I won a coin in a cgb auction (they are in Paris). Paid for coin, premium and shipping. It was shipped via FedEx. Then few weeks later, a charge from FedEx appeared on my Visa account. After extensive investigation with some wrong turns, I found it was actually FedEx paying U.S. Customs 10% duty tax on my behalf. This seemed wrong because I had recently won a coin in an auction by NAC in Zurich, and it arrived with no duty tax. So, I did some more investigating on my own. But also talked to a representative of NAC USA as to how they try to avoid duty tax; he was very helpful and knowledgeable. So, here’s the info as I understand it. In usual times (now is not usual, I’ll get to that), old or rare coins are not charged duty. However, the shipper must put the correct HTS (Harmonized Tariff Schedule) code on the invoice for U.S. Customs not to charge duty. The correct HTS codes for collections and collectors’ pieces of archaeological, ethnographic, historical, zoological, botanical, mineralogical, anatomical, paleontological or numismatic interest are 9705xxxx. Specifically for coins over 100 years old, the code is 9705.31.00. However, if the shipper just puts 97050000 on the invoice for any coin, it will usually get through without a duty charge. However, now is not normal times. Trump imposed an additional 10% tariff on everything coming into the U.S. with some notable exceptions. This was done under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 which allows such a tariff for no longer than 150 days. It started February 24, 2026; so, ends July 24, 2026. Not sure if it can be renewed at all or under certain conditions. One of the exceptions is “informational items.” And yes, coins apparently can be considered informational items, but it may depend on the Customs agent evaluating a particular shipment. However, to claim this exception, the HTS code on the invoice needs to be 9903.03.11. This is what NAC does. It may or may not work for other folks. There is a procedure that FedEx has for disputing duty tax collected by them. However, it can take a long time to resolve. In addition, FedEx may receive a processing bill from Customs for as much as $150 that will be passed to their FedEx customer. My fee was less than that. So, yeah, I’m not disputing it. Because the tariff is set to expire in less than 3 weeks, if you have ordered or are about to order a coin from outside the U.S., have the shipper wait until after July 24 to ship it. Then they should use HTS code 9705.31.00 for coins over 100 years old; 97050000 otherwise. There are a couple of links below that may be helpful. Mike https://hts.usitc.gov/search?query=9705290000 https://hts.usitc.gov/search?query=9903.03.11
