diff --git a/mesh-sdk/mesh_core/transport/grpc.py b/mesh-sdk/mesh_core/transport/grpc.py
index 2cd8716..65c3a29 100644
--- a/mesh-sdk/mesh_core/transport/grpc.py
+++ b/mesh-sdk/mesh_core/transport/grpc.py
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
         self._connected = False
         self._health_thread_started = False
         self.last_activity = 0
+        self._send_seq = 0  # tiebreaker so protobuf messages are never compared
 
     def handshake(self) -> bool:
         self._refresh_stub()
@@ -141,7 +142,7 @@
                     last_heartbeat = time.time()
                     while not self._stop_event.is_set():
                         try:
-                            # PriorityQueue returns (priority, ts, msg)
+                            # PriorityQueue returns (priority, seq, msg)
                             item = self.send_queue.get(timeout=1.0)
                             yield item[2]
                         except queue.Empty:
@@ -181,10 +182,8 @@
                     time.sleep(backoff)
 
     def send(self, message: Any, priority: int = 1):
-        # PriorityQueue expects (priority, timestamp, item)
-        # Note: Client messages are not currently signed by the SDK, 
-        # but this is where we would add it if needed.
-        self.send_queue.put((priority, time.time(), message))
+        self._send_seq += 1
+        self.send_queue.put((priority, self._send_seq, message))
 
     def send_health(self, heartbeat: Any):
         """Sends a heartbeat via the dedicated health stream."""
@@ -242,6 +241,7 @@
         self.send_queue = queue.PriorityQueue()
         self.listener = None
         self.signer = signer
+        self._send_seq = 0
 
     def handshake(self) -> bool:
         return True # Handshake handled by Servicer
@@ -259,8 +259,8 @@
                 msg_bytes = message.SerializeToString(deterministic=True)
                 message.signature = self.signer(msg_bytes)
         
-        # PriorityQueue expects (priority, timestamp, item) to ensure stable ordering
-        self.send_queue.put((priority, time.time(), message))
+        self._send_seq += 1
+        self.send_queue.put((priority, self._send_seq, message))
 
     def close(self):
         try: