Is it illegal to buy U.S. coins and bring them outside the U.S.?

I am a foreign coin collector and I'm wondering if it is illegal to buy U.S. coins and bring them back to my home country?
Also, what if these coins are gold and silver?
I certainly don't want to break any laws.

 

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my guess would be its not illegal because you can buy other old foreign coins and bring them into the us so i would assume its not illegal.

 

I'm sure it's legal. However, I don't know the laws in regards to larger quantities of gold, platinum or silver bullion. There are probably laws governing that and not actual coins minted for circulation. Hopefully someone will come along and enlighten us both.

 

I would think it would just be a problem if you were bringing large quantities of bullion around. If you're just going to go to the USA, get some random coins and bring them home you'll be fine. The majority of US currency isn't even in the USA anyways!

 

I heard that there is a limit to the face value of U.S. coins you can take out of the country. I don't know if it was ever intended to count collectible coins.

 

It depends on your country. Thailand, for example, restricts shipping precious metals and all coins from the mail. However, you can bring them in on your person under a certain amount.

Also, Adam, I'm pretty sure that restriction only applies to nickels/copper pennies, due to folks trying to ship them to Canada to melt.

 

You can import and export coins and currency to and from the US all you want, including gold and silver coins, but if you move over $10000 you have to file some paperwork. And if you travel with it, you have to report it at the customs, even though there is no duty.

You need to check the laws of your country too, they may be different.

 

Oh, I think that is right come to think of it.

 

I am an American collector living in Japan. I've never had a problem buying American coins in the US and taking them back with me to Japan.

 

Thanks for the info, Tylercw7.

 

Yeah, I'm curious about the laws governing the large transfer of gold, platinum and silver bullion, too, gbroke, even though I'm more concerned about just small quantities for my own personal collection.

 

Thanks for the info, Awolter. Actually, right now, I'm only concerned about getting hold of some small amounts of U.S. coins for my own personal collection.

 

I heard something to this effect, too, AdamL.

 

Thanks for the info, NorthKorea.

I'm from Singapore, and I'm sure it's legal to bring small quantities of foreign coins into this country for personal collections.

 

Gee, fishsoup, thanks for the info.

I think I needed this clarification.

I'm from Singapore. There are strict laws against money laundering here but I'm sure it's legal to bring small quantities of foreign coins and paper currencies into this country for personal collections, although I don't know what the limit is before the filing of papers is required.

 

Thanks for all the replies!

Actually, I'm from Singapore, and, to the best of my knowledge, although there are strict laws against money laundering in this country, it isn't illegal to bring small amounts of foreign coins and paper currencies into Singapore for personal collections.

I've been collecting coins -- mainly silver coins -- on and off for some time. I'm interested in some U.S. coins and have been buying them online.

I've been using a freight forwarder for my purchases and, so far, there haven't been any problems because I've only been buying small quantities of foreign coins for my own personal collections.

However, recently, I enlisted the help of another freight forwarding company, and, on the website of this new company, there's a listing of what's prohibited and what's not. The items listed as prohibited for export from the U.S. and Europe include coins and paper currencies as well as precious metals, much to my surprise.

I looked up the internet on this issue and read something about it being illegal to bring U.S. coins to other countries for the purpose of melting these coins but couldn't find any other information, so, I thought I'd just try and ask around here at Coin Talk.

 

The US has no laws against exporting its coins (other than large quantities of cents and nickels) The real question is what are YOUR countries laws about importing the coins.

As to the shipping company, many of them will not ship coins or currency intended for circulation, but they will ship COLLECTIBLE coins and currency. Some will ship them but not insure them. Check with the shipping firm and see if they will ship collectible coins.

 

If you have coins with you when flying back to Singapore from the US, make sure you know about your local customs regulations. In Singapore they may (as in, perhaps) charge some duty, import tax, etc. if you bring lots of coins and/or valuable pieces with you. Apart from that you should be fine.

Christian

 

You will need to research about declaring the gold and silver coins and whether you will have to pay a duty on those or not. Check your country's tax laws regarding duty tax on items of value brought into, or imported into your country.

 

Gee, thanks for the info, Collector 1966.

I would like to live in Japan some day, too, and continue collecting coins as well.