I try to order out of the USA or Canada anymore. But I thought this Vcoin company was out of the US but it was out of Dubai Arab Emirates. The order has been sitting in the NY Customs for a month. Anyone have this issue? Is it lost or does Custom's sometimes take a bit to log them in?
When I have issues with customs it is usually NY. I have waited as long as 6 weeks. The good thing is that everything came eventually.
Hi @edteach, I just waited 46 days total, where the coin was 'off the radar' for 39 days. The tracking did not get updated at USPS till after the coin was delivered. I feel for you. My coin was only going from Canada to New York. It got to Chicago 2 days after being mailed. Then .... nada. I even contacted the seller to ask him to track the package from the Canadian end. Their postal system told him it could take up to 45 days in US Customs and to contact them again after that interval. At least the Canadians were nice enough to explain how US Postal Customs works. If the USPS tracking had the same message I would have had less angst in my life for 41 days. - Broucheion
There has been an increasing discussion in many forums and Facebook groups in recent weeks and months. Antique coins are getting stuck in customs more and more often. It doesn't matter whether they are travelling from the USA to Europe, from Europe to the USA or from other countries. Since the Bale / Roma case, the authorities have somehow become a little more nervous - or so it seems subjectively. Auction houses such as Künker and Leu have already reacted accordingly - no longer supplying some antique coins at all or only under exclusion of any liability. Since I (as a retailer) buy a lot worldwide but also, logically, sell, I realise this myself. I am therefore very meticulous when I buy or send coins. I can give you the following advice, I am doing very well with it. I export a lot of antique coins from the EU to the USA every week. Without any problems. So if you buy antique coins from an auction house or dealer outside the USA, ask the seller to note the following things. 1. Please write to the seller to declare the coin with this text when placing the parcel order with UPS, FedEx, DHL etc: "Antique Numismatic Item - more than 100 years old". 2. He should enclose a copy of the invoice with the parcel! 3. You send the seller the PDF that I have attached to this post! Please ask him to fill in this PDF. This form says "FEDEX" - you can cross this out and replace it with UPS or DHL Express. But he should fill out this form! And enclose it with the parcel! This PDF is very simple, but it is extremely important! 4. And now - very important - write to the seller that both, the copy of the invoice and this completed PDF, must be attached to the outside (!) of the parcel in a shipping bag! On the outside! On the outside! Inside is useless! It must be attached to the outside of the parcel! So... declare the consignment to UPS, FedEx and the like with "Antique Numismatic Item - more than 100 years old" during electronic registration, then the seller should fill in and print out the PDF and attach it to the outside of the parcel together with the invoice. Your parcels will then pass through US customs. I export to the USA, Canada, Australia, England etc. without any problems.
It seems to be a New York problem. I order a lot of coins from European auctions and only have issues if mailed via DHL to USPS or if it's valued over $2500 per shipment. Rule of thumb is I typically keep orders under $2500 so I don't have to pay customs fees and use FedEx.
I just purchased ancient coins from Dubai last week, and this morning my purchase was processed by customs in less than 2 hours.... just lucky... It is always hit or miss with US Customs, and one never knows what will trigger their "hold". An organization that I would recommend to ancient coin collectors is the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild - https://accguild.org/ This organization works to protect collectors from government interference in collecting legal & collectable ancient coins... and the customs issues that relate to them.
My orders from Zurqieh have always been pretty quick. In fact, it's faster to order from them (via post) than the UK, or at least the dealer I was ordering from.
This example a rare and irreplaceable lifetime coin of Shahi Tigan tribal warlord. Was lost from the radar in transit from a dealer in the UK. Nearly 2 months past and long after I had been compensated for the lost coin, it shows up. I promply alert the dealer and make good. I hope your coins eventually do turn up. Dont give up the hope. Hunnic Tribes, Nezak Huns. Sahi Tigin. Circa AD 710-720. BI Drachm. 28.50mm, 2.80g. Kapisa-Kabul mint. Obv: Diademed and crowned bust right. CPI TOΓINI ÞOYO In cursive Bactrian Greek. Rev: Fire altar with ribbons, flanked by two attendants. “Srima dive” in Brahmi down to right of altar shaft, [“pare Sri down to left]. Ref: Gobl, Dokumente Em. 206, MACW -. Zeno #20999. Note: Good very fine. Rare specially at this condition.
I got coins sent from Dubai dealer took 5 days to reach me. I do ask that they send coin/s discreet/ no value/ description/ in otherwords just a registered letter. It works everytime.
Customs can do whatever they like. I’ve seen item go right through with no problems and I’ve seen other items sit for 3 or 4 months. I used to drive a box truck across the Canadian border when I lived and worked for a printer in Washington State. I never had any problems until one day. I had a truck load of pallets with 2 months for calendars. All the paperwork was in order, all customs paperwork was filed but a customs official said the paperwork was incorrect. He claimed I had calendars, not 2 months. My company picked them up from a Canadian printer and we cut them to the correct size. We also printed the name and address of business on them. Customers not only kept the pallets, they kept the truck. Three weeks later we were told it cleared with no problems and that the agent made a mistake. No apologies, just come and get your truck and pallets. If you can call the shipper please do so as it may help. Otherwise, be patient awhile longer. They will do as they please.
I've noticed my Zurqieh orders have been taking increasingly long, and I don't think it's any of his doing. The most recent one has been 2.5 weeks, so far. Probably good ol' customs.
Mine arrived. It just took 2.5 weeks. Dubai must have a great postal system. If left alone, I've had orders show up very quickly.
I don't want to scare you or anything but I have one coin sitting at ISC New York since Jan 25 this year! I have not found a contact number where I can talk to someone, only a number where you can leave your express mail tracking number and your contact number and thats about it. No call backs yet for my package. The coin is a Republican Denarius I ordered from VCOINs. Anyone have any experience with coins that are lucky enough to have gotten stuck at ISC New York for several months? lol
