic bag, then in tin foil, then covered that with duct tape. I took my small but heavy parcel to Fed Ex. I said “I want to ship this to Virginia”. The attractive young girl at the counter said “what is it”? I said I didn’t think that was important, I just wanted to ship it to Virginia. She said she had to know what it was. So I said its coins. “Oh, we cant ship coins”. I said “OK, it’s a peanut butter sandwich then”. She said, no, its coins and we cant ship them. I said, OK, tell me where your nearest Fed Ex store is. She said she could not tell me where the closest Fed Ex office was because I was going to try to ship coins. I left. But noticed a UPS store in the same block. I went in, stood in their line, and said “I want to ship this to Virginia”. The older man asked me “what is it”. I asked do I have to declare what it is? Yes. OK, its trinkets. He said its awfully heavy, what are they made of? I said silver and copper and other metals. Just small trinkets of no particular value. He put my small taped package inside a padded envelope, and gave me a tracking number. Expected delivery next Tuesday. I have no idea if UPS X-rays all packages, or what they would make of my small tin foil wrapped trinkets. What's this phobia about shipping coins, and which company is the best choice? I have had bad luck with the US postal service in the past.

USPS, is the best choice usually.

But you've had bad luck with them in the past. So, I don't know. Never had this same problem.

I have shipped hundreds of packages via USPS and never had an issue. A lot of them, I printed postage myself and just drop them off. Many were paid for at the post office with no issues still. I have only shipped a couple of packages via UPS or FedEx through my local mailbox store and have never been asked about the contents.

I'm going to go a little broader because I know more people will visit this thread later.

If you want to insure coins/bullion, the only option you have in person is Registered Mail at the Post Office. UPS and FedEx will not insure coins/bullion, and regular USPS insurance does not cover them either. There are a couple third party insurers online that will cover coins/bullion (most do not, it is a specialty service), but unless you need to do it regularly, Registered Mail is the simplest way to go.

If you don't want insurance, properly packaged Priority Mail or First Class Mail are the methods of choice. A Small Flat Rate Box is less than $7 at the Post Office, closer to $6 online, and gets there in 2-3 days. The USPS loses far fewer packages than UPS or FedEx in my experience. I have shipped well over 10,000 packages with the USPS and have had maybe a dozen legitimately go missing or get destroyed. 99.9% delivery is really good. Use Signature Confirmation on higher value packages, and it's not a bad idea when shipping to higher risk areas (the Chicago area comes to mind) and at peak times (end of November through early January when there are high volumes and temporary workers).

Make sure the return and recipient addresses are securely attached and clearly readable (computer printed labels are far superior to hand written labels, the automated sorting equipment can read them more reliably), make sure the items are wrapped and the box is stuffed full with packing material so the contents can't rattle around inside (if shipping in a bubble mailer, make sure the contents are wrapped and attach them to a piece of cardboard or similar if the envelope is significantly larger than the item so it can't slide around). Make sure the box is taped at every flap and seam. Especially make sure to tape the ends of Small Flat Rate Boxes and the flaps on Priority envelopes. Do not trust the self-adhesive alone.

For the least chance of problems, accurately weigh your item and print a label online, then hand it to your mail carrier or somebody at the Post Office and make sure they scan it "Accepted" to get it in the system. If you ship more than 2-3 packages a day, consider using a SCAN form for more reliable Acceptance scans and to make it quicker and easier for your mail carrier / the clerk at the counter. You can do it through PayPal or USPS.com but it's a pain. It's worth the $15.99/month for Stamps.com just for this feature if you ship any kind of volume (just my opinion, but my Post Office highly agrees, and I have very few delivery issues).

For bonus points, tape boxes with water-activated paper tape. It's required on Registered Mail anyway, and is more tamper evident than clear packing tape. Use the fiber-reinforced paper tape for heavy packages. Reinforced clear packing tape (strapping tape) is also good for heavy boxes.

If asked at USPS counter what you are shipping, then your response should be these exact words, "nothing liquid, fragile, perishable, or potentially hazardous" Accompany this precise phrase with a smile for bonus points.

This is the language they are trained to ask every customer. If you say that, then like good trained employees, they will ship your package.

MH you are 100% right on, but saying it like that will still startle a few employees. They won't be expecting it.

If I may though, I got the impression that rainsonme was asking :
Do UPS and FED ex really refuse to ship coins?
So, the answer given was, they refuse to insure them. But do they really refuse to mail/handle them at all?

And which company is best for shipping coins?
Most of us would agree: USPS

If rainsonme though, has a 'phobia' of shipping USPS, what is his second best option?

If I understood correctly, rainsonme, you walked in without an outer packaging on the coins, they were wrapped up, but not in a shipping envelope!? My suggestion would be to package them in something that could be shipped directly. Distribute the weight, but make the coins immovable. No sound, no movement, no suspicion.
It would still be ok, at that point to throw the package into a UPS or Fedex mongrammed bubble envelope or box, but that might add to weight=cost.

Does all this help, rainsonme?

FedEx and UPS DO ship coins. Don't believe me? Order some from the US Mint
Trust me, they know what's in those packages when they pick them up

Yes, this has been very helpful. I think I will use USPS next time. I had some bad experiences with them in the past, but I trust the consensus here.

Need some help. I'm going to list a 5 pound lot of Canadian nickels. I want to ship USPS priority small flat rate. Is there a weight limit on the small box. Thanks

Changechecker wrote:Need some help. I'm going to list a 5 pound lot of Canadian nickels. I want to ship USPS priority small flat rate. Is there a weight limit on the small box. Thanks

70 lbs

68Camaro wrote:

Changechecker wrote:Need some help. I'm going to list a 5 pound lot of Canadian nickels. I want to ship USPS priority small flat rate. Is there a weight limit on the small box. Thanks

70 lbs

He isn't joking either! In my experience the max you want/can stuff into a small flat rate box is about 14 pounds.

I have done 10lbs of nickel in a flat rate box....and they can be reused easily by the receiving end.

Please don't use Fed Ex. I've had so much trouble with them over the past couple years... packages lost, stolen, delayed, etc. IMO, UPS is more trustworthy for large weight boxes.