Reminder: CCF Has A Selling Section

That's great info, JB. I didn't know some of that. Thanks!

Agreed, CCF and similar forums are less risky than selling via the open market. Mods restrict who can buy / sell / trade, you need some history here just to reply to a listing. Every forum has some rules in place to reduce risk, but nothing is guaranteed.

So, to samoth's question, I say know the risks / costs and act accordingly...

PS: I dont have an exact figure, but I've shipped internationally 30 or 40 times and lost 5 or 6 small packages / letters. Shipped twice to Thailand and was told by the buyer to use Registered Mail because items would be guaranteed stolen otherwise. It was expensive and slow but safe! Lost a package to India Post... What could I do? USPS says it's untraceable once it gets to India. They suggested next time I use FedEx because it stays in FedEx's possession all the way to its final destination! One package to Guatemala was delivered to Egypt (I traced it thru USPS tracking and said "What? Why?") but package was eventually returned to me in the US. Had to re-send to Guatemala and it made it there the second time. Last year was sending a dozen or so coins to Scotland. Other guy wanted to save on shipping so he suggested regular mail. I split the shipment between two envelopes to avoid detection of a single heavy letter. He got one letter but not the other. That stinks! I have no way to trace that, no insurance, nothing I can do. That's the risk.

@jecz79

Your desire to sell US coins only to US buyers is interesting but self-limiting. I like the idea of repatriating the coins, and US buyers might offer a higher premium than collectors from other nations, but you are adding hurdles to your possible sale.

You wont run into many US tourists in Portugal carrying thousands of euro in cash looking for your gold coins. Those who are looking for gold are going straight to a licensed dealer, not private sellers.

There are, however, many thousands of US expats who live in Portugal. Some of them may well want to buy your coins. You can start by listing some for sale here with a note that buyers must pay for and pick up coins in person. If no takers, you can list the same coins for sale with the same restrictions on facebook or similar sites. You can readily target US expats in Portugal.

There are also other coin related forums where you could list items for sale. Some have a larger auduence and more traffic in the For Sale threads than you'll see here. Not sure whether CCF mods want me to name them here?

Meanwhile, if ever you do manage to find a buyer in the US, and you have to ship the coins, I urge you to only use registered and insured mail with a complete declaration of the contents including the actual selling price. Shipments with incomplete or falsified documents may be forfeited.

I am not an expert on shipping numismatic items from the EU to the US, but I expect that the coins might be subject to customs duties on one or both sides. Same might be true for buyers who carry the coins back to the US on their person. Customs laws are very specific and revolve around purity, issuer, value, etc. (A couple years ago I was stopped at a US border crossing with about 5k in silver coins but was allowed to pass with no duties after answering a few questions.)

In the end, might be better to loosen your criteria and just sell the coins locally, or, as you said, just hold on to them.

I need someone to post something I want to buy.

I have a bunch of small denomination Dutch coins for sale, but I doubt anyone is interested.
I get the impression that the only coins that do sell are silver coins and American/Canadian coins.

You do not know if you do not try. Only cost is wear on your keyboard entering the post.

No.