Let's Talk Tariffs: How to Plan for the New Costs of Buying Coins Outside the U.S.

Until recently most people in the coin business, even attorneys like me, never worried much about tariffs. When we purchased coins from foreign sellers we knew there would be buyer’s premiums, and shipping costs, and maybe there would be some delays at U.S. customs when the coins arrived, but tariffs? Either they didn’t exist or somebody else (the retailer or auction house) took care of them.

And we were justified in not thinking about tariffs. Historically, coins entered the U.S. duty-free, the same as art, historical artifacts and other items of cultural interest. In recent years the only tariffs coin dealers and collectors had to face were for Chinese coins, which were not excluded from the wave of tariffs on Chinese-made products imposed by the first Trump administration and maintained in varying degrees by President Biden. Even with those tariffs, however, there were ways to reduce the tariff bite (sometimes even eliminating it entirely) for unique items or items below an $800 “de minimis” threshold.

Fast forward to 2025. Tariffs are back and bigger than ever. And stranger than ever too—the authorizing laws are not the usual ones, such as Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, but rather two laws that apply only in cases of national emergencies, which President Trump has duly declared. And the “de minimis” exception is gone. You can agree or disagree about whether there actually is an emergency for which tariffs are needed, but legally the tariffs are there and need to be considered in making purchases overseas.

Do dealers and auction houses add tariffs to their invoices for sales outside the U.S.? They can certainly do this according to the law, and bidder terms and conditions usually provide for any required VAT, local sales or use taxes, or export or import charges (i.e. tariffs) to be added to the buyer’s invoice. In practice, successful buyers are dependent on the policies of international shipping companies as to whether tariffs will be collected and, for the moment at least, shippers are applying different interpretations of the tariff orders and underlying laws—a confusing situation.

Some experts say the new tariffs do not apply to numismatic coins because the authorizing laws do not authorize tariffs on “informational materials”, and that term has been defined as including numismatic coins. Other experts say that only particular forms of artwork fall within the “informational materials” exclusion, not collectible coins and currency. Either way, if a dealer or auction house adds tariffs to an invoice it is because the designated shipper is demanding payment for them. In other words, a successful buyer will not receive the items he or she purchased without paying the entire invoice, tariff included. This means that bidders must take the tariffs into account when formulating their bids. The only exception to this would be if the dealer or auction house explicitly stated that tariffs would not be applied to invoices, in which case bidders should clarify if the sellers are absorbing the tariffs, or whether a determination has been made that the sale items are tariff-free, in which case the sellers should be able to explain why this is believed to be the case. An example of this would be U.S. coins, which as far as I know continue to be duty-free when purchased abroad and returned to the U.S. (provided they have not been “improved” in any way while outside the U.S.)

The Trump Administration’s economic policies have disrupted many aspects of the U.S. and world economy, and some may say they were intended to do just that. But there’s no indication anyone was thinking about Americans buying coins outside the U.S., so it’s possible that over the next few weeks and months some further exclusions and exemptions will be announced. In the meantime, however, be ready to pay the tariffs on your coin purchases.