Liquidation of Coin Collection by Heirs of the Deceased

Anyone know of a definitive article on how a spouse or an adult child can liquidate a coin collection upon the death of the collector. I'd like my heirs to get as much as much possible for my collection upon my passing. I have heard nightmare stories of "appraisers" offering pennies on face value of the coins. When you consider numismatic value, the "robbery" is worse.

I have an inventory of all my coins, including what I paid for them. I know that values change, so i said to go to eBay and see what the coin recently sold for, and use that as a general price guide. I would like to find what to avoid. Any information on this topic is greatly appreciated. You can post or send an email to me at: edited - contact by PM

In essence, I'd like to find a step-by-step way for my heirs to go about the liquidation to get them the most money for my collection. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks. Take care and STAY SAFE. - edthefootballfan

 

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Ed,

If the combined value of your collection is high enough your heirs might be able to include it in an auction by one of the top auction houses.

As an aside, it is a bad idea to post your e-mail address on a public forum.

 

My suggestion to you is to start familiarizing yourself with some local Dealers. Join a local Coin Club and court some trusting relationships and perhaps you may be able to add some specific instructions as to how this collection could be properly liquidated as time demands.

 

My advice is to list names and contact information for a trusted dealer or dealers and/or collector friend and/or auction house, in order of preference. That would be much easier and more efficient than trying to arm heirs with a lot of information and steps that might prove very difficult for them to understand and perform.

And before doing so, you might check with any persons or companies whom you would list, to ask them and/or let them know your plans.

I have been selected for such a responsibility by a a few individuals. And I told them that I was honored, and at the same time, hoped my services would not be be needed.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

 

I have two book suggestions that you might consider buying one of and leaving it in the same place as you are keeping your coins or other important estate paperwork

1
What to Do With Granddaddy's Coins
have not read it but hear it is good...
http://www.amazon.com/What-Granddaddys-Coins-Beginners-Identifying/dp/1933990244

2 (I own this and have flipped through it, but as a teenager have not too much about a will or estate planning
The Collector's Handbook
http://coins.ha.com/c/item.zx?ic=&inventoryNo=960001260

 

weird!

You're just the person I was going to recommend!

 

I am similar to you OP. WHat I have done is given instructions to my wife as to what to send where. I have 3 categories, books, US coins, and ancient/foreign. For all three categories I gave her the address and number of a dealer to send them to for auction. I then tell her to just mail them off and wait for 6 months for payment.

I worry a lot too about her getting offered $120 for my 1795 dollar and things like that. If Mark lived closer to me I would have no problem having her just call him!

Chris

 

I would use some software to track every coin in your collection. Print out a value report and stick it with your will. Update it yearly.

 

We have all seen ads in numismatic publications about how to get top dollar for your coins; and I am sure there are a few individuals out there who would be able to help a family do so after the coins are legally theirs. That is the question, any lawyer is going to want trusts and estates to be done 100% by the book, their license may depend on it.

There is no one auction house and certainly no buyer who can be trusted to get/offer top dollar for rare coins. Those who inherit things can be funny about how they deal with antiques and collectibles; and capricious. I have never seen an inheritance not bring considerable trouble and tension to a family. I wish you the best in solving this puzzle.

 

Seriously? That is assuming a person has a clue as to where all of their coins are, let alone all of the coins they own. Then putting them all into a spreadsheet????

 

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You guys (a non-chauvanistic reference) are GRRRRRRRRRREAT! My head is spinning. Thank you is an understatement! Take care and STAY SAFE. - Ed

 

I am having second thoughts about leaving loose ends for my family.
My father passed and left a HUGE Coke products collection and stamp collection.
It has been a nightmare dealing with all of it.
Don't get me wrong, I have the Coke collection 75% liquidated and it brought in big money, but I wouldn't wish this effort on my loved ones.

The variable that can't be overlooked though is timing.
One can pass at any moment, so it's not like I might have the option of doing it myself when the end is near.
If I know it's coming, I will give away what is wanted, then sell the rest myself, but that is a luxury to hope for, not a plan.

I guess what I am saying is that I am beginning to feel it's kind of selfish to leave your family in the position of having to fret over a collection after you are gone.
Chances are they won't have the same passion or knowledge, yet they will have major worry trying to deal with it and dispose of it, no matter how easy you try to make it.

