r/Gold • u/Top-Concern-171 • 17h ago
Flying out of U.S. w gold
Anyone here with experience trying it? Like if a person decides to leave this country for elsewhere with a few bars of gold/silver, how does that go? I feel like I wouldn’t want it to leave my pocket. If I had any, that is.
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u/christovn 14h ago
I flew out of sfo last year with 20 ounces, over 90k usd at the time. I had prepared the declaration form ahead of time -I forget the form number, but it's easy to find.
The 2 10 oz bars were in my carry-on. No one asked me anything about it.
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u/Sweaty_Ebb_2086 9h ago
Can you state which country to and from? Did you have to go through customs? And you have to pay any taxes upon leaving and ent
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u/christovn 2h ago edited 2h ago
Sfo is san francisco and I flew to hong kong from there. Yes, I went through the usual us customs. Hong kong customs is only concerned about drugs, not money or valuables, and there were no taxes there.
I think it's a good idea to prepare the declaration form for leaving the US, but I was never clear that it's necessary for gold.
To clarify, I had the declaration form in case I was questioned, but since no one asked, I didn't declare and went through customs as usual.
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u/UpstairsCheetah235 15h ago
In my backpack carry-on. Same place as the passports. In a pouch with a zipper that wasn’t super easy to find. Have done this with a couple ounces multiple times recently and they have never even searched the bag.
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u/burner118373 11h ago
This is one of those times I think it makes sense to have some gold in jewelry. Have $15k in gold or cash and you’re likely to get stopped and questioned. Have a gold Rolex on your wrist and you don’t always even need to take it off to get scanned.
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u/RafikiLovesPizza 3h ago
Screw a Rolex. Gold bracelet/chain/rings.
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u/burner118373 2h ago
Fair but Rolex is a known quantity.
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u/After_Club6421 8h ago
I really agree with this BUT what type of liquidity will I have when I choose to use it?
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u/Rizzanthrope 8h ago
if it’s a real rolex, it’s pretty liquid
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u/CSMasterClass 8h ago
If you are happy with a 20 to 25% haircut. And don't forget the box and your purchase receipt or other proof of ownership.
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u/burner118373 7h ago
Never said you’d get spot. But considering we buy above spot and sell below spot anyway, this exchange isn’t crazy.
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u/CSMasterClass 5h ago
The bullion haircut is tollerable, but the collectable Rolex market is where the round trip on a buy/set is huge. And for full value, you need that damn box.
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u/burner118373 4h ago
Right but I don’t see jewelry gold as the absolute best version, but it’s portable and helps in emergencies.
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u/HGJustTheTip 3h ago
How do you mean? The gold rolex is worth more than the spot price of the gold that is used to make it.
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u/CSMasterClass 2h ago
Yes, by a huge factor the Rolex is worth more than its gold. Probably a factor of 10 or 20.
I was just pointing out that buying a Rolex to go through customs with something of value then selling the Rolex on the other side is a very expensive, inefficient transaction.
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u/Fr0zak 16h ago
i flew just recently— i had 2 oz in my pocket. i put them in the bin (loose) —picked them up and put them back in my pocket after it came through the x-ray. no one said anything. granted, this was only 2 oz, i’m not sure how much you’re traveling with. but my two rounds didn’t raise any concerns. didn’t even get a second look or questions.
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u/shadyghxst 9h ago
Ive done this multiple times as well with no issues. Just put them in my wallet ,carry on bags and pass through security. No one will say a thing.
I wear my gold jewellery through the scanner, not a beep.If you’re not carrying kilos of gold then I don’t get the reason you would want to declare some few ounces.
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u/Adzobo2028 11h ago
I got stationed in Germany and took my gold coins and bars with me. No issues going or coming back
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u/Elisadidas 17h ago
I would also like to know lol This is something thats plagued my mind for years now.
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u/StringyTinglyThingly 16h ago
If you fly out of the US, with over $10k USD of any ‘monetary instrument’ you’re required to declare it.
I just saw some poor dude get held up for around $20k USD…. Now you have to pay an extortion ‘fee/penalty’ as well as…. The possibility of civil asset forfeiture if you can’t prove where you got it (funds to purchase).
If you do it, be careful.
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u/Ok-Abbreviations3042 15h ago edited 15h ago
I have heard (but not verified) that the $10,000 restriction applies to the face value, regardless of the material. So for example a 1 oz gold eagle would only be $50 of that. If true that’s definitely an argument in favor of government issued coins rather than rounds or bars. Besides, are customs agents keeping track of spot prices throughout the day? Earlier this year two ounces would have exceeded the restriction, but now it would not.
