Relocating to the EU - What to do with my coin collection?

I have a fairly large collection although many boxes are filled with items that don't have a high value ($3 - $5 each). Some are obviously worth more ($500+ each). I was thinking that it might be best to Ebay the lower priced items in lots and to keep the more expensive ones that I really value.

That being said, I'm not clear on what I'm legally allowed to bring with me, preferably in my carry-on bag to limit the chance of theft. Do any of you have experience with relocating to the EU with a coin collection? How much would you think is reasonable to hang on to?

I understand that I will likely not be able to resell them after moving, but would like to hang on to these so that my children eventually inherit them. I've also been putting off having some of them graded by NGC or PCGS and I'm thinking that I might need to do that prior to relocating. (We leave in 8 - 9 weeks.)

Edit: I'm kind of dreading selling any of the silver/gold items with prices as low as they are.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

@Seattlite86 might know.
He move to Germany from the US

 

While you're at it, tell me how I can move to the UK to retire.
The English/Scottish borderlands are calling to me.

 

It's stunning there, isn't it? We'd love to retire in Scotland one day also. We're being relocated (via job transfer) to a different country for now, but part of the reason is to obtain dual citizenship so that we can actually retire in Europe. It's not Scotland by any means, but it's pretty easy/inexpensive to get over to the Netherlands via the DAFT visa if you just want a break. It was our 2nd choice if we hadn't gotten the job transfer.

 

You get it. You're from Pittsburgh. I'm a Reading brat, who spent years in Lancaster County and now Harrisburg. A little cold weather doesn't scare us. My only hesitation is the British view on guns. I own about 20 of them, about half as competitive target rifles. Watch a biathlon some time. I've got two of those things. I guess if I decide it's time to figuratively "pull the trigger", my brother-in-law's arsenal goes up in numbers.

Part of my move, if I ever make it, will involve "repatriating" a pretty neat UK coin collection.

 

When I moved to Germany, I left my collection in a few different locations across the US, with people I trust. In doing so, I accepted the risk that I could never see the collection again.

The way I see it, you have a few options:
1. Leave your collection with someone/people you trust.
2. Sell everything
3. Safe deposit box
4. Hide them in your items being packed and do NOT tell the movers. (Not recommended, but still an option).
5. Mail them to yourself (if you have an APO/DPO, it would make life easier).
6. Carry them with you. If you want to hand carry them to Europe, cash cannot exceed $10,000 in value or you have to declare them.

If you have more specific questions, I’m happy to answer them offline; feel free to PM me.

 

Good idea to have them shipped to the new destination vs trying to get them through customs. As long as they don't try to tack on VAT or custom fees. I haven't quite figured out how it all works. The furniture & house are easy to deal with, jumping through immigration hoops has been another story altogether.

 

Thank you. I'm mainly focused on getting the household stuff sold right now & the house ready to be sold, but would love to PM you in a couple of weeks to go over more specifics. This is off topic, but what did you do with your 401K and pension? I was reading that we might be double taxed if we don't cash out of both before transferring as they consider the 401K to be income (taxed at over 30%) vs here it's only like 10% if we use it toward buying a property within the year.

Just curious, but how are you liking Germany? We'll be neighbors (Poland).

 

Oh boy... You are definitely going to have to find a new hobby if you decide to retire there. The three topics that everyone from a taxi driver to a server asks us when we're traveling is about #1 Guns, #2 Trump and #3 Our TV commercials. EVERYONE.

 

Sounds like you're doing a civilian move and possibly long term? Mine is military and thus temporary. I don't know anything about transferring pensions and/or 401k's and taxes, especially not in Poland. I can say that there's an awesome money transfer system called Transferwise, in which you can basically do wire transfers all over the world. It's what I sometimes use to transfer money to my German bank account. You might find some good stuff here regarding taxes and banking: http://www.expatarrivals.com/europe/poland/banking-money-and-taxes-poland

And I'm loving Germany. Going to miss it for sure.

 

I could have sworn the U.K. had at least SOME biathletes. How do they manage that? They even win Olympic pure shooting competitions from time to time. What do they use for "fox hunting", sharply worded rebukes?

 

Wikipedia seems to provide a good start. The short answer appears to be "expect paperwork", for each firearm, and again for ammo. And don't get your hopes up for handguns.

 

LOL, you just need to take up falconry and trade the guns for an eagle! Seriously though, I miss Scotland and can't wait to visit again. Did you make it to Isle of Skye? I met someone from there that showed me photos that were so beautiful. I haven't gone yet, but it's on my list.

 

Quick side note - that €10,000 threshold (currently about $11,200) applies to cash and certain other monetary instruments. Interestingly, coins that are not legal tender any more (and cannot redeemed either) are not covered by this, see here (PDF, brief/multilingual) or here (English) for example. Precious metals will be dealt with differently.

Admittedly I have zero personal experience with this. Never actually moved from the EU to the US, and never had that much cash with me.

Christian

 

I gotz me some Peregrine Falcons right outside my windows.

 

Makes sense. Even some of the most highly prized competition ammo is made in England.

 

I see your peregrine falcons and I raise you two cats that can catch bees.

 

Already have a set of those. The one likes to sit on the windowsill and watch the carnage as the falcons hunt. He thinks he's bad enough to take them on.

 

In the UK, citizens can own sporting rifles and shotguns subject to background checks, licensing, and some limitations (total possessed, barrel length, cartridge capacity, no automatics or semi-automatics, etc.). Basically forget owning a handgun.

In traditional fox hunting, it was dogs that did the killing; no weapons required. That was banned in 2004.

Cal