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 Replies: 15 / Views: 2,160 |
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Valued Member
United States
337 Posts |
I'm still a young guy but I think very far ahead... I imagine my collection eventually reaching 1000+ coins. Let's face it - I'm probably even underestimating, right? Now, I imagine my wife, kids, and grandkids who have to figure out what to do with them. I figure some will be distributed among any/all of my family who also collects coins. But, what if they want to sell them off? Should they go to an auction house, sell to Littleton Coin, ebay? If you wanted to provide guidance/instructions to your heirs on how to liquify your coin collection - what would your advice be? Thank you in advance for your input! |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1118 Posts |
Hey financial guru, I am a young guy too but be careful with the "1000+" coin mentality. I probably have a 1000 .99 pure nickel Canadian 5 cent pieces but I would not count them as numismatic holdings. Also I think this topic has been covered before. You can try searching for privies discussions. You will have to consider what you sell. We (New Brunswickers) have a large auction house in province that does a lot with Atlantic Canadian exonumia. I have about 300 local tokens and if the auction house is still around when I kick it that would probably be the best place for it. I have nothing extremely valuable but I mean the shere number may make for a nice bulk lot. If you have a lot of junky silver that could probably be sold off locally. Silver is silver and doesn't really have a regional market. No point in letting ebay and Pay Pal getting a piece or your heir's pie. If you have any coin collecting peers (in real life) maybe you could get them to speak up for anything they would like and have them pre-sold as well. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
940 Posts |
My advice to heirs would depend on the caliber of the collection. If you focus on quantity more than high-quality, high-value individual coins, then a company like Littleton would work fine. If you build a smaller collection of high-quality, high-value classics, especially slabbed coins, then you might steer them toward a major auction house. Of course your collection could evolve from a quantity-focus to a quality-focus over the decades, as is very typical.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
992 Posts |
You're doing the right thing, which is thinking about the future. Do make a spreadsheet of your collection, including grades and values, for the family. You can do a coin count, sum the values, costs, etc., and come up with low/high values, average value, mean value, values in a range, percent of collection in a range of values, all kinds of automatic formulas in Excel to help you out. Be honest with them about values, nothing is worse than a family taking Granddad's priceless coins to a dealer, the ones that he said would send the kids to college, only to be told it was worth only a few hundred dollars. Next worse is them taking Granddad's valuable coins to a dealer, thinking it's only worth a few hundred bucks, and gladly selling it for a thousand, when the truth is they left a lot more on the table. You can provide instructions for each coin or group of coins, this one to auction, these to Littleton, this one to Joey, this one to Cathy, etc., etc. Consider selling all or part of the lower end items now and put the money into better coins to put by, if you're considering passing it on. Your really nice stuff, if any, consider having it slabbed and certified over the next few years as funds permit. Do invest in proper storage, I'm a general collector, pretty picky, and put all my coins in Coin World slabs. They store well and look great, regardless of value. Like you, I've got less than 1,000 coins, nothing pricey, but condition is the best I could get for the budget and it should sell well when the time comes. Valuable collections are built over decades by knowledgeable collectors spending their coin budget wisely. Edited by paxbrit
08/05/2015 11:42 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Face reality. IF no member of your family or persons you plan on leaving it all to, are not interested in coins, makes no difference what you say. Your gone so they just do what they want. Yes you could stipulate to sell to Mr. X, put up on ebay, take to the bank, etc. Really makes little difference what you say since you can not argue about their decision. Your best bet is to see if anyone in your family are coin collectors or are interested in becoming one. Only then you may rest knowing they will have the intel to know what is necessary. I suggest you simply talk to all your relatives or whoever you consider leaving it all to about their interest in coins. Otherwise it will all just go where ever they want which could well be a bank. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1839 Posts |
I'd recommend getting this book and placing it with your coins so whoever inherits them can read it. http://www.amazon.com/Cash-In-Your-...p/0794837921Quote:Cash In Your Coins is for anyone who's inherited a collection (or hoard) of old coins. How rare are they? What are they worth? Should you sell? Where do you even begin? Your guide on this journey is Beth Deisher, an award-winning journalist and retired editor of Coin World, the hobby's premier news weekly. Drawing on more than 30 years of experience helping people understand and collect coins and paper currency, Deisher shows you how to identify what you own, how to create and inventory, how to pick out extra-valuable coins, how to value a large estate, "talking the talk" when you go to sell, the effect of the "fiscal cliff" and recent estate- and tax-related legislation, and other important and valuable lessons. Every coin collector should keep a copy of this book with their collection, to help their loved ones make smart decisions when the time comes to sell. "With Beth Deisher's guidance you'll avoid costly mistakes and make decisions about your coins with more confidence." -Q. David Bowers, the "Dean of American Numismatics" Edited by Tbone
08/07/2015 6:51 pm
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1949 Posts |
Put the business card of a dealer or two you trust with your holdings... When the time comes you will have someone you trust with knowledge to help your heirs out
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Valued Member
57 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1801 Posts |
Just an observation.
