Customs and duties for coins imported into US

Now-a-days the cutoff is $800.

 

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The €10,000 threshold refers to cash that you carry with you. When entering the European Union from a non-EU country, you may well have more cash. Does not "cost" anything in terms of duties or taxes, but you need to make a formal declaration. Pretty much the same applies when I enter the US, except that the threshold is $10,000 when entering.

Christian

 

I bought a nice rare Canadian sovereign recently from an online dealer in Greece. It was certified and I got the coin OK, but I think I got lucky. It was basically shipped as a token, with no insurance that I could see. It got me thinking, if it disappeared in transit, what remedy would I have with a Greek seller whom I really don't know?

 

Very right, they are for different reasons. It actually brings up a point. I have declared in the US when my wife was taking gold OUT of the US simply to make sure they didn't try to tax us when we brought it back in. Without proof that you took it with you out of country, they can treat anything you bring back to the US as taxable.

The real solution is to get my wife to stop liking heavy gold jewelry, but that is a battle I am afraid I cannot win.

Chris

 

Thanks. I knew it was some number, above which you needed to declare upon entry.

 

Not a lot, unfortunately. My only bad experience selling on eBay was selling a Monaco € starter kit (they are quite rare). I shipped it to Greece, but the buyer reported the pkg was open, and the bag poorly taped up; seems like it was badly handled by customs. We reached an amicable agreement, but I'd never send stuff to Greece now (certainly not with the troubles, etc!).

Out of interest, what date sovereign was it? I have 1911-C, 1917-C, 1919-C and the legendary 1908-C.

 

Out of interest, what would happen if you declared $1,000 of goods? Is the amount over $800 taxed or duty paid thereon? Whenever I've visited the UK, I tend to write $600 just in case!

 

It was a 1917-C MS62 PCGS. I have a 1913-C currently in stock though, MS63 PCGS. Please let me know if you ever decide to thin the herd, esp. the 1908-C. Thanks Andy.

 

I believe it is the amount above the threshold is all. The intent of the law is to weed out those who are simple vacationers from importers. Think wholesale value when you think of the value to declare, not what you may have overpaid for a coin in the heat of an auction battle.

Chris

 

Tell that to my friends that have to declare revenue on any fine watches or antiques that they fly out of Germany or France. They will not even let them take it out unless they can provide solid documentation of value, like a commercial invoice. And use that to charge fees.

 

Please ask your friends what kinds of "fees" those are. I am pretty sure that whatever this is does not have anything to do with the €10,000 that you mentioned in #16.

Christian

 

The reason that a friend of mine who used to hand carry coins to and from the US for me told me that he can no longer do so since he did not want the risk of being hassled by the Transportation Security Administration agents. This started when he had problems with a roll quarters in his hand luggage for me. They told him that such an item could be a weapon and should be in luggage which goes into the baggage hold and wanted to know what else was in his hand luggage. He said UK customs were okay with such things when they did their checks.

 

Probably doesn't. =)
But either one can be enough to make dealers not want to risk personally delivering expensive items internationally.

 

I've carried all sorts of coins, rolled and loose, with me through US airport security in my carry-on luggage. I always have to be taken out of the line for further screening, but I have never been told that a roll of quarters/halves/whatever can be used as a weapon, nor have I been told that I have to carry such items in checked baggage (especially since I can't lock the bag, suitcase, etc).

 

There is a difference between gold coins and gold jewelry in the eyes of US Customs. Jewelry is fully taxable, while gold coins are considered "monetary instruments" and are not taxed.

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/322/~/importing-gold-coins,-medals,-and-bullion

 

Probably worth noting that basic airport scans that xray one's bags depict a solid mass on the screen when it encounters items like solid silver coins and large dense metallic objects. A bag search to determine what these objects are is not out of the common when passing through airport security. I happened to be traveling with some of the new 5 oz. silver ATB coins in carry on and was questioned as to what these objects were for a domestic US flight. This was just TSA screening and it didn't require a bag search, just a quick question as the bag came through the machine.

 

I have no reason to doubt my friend but maybe he added a bit of embellishment but as both you have confirmed that you could be subjected to questions and/or screening. Maybe he just wanted to take precautions from this happening to him since he travels on a British passport and has retired to South Florida.

 

National Geographic ran an interesting episode of 'Locked Up Abroad' (Banged Up Abroad) about gold smugglers out of Nepal. It's plenty embellished for dramatic effect but you get the idea about why some countries have certain rules and how corrupt others can be, where you should be informed before traveling, etc.

You can watch the episode in a few parts on YouTube. Parts one, two(missing on YouTube), three, four, five.

 

People forget that gold and silver can be substitutes' for money and countries have lot of regulations governing them