For anybody that purchases coins from an overseas seller there is a new issue to worry about - you may not get your coins as they may be siezed and confiscated by US Customs. This new law has been passed by Congress and is presently awaiting the President's signature to become the law of the land. To read more - Click Here
Boy,that is very alarming news.Coin dealers over here are now forced to apply for an annual licence under the new Secondhand Dealers' Act,plus when they buy coins,they can't sell them straight away.They have to keep them for a fortnight before putting them into stock.It is these sorts of petty regulations that I,like the dealers,really resent.
It looks like they will only check them if they think the coins or artifacts come from Iraq. I don't know about you guys but I don't buy or trade much of anything with people who live in Iraq.
But I feel that that is rather fair. Coin shops are in some ways like pawn shops, in that they good goods of value for resale. There should be proper documentation and IDing of the seller to attempt to ensure that the goods (coins) sold are not stolen. Here, coin dealers do not generally buy from anyone who is either under 19 or who does not have sufficient ID.
This sort of thing increases prices, though. If the dealer has to hold things for 2 weeks, his turnover and liquidity slow down. If he can make a couple dollars on a coin he bought a few hours earlier, he might take it. But, if he has to hold hi stock for 2 weeks, he will be less likely to take a quick, easy, low, profit. I am all for stopping the illegal sale of stolen coins, but I wonder how many crimes have really been solved with laws like these. My guess is few if any. BTW, why not have the same rule for antique stores. Why not reuqire banks to hold the actual currency you deposit for 2 weeks and not credit your account unitl that 2 weeks is up? Where does this idea end?
Well, if depends how long an item has to be held. 3-4 days would not be unreasonable. Here, most dealers just refuse to buy if it appears that the items may be stolen. Antique stores I'm not familiar with, but their buying/selling volume is nowhere near that of pawn shops or coin stores. Besides, a typical thief would probably go after coins (generally percieved to have value, and easily disposable) rather than antiques (which might be a big piece of worthless junk that easily identifyable and hard to sell).
Unreasonable or not, the question still exists, is it fair or justified? We should not be so quick to let the govt into our business, even if it is someone else's store being imposed upon. Three or four days....is that enought ime to let the police make a stop at all coin and pawn shops? Most burglaries and thefts are low priority for law enforcement. As for antiques, they are less likely to be sold to a pawn shop perhaps (mainly beause the pawn shop owners are not knowledgable about them), but years ago my grandparents' house was emptied of all furniture that was remotely old. A lot of it was valuable. Antiques definitley are sought after by thieves.
"The passage of this bill means that any customs official who has reason to suspect or believe, for whatever reason, that an imported object (including a single coin) might be from Iraq..." Iraqi and ancient coins. And only if they suspect it. (Though the package could easily say 'ancient Roman coins,' a very good indication that it includes ancient coins. I was concerned for a moment, a lot of my stuff is sent from New Zealand and Australia. And with Canada being a stone's throw away, I could have lost a good option of legitimate dealers.
I still think it is "feel good" legislation. I bet you could sent a package marked "ancient Iraq coins" and it still would get through.
Does anybody really think that they will only examine packages with a label or customs form saying they contain Iraqi coins ? I mean c'mon - people KNOW this law exists - they aren't likely to advertise that they are breaking it. Custom officials know this. What is likely to happen is that EVERY package either coming from or addressed to any numismatic firm or known dealer will be examined. And I seriously doubt that customs inspectors will be able to tell the difference between a Iraqi coin, a Greek coin, a Roman coin or ANY coin from an early time period. And I don't mean just ancient, but medieval, renaissance and European coins.
True, but I would stil be surpised if they bother. I have mailed quite a bit of stuff to the US and it has never been opened (in contrast, EVERYTHING in a package to Germany gets opened if from outside the EU). I sent some "tobacco" from Germany and they never bothered to open it to find a couple Cuban cigars. I would test my theory by putting "ancient Iraq coins" on a customns label, but I think it is a federal offense to lie on a customs label, so I won't try it.
