Custom/import question. Return to USA from England with your concertina

[alex_holden]

46 minutes ago, Bill N said:

I was mistaken about the number. I found some old paperwork, and double checked the Customs Canada on-line list. Here is the code I have used successfully when shipping to and from US, UK, Italy and South Africa:

 

9205.90.10.90    Wind musical instruments (for example, keyboard pipe organs, accordions, clarinets, trumpets, bagpipes), other than fairground organs and mechanical street organs. - Brass-wind instruments - Other - 0% payable

 

It looks like the Canadian customs tariff schedule is different; the USA schedule doesn't list that code. This is the (slightly confusing) description I found for 9205.90.10.90 in the 2023 Canadian schedule:

Wind musical instruments (for example, keyboard pipe organs, accordions, clarinets, trumpets, bagpipes), other than fairground organs and mechanical street organs. - Other - Accordions and similar instruments; Bassoons, clarinets, English horns, fifes, flutes, oboes, piccolos, practice chanters, recorders and saxophones; Keyboard pipe organs; Mouth organs - Other: - Other

[JimLucas]

On 3/11/2023 at 4:12 PM, Stephen DOUGLASS said:

Re Horniman Ledgers, It worth noting that dates of manufacture may not correlate with date of sale, especially in later years. In the SD02/03 Dickinson 'books', up to 1934 it seems that manufacture date was in the left column, then around that date it seems the date of sale was also added. (#33150).

 

So such uncertainty would not -- yet -- be a factor in determining whether a particular concertina was more than 100 years old.  Meanwhile, I would assume that such "age" would be based on date of manufacture, and date of sale would almost certainly be later than date of manufacture.

[JimLucas]

On 3/7/2023 at 7:24 PM, Luke Hillman said:

Having traveled internationally a number of times with my concertina, nobody's ever asked me about it, other than airport security sometimes wanting a closer look.

 

A few times, I have been asked about my concertina, and there was never a problem after my answer.  And twice, I've been asked to play it -- once in the security line and once (in Paris) on the ramp into the plane, -- to the delight of those in the vicinity.