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

Gee, thanks for the info and advice, Christian. I will check the Singapore customs website. :smile

 

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Thanks for the info and advice, BUncirculated. I will research on Singapore's tax laws and check the customs' website as well. :smile

 

Also remember to have them tracked, and of course, insured ...

 

Oh, and declared on customs form ... but there may be a 'cutoff', where below a certain $$ value, you use a form stuck to the package listing the distinct contents, and above that $$ value, you can elect to have the list of items within the package (with a summary form on the outside).

 

The coin dealers over here tell me that they have to pay a 5% Japanese tax on coins that they personally bring back from the US, but I haven't had to pay the tax when I've accompanied the coins. However, Japanese customs started charging me 5% on coins that I would buy from the US through the mail, even if I ended up returning them, so that ended my mail order purchases from the US (or anywhere outside Japan, for that matter).

 

Good to know! Thanks. :thumb:

 

I had been mail-ordering coins from the US for a while back in the '90s without any problem, but then I ordered a gold coin from an American dealer and was told I had to go to the post office to pick up the package. At the post office they took me to the back room and told me I had to pay 5% of the declared value as customs tax, which made the tax around $35. When I opened the package at the P.O., I was disappointed to find that the coin was way overgraded, so I asked if I could have a refund of the tax because I was going to send the coin back, right then, at that P.O. But they told me that since I had opened the package, I had to pay the tax, regardless. It ended up costing me $50 (tax + postage) just for the privilege of looking at and returning that overgraded coin.

 

Thank you for illustrating this experience. It's information like this that no matter how costly it was for you, helps protect others in our endeavors to maintain collecting activities no matter where we may be. Sorry to hear how this ended for you but thank you again for sharing this information with us.

 

I actually met the American dealer a little later at an ANA show. He apologized, and ended up giving me a good deal on a Classic Head $5. And I didn't have to pay any tax on that one when I brought it back to Japan

 

Well at least you had a better ending to this particular experience. Glad to hear it!

 

This is another (recent) thread I have been following for information on the topic. I thought it might be helpful for others to read as well:

Customs and duties for coins imported into US

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