Your Collection After You Pass On?

I think you're on the right track with noting the stuff that's particularly valuable. Providing a list of dealers to contact is a good idea, since you already know who to deal with.

In some cases, a collection will pass down thru the years, but reality tells us that some inheritors are only interested in how much they can get for it. In that case, it's often best to sell it yourself, since you know what's good and how to negotiate.

Cataloging a collection is a good idea but unless you leave current price list or copies of current catalogs (Redbook, Maccas)

the prices will fluctuate.


I have left written directions with three members of my family (what if something happens to both my wife and I) as to in the case of my death, what is to happen to my collection. I have some grandchildren who collect- I have designated some "special coins and banknotes" to them.

The directions then include the names of dealers and collectors I trust who could help dispose of the rest. (That is provided it does not take a "Gold Coin" to purchase a single gallon of petrol (gasoline)).

Also since my collection is secured in the written directions which only three people know where they exist, I have left directions on how to gain access to the collection (You don't think I have it just laying around the house do you?)

Plan for the unexpected it is what will come to pass.

It is never to early or to late to plan on what happens to your collection if you are not around.

I have the majority of the collection organized by types in three-ring binders. Most coins are in 2x2 with notation of grade and variety (especially Morgan and Peace VAMs). I have catalog reference numbers on the 2x2's and this is on an XL spreadsheet with a lot of additional info (price paid, 2008 price estimate, rarity scale, etc.). I give the wife an electronic copy every time I update it. She doesn't have the interest and knows very little. I don't want her taken by some shady dealer.

I had originally intended to have this as a nest egg should times get tough, but I'm leaning more now towards getting my 2 yr old grandson interested in the hobby. Should he develop the passion, I may bequeath the coins to him.

I have every single coin, proof and mint set I own in an Excel spreadsheet. Each coin/set includes a ton of info like grade, what I paid, rarity comments, Red Book/CDN values, etc. I'm very anal about keeping it updated too. My wife is well aware of the spreadsheet if something were to happen to me. I also print copies and put it with the coins.

I want to be sure they understand the value of the collection. My instructions are to not sell anything unless they are in desperate need of cash. Hopefully, that will never be the case as I have a pretty substantial life insurance policy.

Sage words carl!

That's why I will invest the time getting my grandson involved in this hobby. He'll have to pass muster before I pass the coins. My Dad took the time and look how I turned out!

Death is a strange thing and amazing how it brings the ugly side out in people.

Personally I look at it as a personal thing along with the belongings. It seems weird to be looking at someones possessions while they are alive thinking "I want that". I am one of the few lucky enough to still have a set of grandparents alive at their age and know that they could go at any time. When they pass on I know that everything will be divided mainly into three groups (one for each child) and within that group there will be something for each grandchild. My mentality is that I do not care what I get as long as when I look at it I can remember my grandparents. I have no idea what kind of money they have, if there are any hidden treasures or if they are flat broke (okay, they are not flat broke, but their financial situation is not my business), it's their memory that is more important to me.

When my parents go they have already told me and my brother that everything goes to us and that there is no one else involved. The sad part about this is that my parents have promised certain items to my brother and sister in law and my wife now and then gets jealous. This makes me laugh because it has nothing to do with her and there is no reason to get upset about it. I think the main reason she gets this way is because she knows that a few of her siblings will pick away at everything her parents have to the point that she will be lucky to have anything at all. Sad to think that me and my brother are care free about it and her family would kill over something that, like others have said, will most likely be sold for cash.

Personally I do not have a large collection but hope that over the rest of my life it grows but the that the interest I have put into my kids is stronger and that they actually have better collections than me.

Carl, when I was reading your advice I feel sad that there is no one in your family that you can pass these fine collections onto. There are a lot of us on this board that joke around about you adopting us in to 'help out' where we can with that process but seeing it in good hands is always a concern. I have no idea what your social circles are but maybe you need to find someone that shows the same interests as you and give them a big surprise and leave it to them. How cool would that be, someone that was your friend and you just hung out with decided to leave a collection of stuff to you when they passed on. To me, that would mean the world and be a huge keepsake even if it was not something I collected. Something from the heart goes a lot farther than a hand out.

I added some notebook paper pages to my dansco7070 album and listed each coin and value (according to grey sheet bid at the time) and added dates that those values were correct. I also added the grade the TPG gave the coin if it was graded or a estimate grade if it was raw. some of the prices have gone up since I added the prices but I told her if she gets this amount for the coins then she did ok and atleast didn't get ripped off. I will update the prices about every 5 years or so just to try to keep it as close up to date as possible. I actually started this when I was with my wife so if something happened she would know what they were worth and have since given the same instructions to my kids (since my wife and I are no longer together). I also do about the same thing with all my other coins (most are slabbed) for a just in case thing but last time I added up the grey sheet of the 7070 album it was around $12000.00 which really surprised me so it has its advantages to keep track of this information, in 5 years I hope it will be worth more and I will be able to see how much it actually has increased in value over the years not to mention it will be complete by then since I have started buying coins again for it

I like the answers so far, I guess I am not the only one who thinks about things like this. I have seen the ugliness a persons passing can bring on a family, and can only hope my family is reasonable when the time comes.

As people have said, money talks and that is all some people are concerned about. When I was a teenager my mother took my collection and put it away along with my father stamp collection. I am glad she did as there were many of times I would have sold that stuff for who knows what. After I got married she returned all of my stuff and I now am continuing what I started when I was a young boy(except the stamps, I have no interest in them, there are box's full of them). I have thought about doing the same with my children when they grow up.

I like the ideal of reducing the load, I actually have thought about it. My dealer who I buy most of my stuff from is short on Lincolns (probably because I bought them all) and has been bothering me to sell some of my cents, maybe I will!

I currently keep anything worth a lot in the safe deposit, this works well in 2 ways. It keeps them safe and keeps them out of my children's hands to buy candy at the store or whatever else may come to mind.

I bought some 3 ring binders to start the organizing, work will slow down in October and I will have plenty of time to go through all of my stuff. I do save all receipts so that will help with the organizing.

Carl- I agree with Penny picher, I hope that there is someone you could either mentor or share your collection with, it would be a very sad day if your collection went into a coin counter. I have thought about donating some of my collection to some young collectors, but have not figured out how to go about it.