Shipping coins to China
worldcoinguy
Posts: 2,999 ✭✭✭✭
At the risk of rehashing an old topic, what is the latest wisdom in regards to shipping coins to China? A buyer in China is interested in purchasing a $1000 coin. However, I am not sure that it is technically feasible by the letter of the law. My first and primary concern is that China appears to prohibit the import or export of collector coins. I am not sure if this includes non-Chinese pieces or not. I am not willing to take on the liability by calling it a medal for customs purposes. Is this the "show stopper"?
Second concern is that most major carriers appear to have a prohibition on shipping collector coins.
USPS prohibitions to China:
https://pe.usps.com/text/imm/ce_009.htm#ep1400280UPS explicitly prohibits collectible coins in shipments
https://ups.com/us/en/help-center/shipping-support/prohibited-items.pageFedEx explicitly prohibits collectible coins in shipments:
https://crossborder.fedex.com/us/assets/prohibited-restricted/index.shtml#prohibitedDefinition
Third (which might be inconsequential at this point), USPS registered mail is worthless once it leaves the US borders, it is treated as standard mail with no protections.
Comments
I think you answered your own question. You would be exposing yourself to legal trouble with no recourse. Peace Roy
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I once purchased a coin from a seller located in the middle east...the package recived was mailed from China and the coin ended up being fake. I’ll probably never ship an expensive coin to China so they can make fakes out of it.
Good luck. I think the term is, "Dancing with the Devil".
Thanks for the input guys - comments appear to be in agreement. I will cut this one loose and wait for the next one to come along. I see traffic to and from China referenced on the coin forums (as well as ebay bidders/sellers in China), so I just assume it is all under the radar and at your own risk. I just wanted to confirm this was the case.
Another option would be to ask if they have a US address you can ship to. Serious buyers out if China often have a contact in US that has a more or less sure way to get the coin to the buyer.
8 Reales Madness Collection
Oh boy, good luck !!!
Can you post the coin? Maybe some of us interest in buying it from you.
Thanks jt88 - it is probably not what you would expect. It is an Italian 1669 sede vacante piastra I have listed on eBay.
I do not have the stomach for that risk so my intuition has been confirmed by fellow forum members. I think what eats away at the corner of my mind is my perceived contrast between this reality and the constant reminders of China's growing middle class, increasing buying power, appetite for modern bullion, and hot early 1900s market for "classic" Chinese material. ENot a week goes by without seeing an article from an auction house, a mailer from Heritage, or an NGC marketing emails, etc featuring Chinese material. How is this volume of material moving globally with these restrictions in place? I admit to being an utter novice in the area of Asian numismatics in general, but the contrast between the exploding market and the import/export barriers seems odd to me.