Dealers’ Post-1933 Gold Coins Seized by Customs

Editor’s Note: For nearly 60 years, the feature-rich pages of Coins magazine, Numismatic News’ venerable sister publication, have tracked the history, fun and the growth of this great hobby, while also attracting new collectors to pursue what was once deemed the “hobby of kings.” Dusting off these time-aged issues, from the early 1960s and beyond, each installment of “Past Times with Coins,” written by its former longtime editor, explores what nuggets of interest they contain.

Imagine being a dealer and having portions of your gold coin inventory confiscated by eager beaver customs officials. This was exactly what happened to four Texas coin dealers in 1962.

Under the cautionary headline, “The Customs Will Get You if You Don’t Watch Out” (part of the “News and Briefs” column in the October 1962 issue of Coins), the magazine reported:

“One of the top current developments is the recent confiscation