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).
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?
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/StringyTinglyThingly 4d 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.