Xenophon

Update: After a bit of research I figured out that in my state there is no sales or use tax on coin purchases (bullion and other). I contacted the state tax office and had a pleasant conversation with the gentleman that answered the call. After I explained the situation, he told me that all I needed to do was right a letter back to them explaining it. He said all the tax commissioner office receives is a list from customs with generic descriptions such as "antiques of age over one hundred years" and then they start sending letters out. I cannot believe that if I had been a bit more passive or gullible I would have paid an extra $160 for my coins. Thank you all for your help and advice. I'll update this post if there are any unforeseen developments in the future...

Fellow coin collectors, I won a VAuction lot about a year ago. It was a European sale, shipped from Spain I believe. Worth $2100. I had to pay import taxes to get the coin in the country. Now, a year later, I was sent a letter from the state tax comissioner, being asked to pay state and local sales tax for importing "an antique older than a hundred years". Is that something you have experienced, is it common? Any advice to fight it or should I, once more, succumb to the absurdity of the tax man? Thank you for your replies. Xenophon