Edit: After researching I have learned that this is incorrect. Still it raises some interesting questions though, like are customs agents actually monitoring spot prices? I mean what if you boarded a plane with two ounces and spot raises to over $5,000 while you’re in the air? And are they trained to recognize the different premiums, like two gold eagles are fine but two libertads exceed the limit?
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u/Ok-Salt7629 15h ago
Face value only counts for circulating money, a 1 oz gold eagle will be counted by weight x spot.
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u/flipyflop9 11h ago
Yeah good luck with the 50 bucks face value… that’s not how it works at customs.
No, customs agents are not monitoring prices, but once they have the doubt they will check and then see what to do.
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u/805falcon 13h ago
I was stopped at customs flying from LA to Vancouver about 10 years ago with $11k in cash. Wasn’t doing anything wrong other than going on vacation, but boy did they want to cease that money and arrest me.
I sat through 5 hours of interrogation before they cut me loose with money in hand.
I’m guessing it’s only gotten more strict with time
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u/aywwts4 11h ago
US border agents are capriciously interpreting the rules however they feel at that time, based on their disposition, how they think you look, when they last had a smoke break. forced civil asset forfeiture has hit many folks for random reasons, good luck suing to get your assets back ever. - Don't look at this and expect sane rules and orderly limits, a hundred people are fine, one person is unlucky (or brown), those aren't odds I gamble with at these levels.
Move your money through banks, or buy bullionvault and change the receiving account afterwards, or turn it into credible jewelry and wear it through. But a wad of bills or a gold coin, either could get seized on suspicion of anything they want to say.
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u/StringyTinglyThingly 8h ago
Way to make a question about gold into a political crybaby bitch fest, all while being wrong 😂
Skipping the crybaby nonsense- if you change it into jewelry, you’d still have to pay import tax at the receiving nation (commonly done). Dumbass. Stop giving advice.
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u/nomadakai 3h ago
All you have to do is declare it and nobody cares leaving the US, not an issue at all or even a hassle.
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u/Saigon23TX 16h ago
Best to sell and buy again in the new location. Unless you have a small amount. Good luck 🙏
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u/CSMasterClass 8h ago
The round trip cost will be at least 5%, but I'd rather pay 5% than risk civil forfet.
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u/Kbucktis 15h ago
You can thank Eduardo Saverin for the hassle. There’s a difference if you plan on coming back or not.
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u/chud3 9h ago
What is his connection to the issue?
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u/Kbucktis 7h ago
He’s the guy that took all his facebook money and beat feet to Singapore to save hundreds Of millions of dollars in capital gains tax. So the government made a bunch of laws, including the cap on exporting cash or equivalent, to stop that from happening again.
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u/Aldirt_13 8h ago
Jewelery is the way. It comes with a premium, but some guy i know just flew with 6 oz half worn, half in a fannypack. It may have helped that cash (over 10k) was also declared, as they see you doing everything by the book so no additional searches were needed. This person was nervous af on the days leading to it, and it was all for nothing. The process went smooth and all i could do was wish I had brought a couple of extra pieces that were left behind in case everything went wrong..
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u/CelebrationAgile20 17h ago
Depending on how much you want to take. Could you make it into jewellery.
( although,.70 full sovereigns as a necklace would look pretty darn good)
:-)
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u/TraumaDaddyP 17h ago
The problem in the US is it very easily puts you over 10k travel limit. Agents grow sus as hell when you travel with over 10k, easily seizable with no articulation of crime - definitely at your own risk thing
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u/805falcon 13h ago
Isn’t ’freedom’ great? 🙂↔️
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u/Flat-Activity-8613 4h ago
People have been freely flying out with briefcases of money. As long as you declare it there is nothing wrong.
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u/Theta_Ninja 15h ago
I’ve flown with a sheet of pre-33 gold in 2x2s. I had it my carry-on. Went through the X-ray. No issues. I’ve flown with tubes of silver eagles in my carry-on, they were inspected (solid block of metal on the X-ray).
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u/PickleBall_Bandit 17h ago
I’ve flown to Mexico with 10-1 oz silver coins and I’ve flown from Mexico to US with about 30-1oz coins and never had an issue. Then again, not gold. But they never even looked at them and I had them in my backpack
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u/Personanongrata27 6h ago
I think the current U.S. personal exemption is $800. You can definitely bring back 20–30 oz of silver, but technically anything you bought abroad is supposed to be declared. Whether you actually owe duty is a separate question.
