What began as an ordinary journey to Canada ended with an expensive and sobering lesson.

A Utah coin collector arrived in Whitehorse, deep in Canada’s Yukon Territory, only to discover that something critical was missing from his luggage. Somewhere between two stopovers and his final destination, 100 silver dollar coins—worth nearly $10,000—had vanished.

Darren King had carefully packed the coins into his checked suitcase before departing for Whitehorse. He planned to trade them for local currency or use them as barter while seeking permission to explore for gold on private land. The coins weren’t casually tossed in—they were intentionally packed, counted, and secured before the trip.

But when King opened his suitcase in Canada, the space where the coins should have been was empty.

According to King, he had been advised that placing the coins in checked baggage would avoid additional scrutiny during airport security screening. He followed that guidance—unaware it would prove to be a costly mistake.

“I had a bunch of Morgan Silver Dollars, some of them more than 100 years old,” he said.

Now facing the loss, King has filed a police report and submitted a claim with Delta Air Lines. As of now, the coins have not been recovered.

What was meant to be an adventurous journey into Canada’s far north instead became a stark warning to travelers everywhere: some items simply don’t belong in checked luggage.

I personally lost a camera in a checked bag coming back from Tahiti. As an inexperienced traveler at the time, I was naive about the safety of personal items in a checked bag. I hope Darren learns the costly lesson – never pack anything of value in a checked baggage, it probably won’t be there when you arrive.