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You can physically mail coins or gold, but insurance is the catch: Canada Post's Special Services Regulations explicitly exclude coins, bank notes, jewellery, and precious metals from registered-mail insurance coverage. USPS registered mail is the traditional alternative for valuables, with its own rules. LetterAgent can't help here: it mails letters, not parcels, and can't insure these items.
| Option | What happens with coins or gold |
|---|---|
| Canada Post Registered Mail | Excluded from insurance coverage: coins, bank notes, jewellery, and precious metals are named exclusions in the regulations |
| Canada Post regular parcel services | Ships like any parcel, but the same coverage exclusions apply to the contents |
| USPS Registered Mail (US) | The traditional choice for mailing valuables, with declared-value coverage under its own rules |
| Third-party shipping insurance | Some private insurers cover valuables the carriers exclude; read the policy's own exclusions |
The exclusion is written into Canada Post's Special Services Regulations: coins, bank notes, jewellery, and precious metals are explicitly excluded from registered-mail insurance coverage. The reason is structural. These items are small, extremely valuable, and theft magnets, which makes them the worst possible insurance risk for a carrier: a tiny parcel that vanishes looks exactly like every other tiny parcel, and the claimed value can be enormous.
Note what the exclusion actually does. It removes the insurance coverage, not the service. Registered mail still gives you the chain of custody, signature handling, and tracking that the service is built on. But if the parcel is lost or damaged, the coverage you'd rely on for any other item simply isn't there for these.
One trap to avoid: writing a high declared value on the form doesn't create coverage that the regulations exclude. Declared value and actual coverage are different things, and the exclusion wins.
In the US, registered mail is the long-standing method for moving valuables through the mail, and coins and bullion are routinely sent that way. USPS registered mail offers declared-value coverage with its own maximums and packaging rules, and coin dealers have used it for decades precisely because the chain of custody is the tightest the postal system offers: registered items travel separately, get signed for at every handoff, and are stored under lock.
The contrast is the point of this guide. In Canada, the same service name (registered mail) carries an explicit exclusion for exactly the items Americans register most often. Don't assume the coverage travels across the border with the name.
For coins and bullion within the US, USPS registered mail with proper packaging remains the standard: sealed, tamper-evident packaging, full declared value, signature at every step. For Canada, where the postal insurance is excluded, people turn to private options: insured courier services that explicitly cover precious metals, or third-party shipping insurers whose policies name coins and bullion as covered. Read the policy's own exclusions before you ship, because private insurers have their own lists.
Packaging discipline matters regardless of carrier. Discreet outer packaging that doesn't advertise the contents, inner packaging that immobilizes the items so nothing rattles, and no indication of value on the outside. A parcel that rattles like coins is a parcel that invites curiosity.
No. LetterAgent mails letters, not parcels: single-sided printed letters in a double-window envelope, sent to US and Canadian addresses. It can't ship coins or gold, and it can't insure them. The guidance above covers how the carriers treat these items, but for the shipment itself you'll need a carrier or insurer that explicitly covers precious metals.
Ready to ship it? Get a shipping label with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and get your label.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
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