Tariff Question: Buying World Coins from Europe?

Hi all,

With the new tariffs, what should I expect if I purchase low value coins (under $100) from a European seller? Are there tariffs on numismatic coins and, if so, at what rate?

 

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Not sure about coins but my rocks and fossils went up. Then the tariffs were postponed or delayed so I bought a decent amount as I resell them.

 

The info posted below is from NAC (a Swiss auction house) regarding their sale coming up June 10. Neat semantic trick to have coins considered "informational material". Cal
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Our U.S. broker has received written confirmation from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that they are currently following the interpretation issued by the Trade Remedy Division under the IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) FAQ page. According to this guidance: HTSUS 9705 - including all its subheadings (which cover coins of numismatic interest) - is recognised as “informational material”. This means that no duties or tariffs currently apply to coins of numismatic interest when properly declared. To corroborate this interpretation, Numismatica Ars Classica, along with other companies and brokers, have successfully cleared several shipments in recent weeks, with no tariffs applied. Our understanding is therefore that U.S. Tariffs, at present, are not applicable to any of the lots in the current auctions. Please note that this information reflects the current interpretation and we cannot guarantee that CBP will not revise its position in the future.

 

Note that they don't say you won't be charged a customs brokerage fee, because, well, somebody has to do the work of having the package cleared.

If they do decide tariffs apply, it's going to be a mess because most of the "countries" no longer exist (like Roman Empire != Italy).

 

I've ordered twice from ma-shops, one package I received just last week. I didn't incur any more fees due to tariffs. They were sent by DHL and it said they were coins on the customs declaration.

I can't recall exactly where I read it, but I think most are in agreement that coins will not fall under any additional tariffs. Of course, that can change on a whim.

 

All else being equal, if they tariffs get implemented on coins, then world coins already in your collection become significantly more valuable. But that only applies in the United States. Everywhere else, the tariffs would tend to make world coins less valuable.

 

So far, FedEx is the only company to send me an invoice for an international numismatic purchase.

 

Where were the coins shipped from, and what was the country of origin of the coins? My understanding is the tariff is based on where it was made not where it was shipped from. All the alleged "memos of understanding" from the auction houses sound great, but none of them seem inclined to cover the tariff costs in question should a dispute arise.

 

I bought two British pieces from a Swiss auction firm. I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for the auction houses to offer assistance.

 

My experience has been:

• FedEx collects the tariff.
• UPS collects the tariff and charges an additional broker import fee.
• DHL collects nothing. I just received a package with a listed value of 150,000 Euros and no tariff and no additional import paperwork required.
• Regular Mail is never a tariff no matter how much the value is listed on the Customs form.