Documented replacement-value reports your insurer will actually accept. Required for scheduled property riders and fine arts & collectibles policies covering valuable coins.
Standard homeowners insurance policies cap coin and currency coverage at remarkably low levels, typically $200 to $1,000 for the entire category. If your collection is worth $25,000, $100,000, or $500,000, that homeowners cap is essentially no coverage at all in a theft, fire, or flood scenario.
The solution is a scheduled property rider (sometimes called "Schedule A," a "personal articles floater," or a "fine arts & collectibles" endorsement). These coverages itemize each insured item, provide full agreed-value coverage, often waive deductibles, and cover events that base homeowners doesn’t (e.g., mysterious disappearance). Every major carrier, Chubb, AIG Private Client, PURE, Cincinnati, USAA, offers some version of this for valuable coin collections.
All of them require one thing to bind the coverage: a current insurance appraisal from a qualified numismatist.
Different carriers have slightly different format preferences, but the common requirements are remarkably consistent. A Hicks Coins insurance appraisal includes:
Anytime you bind a new policy, get the schedule done at the same time. Bind first, then schedule the coins as an endorsement.
Most carriers want updates every 3–5 years. Gold and silver prices move enough that older appraisals leave you underinsured.
Add a $25,000 PCGS coin to the collection, add it to the schedule the same week.
Documented inventory helps both the moving company and the carrier confirm condition on the other end.
Coverage on a safe deposit box typically requires the bank rider PLUS scheduled property documentation.
Inheriting a collection? Schedule the new asset on your policy at proper replacement value.
Insurance appraisals are billed at a flat per-coin or per-collection rate, never as a percentage of value (which would create a conflict of interest and is forbidden by ANA/PNG ethics rules). Quote depends on collection size and complexity; small collections can run a few hundred dollars, larger collections proportionally more.
Process is straightforward: We can schedule a time to meet. anywhere in the DMV, Northern Virginia, Washington DC, or Maryland. I work through the collection on-site (the collection never leaves your custody). Within 7–14 days you receive a PDF report formatted for your insurer, with the original in print if you want it.
More on Numismatic AppraisalTell me your carrier and the rough collection size; I’ll quote a flat fee and turnaround.