How To Establish Insurance Value For Raw Coins, Particularly For Shipping?

I have ALWAYS had and felt the same way...
I've paid the premium in the past thinking I'm covering myself...

Then...After I paid a silly amount to cover a coin to Rick Snow and we talked...he said I paid way to much.

From then on...I haven't taken any additional insurance through USPS and I've taken my chances and have been lucky so far! I just make sure I package the "you know what" to insure it's protected from damage including shipping details included within the package to it's destination and sender.

It doesn't answer your question...just letting you know how I send coins now.

Looking fwd to what others have to say.
smat

I have to tell ya, I think I would be sour for weeks if USPS (or whoever) lost a $1000 rare coin and I got zero money back. Especially if it's a cherrypick, because I've got through all the time and trouble to track down a rare coin, attribute it, and enjoy the victory—and then it's destroyed in the final step.


Right, so that at least constitutes some documentation. For raw coins or unattributed slabbed varieties, the price you paid to cherrypick it is going to be like 10% of the actual value once it's in a slab properly attributed.

I have just had terrible experiences with various forms of insurance in my family. My dad got taken to the cleaners over a superbly maintained car that had a tree branch fall on it. The adjuster carved him down to less than 50% of the replacement cost of the car (even though they happily based his many years of payments on a higher value). My buddy in car insurance said they probably made a handsome profit on the parts from the totaled car, because the branch didn't damage any electronic or moving components or side panels. My mom was terribly ill last year, and grappling with her Medicare prescription insurance was an endless bureaucratic nightmare.

I'm really hoping eventually someone who submits coins often will describe a good solution on this thread.