Around this time of year, auction consignments arrive daily at our local post office. I know a lot of people complain about the United States Postal Service, but we have had very few problems over the many years that we have received and sent auction material. In fact, one of the major boo-boos we ever had came care of Fedex, when they somehow managed to misplace an 80-pound Atocha bar (the wrapping material which included the address had become divorced from the bar)! Thanks to Augi’s persistence, the bar was recovered and received by the addressee without further incidence. Speaking of packaging material, we have a new winner for most interesting box ever received (see photo below). This was underneath the address label which I removed to save the box for future use.
You may be interested to know how we recommend you send your precious coins and artifacts to us. If your material is worth more than $200, we ask that you use USPS registered mail and disclose full value (up to $25,000). It takes a bit longer to mail this way (up to 2 weeks domestically), but it’s very secure and reliable. The post office is picky about how a registered package is wrapped, too. You’ll need to use paper tape–which is not always easy to find–instead of the usual cellophane tape, and seal all edges. As always, if you have any questions about how to send things to us, just ask.
Talking about shipping made me think about all the coins, gold and silver bars, and gold chains that were shipped on Spanish galleons from the New World to Spain. Did you know that usually half of what was in the ship’s hold was contraband, or unregistered cargo? And on some ships, like the Capitana which was recovered in its time, there was MORE unregistered cargo than registered aboard!
become ensnared in a hurricane? If hurricanes weren’t a part of life in the Caribbean, would we ever know as much as we know about coins and artifacts from colonial Spanish America? Something to think about.
It’s an old adage that seems somewhat quaint, but the notion of equating power with knowledge is an enduring theme and a lesson that many people fail to learn. In the Internet age, there’s no reason for people not to have power through knowledge and thus make sound business decisions. This holds true for building your hobby as well. Why collect something you don’t know much about? When you learn more about it, your future purchases will be smarter. If you can’t get answers from the person from whom you’re thinking of buying something, where can you turn to increase your knowledge? As it turns out, lots of places!
The bastion of knowledge, your local library, can provide you with many of the expensive reference works that a dealer has spent a lifetime accumulating. First, go to 
SEDWICKCOINS BLOG 