Several of my fellow collectors who are approaching ages where this stuff is really critical have determined that no heirs are interested in coins. What they did was arrange to trade their valuable collections for equal value in generic US gold coins in PCGS and NGC slabs. They figure those are easily converted to cash by the heirs in their own timeline. Generic gold is easy to divide and has an easy to determine value and is about as liquid as you can get without being actual cash. Interesting concept.
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Valued Member
57 Posts |
Quote:
I'm still a young guy but I think very far ahead... He said he's still a young guy. This is a time to enjoy your collection. It will add depth to your life. The most important thing in estate planning is having an honest, wise person as executor or trustee. Almost impossible now a days in the professional world. If your wife is a reasonable person, you have no real problem. A revocable trust is a way to control and manage your collection. You can change it easily as time goes by. Your wife will sign the collection into the trust so you won't have the community interest problems after you pass. I've gone quite a bit of estate work. Edited by Arthur Daniel
08/10/2015 12:07 am
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1269 Posts |
I guess it depends on the area of collecting but I could never see myself with more than 1000 coins. The collection I am trying to put together consists of 12 coins. Yes I have veered a little from that focus on occasion but I do not myself accumulating more than say 50 coins over the next 20 years or so. Some of the coins in my set are rare, some extremely so, and some can be quite expensive, though of course this is a relative term.
As of future planning, my coin collection is already in my will and the accompanying instructions.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
992 Posts |
Do get a copy of the Krause Catalog of World Coins for the era you chose to collect, and keep it near the collection. Even an out-of-date catalog will be very useful to heirs.
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
I'm at the age now that I really have to start designating where my coins go when the time comes. years ago I wanted all my grand children to have an equal share. but now I'm not so sure. they show no interest in coins at all, and I'm afraid they will get rid of it all in a week what it took me
50+ years to put together. When I first started collecting, I wanted to have my coins passed down to family from generation to generation.
but I now realize that's only a fantasy...HELP
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Valued Member
United States
405 Posts |
Leave a note with this forum information. I am sure someone on here would take them off their hands.
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Forum Dad
 United States
24161 Posts |
Quote:But, what if they want to sell them off? Should they go to an auction house, sell to Littleton Coin, ebay? If you wanted to provide guidance/instructions to your heirs on how to liquify your coin collection - what would your advice be? We have two people who put it in their will, that all the coins come to Susan and I and we sell them on consignment then send a check to the lawyer. The lawyer then disperses the money according to the will. A lot of people that know nothing about coins will jump at the first offer, especially when it's "found" money, someone experienced knows better. We actually sold a huge collection for a church. The collection was left to them. The reverend researched a bit and realized he was in way over his head and contacted us. |
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
The most important thing you can leave to your heirs is information. Ensure that a precise record of rough value and importance for each piece is left, including suggestions for appropriate disposition venues (heed Bobby's post and maybe appoint a similar party for your own stuff, and explain why that's a good thing in your will). Then trust your heirs with the wisdom to act on the information you've left. Not like you'll have a choice.  |
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Replies: 15 / Views: 2,160 |
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Posted 08/05/2015 11:12 pm
