Shipping To US And Abroad

Any "object"(not paper) going to another country requires a customs form.
Canada post does not charge duty going out of the country. They do however collect duty (on behalf of Canada customs)on some things coming into Canada.You should not have to pay the duty here but they may have to pay there.
If your worried about theft then list the contents on the form as "collector coin" and for the value you can use the face value of the coin, But if it goes missing or gets damaged the the insurance will only be good for the value you stated on the form.If the coin is valuable then I would declare and insure it for the for the full amount (I think you can only insure coins for $500.00 at the most)and let them pay the duty at the other end.

Send anything possible by first class mail in regular or business size envelopes to the US. You can put a coin between two pieces of cardboard(not corrugated cardboard), and it will pass without the need for a customs form, and if done correctly, no one can tell what's in the envelope, it could just be a birthday card. You can send 3-4 coins this way as long as the weight is below 50 grams and the package is thin (5mm. or less). I do it all the time. Up to 30 grs. is $1.05, 30-50 gms. $1.29.


The post office has a template they use to see if the envelope is too thick to send first class. If your envelope passes through, you're good. If you use a padded envelope, they are usually too thick to fit through the slot and then you have to use the customs sticker. However, let's say you sell 10 quarters for $20; You can mark, "Numismatic items face value $2.50". Perfectly legal.

If you are sending expensive items, you can send them the same regular envelopes but by registered mail (same postage plus about $12). On the form you can still mark "numismatic items", and since it's registered, you don't really need to worry about stating the full value, as it's signed for by the receiver (also skirts the problem of a buyer saying he didn't get the item), and provides a tracking number to avoid paypal clawbacks.

There seems to be a whole bunch of practices that work for people. I certainly now know a whole pile more than I did when I posted this question.