Oh, do I ever have something to declare!
It occured to me that there would be one difference between the 2002 and 2006 Olympics for Apolo Anton Ohno. Good thing for him that when he won a gold and a silver in Salt Lake in 2002 he would not have to pass through customs with his medals during his return home, unlike this year when he brings his gold and two bronze medals back from Italy. I don't know how much the medals are worth, but according to this page on the Customs and Border Patrol website says that "U.S. residents are normally entitled to a duty-free exemption of $800 on items accompanying them." It seems to me that a gold and two bronze Olympic medals would be worth more than $800, especially if you take into account the celebrity status of Ohno, which I assume would make it worth more than the bronze medal of that of Scott Baird, the alternate on the men's curling team. Maybe there is a duty exception for things like this. I hope so.
1 Comments:
US Customs (and Border Protection) regulations do allow for the duty free importation of medals and trophies won in sporting events. So when you're a gold medal winner returning to the us, you do have to declare it, but you won't be charged duty. This doesn't apply if you've bought a gold medal at a yard sale in Germany and are bringing it home.
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