I won some coins in the Jan. 8 Naumann auction and was informed today that the Bundesdenkmalamt finally approved the coins for export and they will be shipped shortly (It is Jan. 24). European governments seem to be adding bureaucratic hassles to coin dealing. I image that associated increases in the cost of being a dealer will cause buyer's fees to go up. For those of us in the US there will be advantages to buying coins that are already in the US.
This explains why I stopped looking at European sales. I am in this for fun. Dealers and those who like this situation can support it. My budget can be drained completely by sources who are not currently playing this game.
I read about this a couple months ago. It really sucks, the majority of mine come from overseas. The dealers I've come to trust enough to purchase more from. Of course if fee's increase I'll be forced to look into more stateside dealers and hope their prices don't go up because of it. They say the crap rolls down hill. It's begining to stink down there.
I am young (ish at 45) and if I see a coin I want I am willing to wait a few extra weeks if need be. Not happy about it, but what can you do when dealing with well meaning but misguided socialists.
I'm close to calling it "Mission accomplished" as far as my foreign dealers are concerned. Not because I'm unhappy with their service but because I've purchased everything that I wish from them. I'm now buying from U.S. dealers mostly.
I've ordered a dozen coins or so from both independent dealers and large auction houses in Germany and Austria since the new German Law went into effect - not one was held up by any bureaucratic red tape. Naumann seems to be the exception to the rule. And of course those from Spain, France, and the UK were business as usual.
Just won a roman republic high on my list dirt cheap from Germany, now the wait. And it isn't Lanz. Usually avoid Germany, but was a quick decision that paid off. Hope I have no issues with customs.
It depends on the dealer or auction house - some are following the law to the letter, others are not or have their coins pre approved.
This wasn't much of a problem for Naumann until they moved a few months ago to Austria where things are run differently. According to them, there is a lot of red tape to ship coins overseas and it is causing a lot of delays...
