My first advice for traveling with valuables is don’t. But if you must, don’t check them. If they won’t fit in your carry-on, consider FedEx or UPS.
Hopefully we’ll see fewer stories like that going forward, and more like John Deschamp’s. He is a TSA screener who found $5,000 in cash and turned it in instead of pocketing it.
Inertia Wins! 