How to take my coins to another country

Resplandor

Guys, I am being tormented with questions about this move of mine, as luck would have it I'm leaving the States for good and will be relocating to France, I need to come up with a way to safely (also economically) send my coins there, leaving them here is obviously not an option. Has anybody else dealt with coins and customs in the past or does anyone here knows how it works, I personally have never dealt with this type of situation in the past. Do I bring them with me or do I send them in with my French citizen friend. Should I just send them by mail or do half and half. How do you declare them. Any help would be greatly appreciated it.
Please feel free to PM.
Thank you

newbiecollector

I did a fast goggle search and found the following:

General Import Restrictions
The following items are not acceptable for carriage to any international destinations unless otherwise indicated. (Additional restrictions may apply depending on destination. Various regulatory clearances in addition to customs clearance may be required for certain commodities, thereby extending the transit time.)



APO/FPO addresses.


C.O.D. shipments.


Human corpses, human organs or body parts, human and animal embryos, or cremated or disinterred human remains.


Explosives (Class 1.4 explosives are acceptable for carriage to Canada, Germany, Japan, Sweden, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom. Note: United Arab Emirates only allows Class 1.4 explosives to be shipped hold- for- pick-up to the FedEx Express facility in Dubai.)


Firearms, weaponry, and their parts (acceptable between the U.S. and Puerto Rico).


Perishable foodstuffs and foods and beverages requiring refrigeration or other environmental control.


Live animals (including insects) except via our Live Animal Desk (1.800.405.9052).


Plants and plant material, including cut flowers (cut flowers are acceptable from the U.S. to selected points in Canada and from Colombia, Ecuador and the Netherlands to the U.S.).


Lottery tickets and gambling devices where prohibited by local, state, provincial or national law.

Money (coins, cash, currency, paper money and negotiable instruments equivalent to cash such as endorsed stocks, bonds and cash letters).


Collectible coins and stamps.



Pornographic and/or obscene material.


Hazardous waste, including, but not limited to, used hypodermic needles or syringes or other medical waste.


Shipments that may cause damage to, or delay of, equipment, personnel or other shipments.


Shipments that require us to obtain any special license or permit for transportation, importation or exportation.


Shipments whose carriage, importation or exportation is prohibited by any law, statute or regulation.


Shipments with a declared value for customs in excess of that permitted for a specific destination.


Dangerous goods except as permitted under the Dangerous Goods section of these terms and conditions.


Processed or unprocessed dead animals, including insects and pets. Taxidermy-finished hunting trophies or completely processed (dried) specimens of whole animals or parts of animals are acceptable for shipment into the U.S.


Packages that are wet, leaking or emit an odor of any kind.


Wildlife products that require U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service export clearance by FedEx prior to exportation from the U.S.


Web Site Link

Gazza

Could you give us an idea of the size of this collection, will it fit in a shoe box or would you need a crate. Also are we talking gold or rare peices etc.

JoesMaName

Newbee - I don't think FedEx's shipping policies are an expectable representative of the laws of the land.
I know rare coin dealers frequently fly abroad to purchase coins - are they all returning with them illegally?
I would think the handling of personal property would have a different set of rules then those that
apply to a shipping company.

I don't know what government branch passes for the INS these days
but I'd find their web site and do some research.

Blackhawk

Just carry them in your pockets.

MrEureka

I don't know that someone moving into a country is subject to the same import restrictions and taxes as a visiting dealer, so you probably need advice not available here. Perhaps a call to the French embassy is in order.

newbiecollector

<< <i>I don't know that someone moving into a country is subject to the same import restrictions and taxes as a visiting dealer, so you probably need advice not available here. Perhaps a call to the French embassy is in order. >>



Well said. I just copied a Google link. Personally, and I have done it, I just packaged them well and put in my shipment when I moved to another country (which I have unfortunately done a lot)

Justhavingfun

Back back 'em.

I've brought numis coins in and out of at least a dozen countries that way.

Since I moved to Thailand, I started doing the same here, using my trusty back pack. There were two exits from immigration: "something to declare" and "nothing to declare".

The first two times I went to the line: "something to declare." They asked me what it was. I pulled a couple of slabs out and showed them to the agents. They snorted derisively and told me to go to the "nothing to declare" line. After the first two times, I just go to the "nothing to declare" line and have never been bothered.

The Philippines and Hong Kong are the same. France was the same, but that was longer than a decade ago.

I hope this helps.

Warm regards,

Just Having Fun

BBQnBLUES

Ask the US Amabasador to France (whomever that is) bring them into the country in a Dipomatic pouch ?

Resplandor

<< <i>Could you give us an idea of the size of this collection, will it fit in a shoe box or would you need a crate. Also are we talking gold or rare peices etc. >>



Well, it all should fit in a couple of shoe boxes plus two NGC and one PCGS boxes with gold and silver slabs ranging in values from fifty to five grand each plus about fifty Mexican ounces of silver and lots of regular junk that's worth just about the silver content.

And to all those who have already posted, thank you for your input.

1jester

I think each case should be viewed individually (from a realistic and pragmatic point of view), and that's why it helps to not only know the laws, but how they're interpreted and acted upon. It's important to know how many coins and bullion you have and how you will be traveling. Bear in mind that there is a distinct but hard to quantify amount of risk involved in the transportation of your hard-earned savings. Some countries will question or stop you upon leaving the country, but not upon entering. I don't believe (but I don't have much experience with this) the US will give you much trouble with leaving with such a sizable amount of coins and bullion (which will not fit in a backpack). Nor would I expect any EU country to question you upon entry. Remember, there are several issues involved: airplane safety and customs/taxes. Upon leaving a country, and stepping on a plane, you will be thoroughly searched and metals show up plainly in your baggage (never leave coins or valuables in checked baggage!). How many you have will affect how you are treated. Generally speaking, if you have a small amount (less than a shoebox) on you, you probably won't be questioned upon leaving a country. If you are, you can always say they're yours and you're a small-time collector, not investor, etc, and that they're not worth much (even if they are); most customs officials don't know the value of collectible coins. But if you have a lot of metals with you, you can be almost guaranteed to arouse interest and/or suspicion. Remember, the US has laws that require you to register anything above a certain amount of value, including bullion. If it appears you have a lot of valuable things with you, you will arouse interest. My advice would be to avoid to the best of your ability any interest of customs or security personnel. The question now would be, how does one go about doing that? You could send your coins/bullions in the mail, but personally I wouldn't do that. I'd get as many carriers as possible to split up your collection so that no one person has many coins on their person at any one time. If possible, send parts of the collection with different people over a period of time. If you have someone you trust, especially someone who travels a lot, you could have them carry 20-30 coins per trip, and I guess that wouldn't be too suspicious. I don't think you'll have any trouble once you step off the plane in your destination country; just go through the nothing to declare line at the airport.

Also, I wish you could get some advice from dealers who travel extensively and frequently with coins; I am merely a collector who has traveled with coins from time to time. I have yet to hear even one dealer explain on this forum (or any forum, for that matter) how they go about traveling with coins. I'm sure they travel with coins, and with extremely valuable coins, and I'd suspect often with many coins. These people are the ones you should talk to about transporting coins, because they do it all the time and surely they have invaluable experiences to share. Please, folks, share your success stories and "interesting" moments!! I'd love to hear them too.

Good luck with your move!