Posting Perth Mint 1oz silver bullion coins to the USA now.

[PhilDePunter]

Is anyone able to fill me in on the appropriate HS customs code to use when sending Perth Mint silver bullion coins to the USA now through AusPost? They provide a drop-down menu that does not seem suitable with restrictions thrown in. I can use unwrought or semi-manufactured silver but will that pass the customs sniff test? Coins with a denomination will not go through, AusPost online customs form blocks! What about Trump's tariffs now? I'm only sending 3 or 4 ounces. Will we be hit with the new 12.5% tariff at the PO or does that depend on the HS code we apply? I understand that must have ten digits now where in the past I've gone as low as six.

 

[spannermonkey]

Yes you will be hit with the tax no matter what you send .
I sent a bike saddle a couple of weeks ago & was hit with the tax .
Luckily I overcharged on postage .

 

[Silver Fox]

Is anyone able to fill me in on the appropriate HS customs code to use when sending Perth Mint silver bullion coins to the USA now through AusPost? They provide a drop-down menu that does not seem suitable with restrictions thrown in. I can use unwrought or semi-manufactured silver but will that pass the customs sniff test? Coins with a denomination will not go through, AusPost online customs form blocks! What about Trump's tariffs now? I'm only sending 3 or 4 ounces. Will we be hit with the new 12.5% tariff at the PO or does that depend on the HS code we apply? I understand that must have ten digits now where in the past I've gone as low as six.

Unfortunately Australia Post won't deliver bullion, bank notes or coins in any international services. Please see link below:

Valuable items

Read about Extra Cover, damaged items and compensation when sending valuable items.

auspost.com.au

You can run the risk (I personally wouldn't especially sending to the US) of declaring something other than silver coins.

From my own personal experience, if you're sending to the US you will need to have a verified Zonos account set up if you're creating the postage label yourself. Having said that you will not need one if you're creating a label via an Australia Post outlet. As spannermonkey said, it doesn't matter what you are sending, you will have to pay the tariff cost from your end which is calculated against the value of what you're are sending.You can always declare a lessor value (I personally don't) but that creates an issue if you want to purchase extra cover (insurance over $100) in the event that your item/s are lost in transit.

 

[Silver Fox]

I'm not suggesting that you do this however the closest tariff code that I find for what you are sending is: 7118900055 (Non-Gold Non-Platinum Foreign Coins).

 

[Silver Fox]

Unfortunately Australia Post won't deliver bullion, bank notes or coins in any international services. Please see link below:

Valuable items

Read about Extra Cover, damaged items and compensation when sending valuable items.

auspost.com.au

You can run the risk (I personally wouldn't especially sending to the US) of declaring something other than silver coins.

From my own personal experience, if you're sending to the US you will need to have a verified Zonos account set up if you're creating the postage label yourself. Having said that you will not need one if you're creating a label via an Australia Post outlet. As spannermonkey said, it doesn't matter what you are sending, you will have to pay the tariff cost from your end which is calculated against the value of what you're are sending.You can always declare a lessor value (I personally don't) but that creates an issue if you want to purchase extra cover (insurance over $100) in the event that your item/s are lost in transit.

And just to clarify why I state I personally wouldn't declare something different to what I am actually sending is because I have had a couple of different parcels rejected and sent back to me by foreign customs due to the fact that the description and tariff code were classified as not accurately matching what I was sending. The good news was that on both occasions, Australia Post refunded the postage cost back to me as it was actually viewed (by Australia Post) not to be my fault as the description/tariff code were considered in their eyes, as correct.

 

[PhilDePunter]

I'm not suggesting that you do this however the closest tariff code that I find for what you are sending is: 7118900055 (Non-Gold Non-Platinum Foreign Coins).

Months ago I sent a few Perth Mint silvers bullion Brumby and being semi-numismatic declared them just as "collectable coins", not sure what the HS code was but they got through without issue. Worth a try again?

 

[PhilDePunter]

Yes you will be hit with the tax no matter what you send .
I sent a bike saddle a couple of weeks ago & was hit with the tax .
Luckily I overcharged on postage .

Recently I sent an old USA minted coin and as it originated from there no tariff or fees applied. It took a month to get to its destination without any tracking from the day it was lodged to the time it got through US customs. I'd written it off! All I can think is they took a very close look at it on the way through.

 

[Silver Fox]

Months ago I sent a few Perth Mint silvers bullion Brumby and being semi-numismatic declared them just as "collectable coins", not sure what the HS code was but they got through without issue. Worth a try again?

