Hi
Robert,
Yes, I've
had exactly this happen a few times. In every case I did receive the coin after paying. Clarification questions: Is the coin already shipped, and has it been stopped by Customs? Who sent you the email: the US Customs, the shipping agent (e.g., DHL, FedEx), the vendor?
(I forget which imports are subject, whether it's over a certain
price threshold (maybe >2k or 3k?), but for me it was always
gold coins, so it may be a gold import duty?)
In my experience, it's been the shipping agent who contacted me about paying the import duties, usually while the coins were being held by the US Customs. It was always straightforward: they say how much to pay (I think usually like 0.5% or 1%, maybe even less); I pay with credit card; they release it.
The only complication I've
had were occasions when the seller didn't provide the proper paperwork to indicate the coins were either exempt from import restrictions or satisfied the legal requirements.
Import restrictions on "
cultural property" &
antiquities are a different thing from taxes/duties. That probably isn't an issue for you, or they would've said so in the same message (or sent an additional one).
Even if that's an issue as well, it should
still turn out OK: I've virtually always been able to get my coins through by asking the dealer for
help. (Maybe half a dozen times in the past couple years because the seller forgot to include the paperwork, and many,
many more times between the 1990s & 2010s. Only once did Customs fail to release the coins, but that was because the seller -- amazingly -- admitted the coins were illegal! So, in that case, I actually agreed with the forfeiture and didn't contest it at all, and the seller gave a refund. Well, I don't want to scare anyone, but there was also a theft, maybe in the 00s, but it was a very specific situation.)