Skip to main content
Help Center Community Shop

Shipping an antique firearm abroad

guest5
First I would like to apologize if this has been asked in another thread or covered recently.

I am moving to England and wish to ship a 1878 Martini Henry mk IV. It is an antique, and non functioning. I am not a license holder and i would not be sending it to a license holder. In essence it hangs on the wall and has a great history to it. (last time it was fired was over 100 years ago before it was found buried in a box on someones land in Nepal).

Can anyone give me any info on a shipper that i may use? UPS have told me they will not ship an antique firearm to England, as does USPS.

Any thoughts and directions would be most appreciated.
0

Comments

9 comments

Date Votes
  • Spider7115
    This page should help you: http://www.gunbroker.com/Support/SupportFAQView.aspx?FAQID=1110&NoCount=1
    0
  • joel_black
    I ship guns that can be held off licence to England on a regular basis. British law cares more about caliber than age (must be pre-1937). The cartridge must be on the "obsolete cartridge" list. If it is a pre-1899 firearm(to satisfy US law) it can simply be mailed.
    0
  • guest5
    Many thanks to you both for the prompt reply.

    Joel: i have checked the list and found the Martini Henry on there. How do you go about shipping it (paperwork / customs etc) I have spoken to usps on the phone and have told me that they will not ship it. I can only assume that the person i spoke to did not know the correct procedure.

    Thanks
    0
  • joel_black
    All you have to do is pack it and fill out the large customs form. Be sure to use the following wording: Antique circa 1880 Martini Henry in obsolete 577/450.
    0
  • joel_black
    BTW, since they are going to charge you VAT and the most USPS will insure it for is $800, you might as well keep the value down.
    0
  • guest5
    Thanks Joel,

    Would i pay VAT on it though as I would not be selling it and would be shipping it to myself?
    0
  • joel_black
    Her Majesty's government like ours in the US needs all the money it can get. You would have to argue it out with customs. What amazes me is that at times folks to whom I send firearms in England are charged $25 by the post office for resealing packages that are opened by customs.
    0
  • lew07
    Ahh I knew it wouldnt be long till the question surfaced[:D]
    0
  • guest5
    Amazing! but to be honest not suprising....
    0

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Recent Activity