I have heard horror stories about buying ancients from Spain. Is there any truth to that or is it over blown?
I have never heard that about Spain, but some other countries. I cannot say though since I do not remember buying from Spanish auctions. I do have experience with UK, German, Austrian, Polish, and French auctions, and all seem fine.
I have lived here, in Spain, for 20 years. If you could be more specific, I can answer your question. The most common complaint is the length of time it takes to actually receive your purchase. This is due to Spains cultural and antiquity policy. Every coin that leaves the Spanish territory need an export license. This takes time.
I was looking at Castellet Classical Numismatics on Vcoins. How long is the AVG time to get one shipped to the USA?
He is the closest to me. The average waiting time at the moment is 3-4 weeks for the required paperwork, although that is only an estimate. As an aside, he hasn´t had any new items for sale for several months. It wouldn´t surprise me to see him close down operation. With the overheads increasing for being on V-Coins and the hassles involved with import-export procedures, might be too much.
What horror stories? I dont know any horror story about buying ancient coins from Spain. The only thing is - the seller must wait for the export permission from Spain authorities. And that will take 5-6 weeks. So if you buy - for example - at Aureo Calico or Tauler Fau, the time the parcel arrived at you home base will take 5-6 weeks (or a little more). But thats all. The coins wait 2000 years for me - so I have no problems wait 6 weeks. From serious Spain dealers you dont be afraid - you get your coin - it will take a time - but you get your coin(s). Only thing is - if a Spain dealer send you the coin in 1-4 weeks - it was not the official Spanish documents. There are some dealers they print out a fantasy export card - size like a postcard for example - thats not the original Documents (DIN A4) from the Spanish Authorities. Then it was possible you get some problem at import to another country like USA.
I won a few coins on Jesus Vico before and they're a known dealer based in Spain. Unlike some dealer firms in Spain, Jesus Vico actually follows the country's export laws and guidelines. They have to go on a waiting period to request export liscenses for each individual coin which took me about a few months. I did have a problem with one coin that was shipped from Spain which I bought from Vcoins that went into ISC NEW YORK customs processing center since January 26 this year and is still stuck there without any updates in tracking. The postal carrier they used was Correos Espana, the tracking just says ISC NEW YORK and no updates since. There is no number to call for ISC NEW YORK. I've had some Spain-based Vcoin dealers send me coins that didn't have the proper export liscenses with no issues but this coin was the last straw for me. It is not worth the gamble to purchase coins from Spain when they do not go through the proper process of exporting ancient coins. Up until now I did not consider that the problem with my coin could be related to export laws, I just simply thought that the small package was lost somewhere in the sorting facility. Perhaps my coin is under investigation for artifact smuggling since it did not have the proper export liscense for it. I'm still looking for a way to contact ISC NEW YORK so I can get this all sorted out, the coin is not horribly expensive thankfully. It is a Republican Denarius with Concordia on the Obv and L. Aemilius Paullus with three captives on the Rev.
Only the first number works, and I've already tried all these numbers and more. The first number 718-553-7271 is technically the official number for ISC NEW YORK but you can only leave a message (with tracking and a callback number) and it's for "express" mail packages only which start with a letter "E". Mine (which was shipped by Correos Espana post) does not start with an "E". Nonetheless I've left them about 10 messages already in a span of several months regarding the lost package and I've never received a callback about it unfortunately.....
I have completely avoided ordering from Spain. Austria also has an annoying permit wait, about 3 weeks, at least when I ordered from one dealer. The coin was worth the wait, however.
I've not bought a lot from Spain, but just received a coin from there on Tuesday, June 10th. It was posted on the 28th of May. I can recall a couple that took a lot longer, and a few that were shorter. I'd say that a couple of weeks is what I've come to expect. PS I just reread some of the other comments and agree that ISC NY can be a real black hole regardless the origin of the sender.
I just bought some coins in-person at a shop in Barcelona. Zero wait time. I have avoided the Spanish auctions due to export, even in the EU. Austria has also been dragging. The Eid Mar auction from 11 May has still not shown any shipment info.
My EidMar coin startet now this week with Shippment. So I think yours will also start next days. I buy at the same Auktion.