That’s great that you’ve had success in the past. Although I stated “I personally wouldn’t do it myself”, I’m not saying that it can’t be done, I’m just going off my own personal experience of having packages being rejected and sent back to me on a couple of occasions. Having said that, on both occasions, neither packages were being sent to the US.

I ran "collectable coins" through the Australia Post portal and although there wasn’t an exact match for that description, these were all the options that were given to me:

Non-Gold Coins Not Legal Tender - 7118100000
Non-Gold Non-Platinum Foreign Coins - 7118900055
Platinum Coins - 7118900020
Gold Coins Other Than Maple Leaf - 7118900019
Canadian Maple Leaf Gold Coins - 7118900011

 

[PhilDePunter]

I ran "collectable coins" through the Australia Post portal and although there wasn’t an exact match for that description, these were all the options that were given to me:

Non-Gold Coins Not Legal Tender - 7118100000
Non-Gold Non-Platinum Foreign Coins - 7118900055
Platinum Coins - 7118900020
Gold Coins Other Than Maple Leaf - 7118900019
Canadian Maple Leaf Gold Coins - 7118900011

ChatGPT just spat out this........

The wording:

Non-Gold Non-Platinum Foreign Coins – 7118900055

is not an Australian description. It's almost certainly the U.S. HTSUS statistical description that Australia Post has imported into its lookup database.


The key is who is doing the classifying.


When the USA says "foreign coins", it means:

Coins that are foreign to the United States.

So from the perspective of U.S. Customs:

• Australian Perth Mint coins = foreign coins
• British Royal Mint coins = foreign coins
• Canadian silver Maple Leafs = foreign coins (unless they fall into their own specific subheading)
• U.S. Silver Eagles = not foreign coins ✘

It does not mean "foreign to Australia." Australia Post is simply presenting the U.S. classification because the parcel's destination is the USA.

That description actually makes sense​

Your Perth Mint coins are:

• ✓ non-gold
• ✓ non-platinum
• ✓ coins
• ✓ foreign to the United States

which lands them in 7118900055.

What convinces me even more​

Notice how the list mirrors the U.S. tariff exactly:

• Canadian Maple Leaf Gold Coins – 7118900011
• Gold Coins Other Than Maple Leaf – 7118900019
• Platinum Coins – 7118900020
• Non-Gold Coins Not Legal Tender – 7118100000
• Non-Gold Non-Platinum Foreign Coins – 7118900055

That's essentially the U.S. tariff schedule, just with friendlier descriptions.

If I were lodging your parcel today...​

I'd be perfectly comfortable selecting:

Non-Gold Non-Platinum Foreign Coins – 7118900055

for a Perth Mint Kangaroo, Kookaburra, Koala, Lunar, etc.


I actually think this discovery answers the question we were wrestling with. The Australia Post lookup has effectively confirmed that 7118900055 is the classification it expects for Australian legal-tender silver coins being sent to the United States.

 

[PhilDePunter]

• Non-Gold Non-Platinum Foreign Coins – 7118900055 went through with zero tariff applying. The girl behind the counter was pretty shocked as it's the first HS code she's seen go through without a tariff since its inception. Let's see if it boomerangs back to me down the track!

 

[Silver Fox]

• Non-Gold Non-Platinum Foreign Coins – 7118900055 went through with zero tariff applying. The girl behind the counter was pretty shocked as it's the first HS code she's seen go through without a tariff since its inception. Let's see if it boomerangs back to me down the track!

Well, I'm glad ChatGPT agreed with me that Non-Gold, Non-Platinum Foreign Coins – 7118900055 was the best match for what you're sending. I must admit, I'm just as surprised that no tariff was applied. I've never personally sent bullion or coins to the US, but I have sent plenty of other items there and every one of them has attracted the tariff since it was introduced.

The only potential hurdle I can see is US customs interpreting the classification differently. Although Australia Post's system indicated that your shipment doesn't attract a tariff, there's always the possibility that US customs could reach a different conclusion.

As I mentioned earlier, both times I had parcels rejected by overseas customs was because they determined the goods didn't match the description/tariff code that had been declared. However those descriptions and tariff codes were the closest available options provided by Australia Post's online portal. Australia Post even refunded my postage on both occasions because in their view, I had selected the correct classification based on the options they provided. That suggests Australia Post and the destination country's customs interpreted the classification differently.

Please keep me updated with the outcome.