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LAPEL, Ind. — A man who lost his decades-old coin collection after shipping it to his son wants to warn other people to be careful mailing valuables this holiday season.

Ray Tincher, 85, wanted to pass down his lifelong hobby. In late September, he boxed up more than 50 tubes of pennies and shipped them via FedEx.

“I wasn’t asked what was inside the box,” Tincher said. “I didn’t want to draw attention to it.”

Tincher’s package never made it to his son. Instead, his tracking number still showed it pending in Memphis, TN as of early December.

“Somebody got a good collection,” Tincher said. “I was heartbroken, and so is my son.”

Tincher found out the hard way that FedEx caps its liability for lost or damaged items at $100. According to the company’s website, that liability does not apply if you package the box yourself. You can take items to a FedEx location and have the company package them, then declare the value. In Tincher’s case, he could have declared the value up to $1,000 for additional protection.

“I thought, this is really ridiculous to go through something like this, so that’s why I called [the CBS4 Problem Solvers], because I thought other people should be aware of this,” Tincher said.

The CBS4 Problem Solvers team wanted to know what options are available to you when shipping valuable items. According to UPS’ website, the company also limits liability to $100 but it does offer third-party shipping insurance. According to USPS’ website, you can purchase up to $5,000 of insurance on packages.

Better Business Bureau of central Indiana CEO Tim Mansicalo stressed the importance of reading the fine print before you ship any valuable item or purchase additional insurance.

“Think about the value of the item and what would happen if indeed it got lost,” Maniscalo said. “Absolutely you want to read the fine print, ask questions, understand what you’re getting.”

A FedEx spokesperson told CBS4 that it was investigating Tincher’s case, but declined further comment.

“FedEx keeps telling me that they’re going to find it and I hope they do,” Tincher said.