Just my .02...
Thinking aloud more or less.

 

One thing I would think would help them would be to consolidate the collection yourself. Sell what you can and maybe get it to fewer higher value pieces.
I have this as my personal goal for the coming years.

 

idk ... but i think id rather be buried with my collection, its too precious to me

 

Man, seriously, if you are worried about it. You need to start selling the stuff yourself. Even at auction, there's no guarantee it will bring top or even FMV. Then there's the fees. They hit you for the catalog then final value, etc. A dealer can only pay wholesale if he wants to stay in business. If you want to get close to FMV, you gotta sell the stuff yourself, simply because you are the person with the knowledge to negotiate the price.

I am setting aside the things I want my heirs to have that they expressed a desire for. The rest is being valued and sorted for sale now. I feel you can do better by your family than to leave them with the burden of disposing of YOUR pasttime. They will likely have enough to do disposing of you !Really, look at how hard it is on some families when someone passes. I think leaving valuables that likely you are the only person who knows much about for someone else to deal with is an unfair burden.

Find out who wants what, bequeath that in a ill and trade away or sell the rest. Maybe keep those thing that are special to you. I know it's hard for a collector to sell a coin. I don't even like spending my change. But it is something to seriously consider. IMHO

gary

 

Coins are like any other asset that gets passed along. Many include them in estates or pass them along to family and friends as gifts, as you can gift them tax free up to 10K per year. It's easy to say sell them brfore your time comes, but thats hard since we don't exactly know when that day is. I've written instructions that accompany my cataloged collection so whoever ends up with it will know what things are worth, or where to find out, and who best to sell to if they desire to offload the collection.

While some fear they are leaving loved ones with a burden, you have to remember that 3/4 of Americans leave their loved ones only bills and debt when they pass, so perhaps an asset such as a coin collection isn't so burdensome after all.
Guy

 

A club in Augusta, GA.
When a member of the club dies, and no one in the family has no knowledge of the collection. The club takes a part of the collection, and if the cost value is known, (the collector's code as to cost) then the coins/currency are sold at auction in the club for fair value. The rest will be sold at shows later at fair value, and all of the money is given to the family. The sell of the collection is sold over a period of time, to get the best results. This helps the family, club and all collectors that buy the collection.
I have been trying to get our club to do this, since some of our older member have died. My family has no idea of my collection value, and some would spend, some of the collection, as regular spending money.

 

That's how I feel Guy. I could have wasted money on drinking, boating, gambling, or any other forms of recreation. I chose coin collecting. I am "consuming" the value of collecting to myself right now. When I die my heirs are lucky I left them with an assets versus a bill. I will leave instructions on fair dealers to deal with, and they will simply have to wait for the check.

I take care of my heirs with financial assets, so I think its fair for me to keep my coins as long as I wish.

Honestly, I am hoping my son, (now 7 weeks old), will develop an interest so he can just keep them all.

Chris

 

I don't know the answer to this question, not really. All the advice sounds so...Good, and Right On... however, it just doesn't seem to work that way in the(my?) real world. At least, this has not been my experience. I am almost 7 years down the road from my husbands death, and I still have all of the 'collection'. Without having the personal relationship that is required for someone to help a spouse or heir, numbers on a piece of paper (a spreadsheet listing all of that data) typically garner barely a glimpse, and instead that look, the one that says "BINGO!" is often what I experience. Everyone wants a banana for a peanut. I have a t-shirt that has a bullseye printed on it, and I've taken to wearing that when I study this collection!
Maybe, write an article, complete with STEPS TO BE TAKEN regarding your collection to your spouse or children. Write it as if you were teaching a class. Take the time to put on paper what you won't be able to say or explain after you are gone. Or provide some names and numbers. Write the questions you would ask yourself, and then answer them on paper, so that your spouse will have a very clear picture, and she (he) won't become a target. Write about what makes it/them so special to you.

EVERY single day, I literally pray that I live long enough to be able to finally get through all of these collections. The task is daunting, overwhelming, and I wish there was a book with the answers, and if there is, I hope to learn of it.

Good luck, great question!

Lucy

 

Best of luck getting through it all Lucy. I wish you the best.

You know, you do have a lot of friends here who are more than willing to help, right? Just ask away.

Chris