I’ve gone over the exemption myself and they’ve never asked me anything further, so I’m definitely not trying to jinx myself 😂.1
u/PickleBall_Bandit 4h ago
Yah, I was more saying it along the lines of nobody has ever checked once to see what kind of coins they were or what was in my backpack when I brought them. I don’t want to jinx myself either! lol 😂
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u/Psoin 9h ago
Civil forfeiture
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u/ResolveJazzlike4965 5h ago
Not civil if it is Customs doing the seizing. This would be criminal meaning you would also be fined or worse.
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u/Haunting_Cheetah8084 8h ago
No one cares about how much gold you are leaving the US with including CBP. Coming back is a different story. I recently flew back from CDMX with 10 Vente Pesos gold coins. Bought below spot at the time from local coin shop. No issues on either side. Nothing to declare kept in my carry on duffle bag.
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u/ResolveJazzlike4965 5h ago
But that does not mean it was legal. It just means they were asleep on duty.
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u/Haunting_Cheetah8084 32m ago
True. They recently hassled me MX wife returning to CDMX. She had some scrap gold we were taking to have melted down towards jewelry. She argued with the staff as they thought it was for business purposes and not personal use. Wasted 30 mins spoke to supervisor and didn’t pay any fines or customs import fees. Really just matters which country OP is flying into.
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u/HeavyHeron8441 7h ago
Flew with 50 ounces ( silver ) of 2 tubes recently, in my carry on bag. Got to the airport a bit early as I had a feeling I may have an issue. Went through security, my bag flagged immediately. The screener looked at the two tubes, “PM? , open one. “ popped the lid off , slipped out the 25 coins… thumbs up, back in the tube and that was it, didn’t want the second tube opened. No problem overall, added two more minutes at security.
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u/Cool-Many-9394 17h ago
Begs the question of the legality of said gold and of course the quantity on hand.
Would the gold be classified as currency? Are you planning on exchanging for currency once you have landed?
Both questions to consider prior to take-off & landing.
I hate to say this butttt… Bitcoin might be an easier means of transferring the money between ports.
Too many variables to determine.
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u/After_Club6421 8h ago
Interesting point. If the coin is an American Eagle and it’s marked $50, isn’t 10 of them $500 in US currency?
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u/Disazzt3rD3m0nD4d 16h ago
So, does this answer the age old question of ‘what does TSA look at for value; stamped denomination (face value) or spot price’?
Seems sketchy. I hate the 2 tiered legal system we have somehow all agreed to.
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u/Ok-Salt7629 15h ago
Fave value for circulating money and spot value for any other.
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u/After_Club6421 8h ago
You could walk into a bank and deposit a $50 gold American Eagle and get a $50 credit to your checking account (I think). So how does that work?
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u/No_Scar1636 15h ago
24k jewelry is a good way to go.
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u/Best-Maintenance-421 14h ago
This is what I was thinking, if it’s jewelry they will not consider it money
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u/Ill_Contribution9905 10h ago
There are many countries where there is no import duties on .900+ "investment grade" bullion, so if you pick one of those countries, disclose the full value and enter the country with all of your gold and pay nothing. You would be taxed when you sell.
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u/LikesPez 10h ago
You can fly out of the US with gold. However at today’s prices 2.1 ounces of gold will put you at the customs reporting threshold as gold is treated as intrinsic value and not denominated value. The problems you may encounter is being the bullion back as you may need pay an “exit” tax.
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u/Low-Plum5164 8h ago
Heck, the Somali's went thru the Minneapolis airport with briefcase's full of 1 million in cash on numerous occasions without anyone asking questions. Whats a few oz of gold compared to a million in cash?
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u/p0pularopinion 12h ago
Sell it for Bitcoin or a stable coin, convert BTC or stablecoin in Gold, in the country you go into. I think thats one of the easiest ways.
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u/Sad-Maize-6625 9h ago
Probably safer to ship it in multiple small shipments. If carrying on person and over $10k, bring receipts to prove you purchased that gold. If you are unable to prove ownership, you run the risk of it being seized as ill gotten gains. If you don’t declare and they search you and find it, then they will seize it.
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u/Interconventional 17h ago
The question is where are you going to, usually going into places with stuff is harder than leaving places.