People at work know I like coins but I have everything stored far away from where I live. It's all in a safe too.
I've received a few responses to my post about what I said was happening in the Albuquerque Area. Maybe I didn't make myself clear. I was referring to New Mexico being a corridor for drug traffic and that was the problem I was referring to. The drug cartels in Mexico currently use New Mexico as a jumping off point for the drug train north. The vast majority of crime in the area is drug related, which I know is a problem in just about every state in the Union.
I'm never too sure if you are all serious - at least how serious you are. I would not want to live in a community with that much risk with folk equipped to harm. Most people I work with know I am interested in coins, most could not care less and that would be the same with my friends and family. Maybe the value of my coins in not in the same league as all of you?
I have had my coins stolen twice since I began collecting. Luckily they fired the lady(thief) that was delivering my mail.
I'm into coins and building models on the side. It's not like saying your hobby is golfing or fishing so I keep it to myself. As an aside I really appreciate it when sellers ship their coins while abbreviating the return address. The one time recently when their return address said "Bob's Coin Emporium" the envelope had been opened in-transit. Better to list it as BCE and let folks keep their sticky fingers off our coins.
Like many of the posters here I do not tell people that I collect coins, mostly because it doesn't come up in conversation and why draw attention to oneself. My family knows I collect but they are not interested in the slightest. Fine by me. The wife thinks my hobby amusing and once in a while will make a comical comment. Most of my higher value coins are stored in a safety deposit box, but pictures of them are stored in my notepad for viewing pleasure.
A few. My parents know, a few close friends know. And I know my mailman knows. But outside of them, none.
My children know for they are the ones to inherit them. The ex knew and still to this day could care less. Besides stacking coins on the side could not be proven in divorce court for there was no record of them. Better that way.
As you plan your estate just keep in mind everybody's Uncle Sam. The Gestapo, er, IRS doesn't like monetary assets without records.
I've got a mountain of mint invoices, and a few invoices from show purchases. I'll let the kids sort it out when I'm gone.
Being an "old fella" 68, I've been at this a while. No one know about my hobby, not the four adult children, not my wife. Yes, she knows I get the occasional package, but I get lot's of things on line, so no "flags". I like it this way.
My Mother and Father are the only family members that know, my brother or sister couldn't care less about coins anyway. I don't really have any coins worth stealing. My girlfriend only knows about my collection because once I rain checked a date so I could go to a coin expo. I never heard the end of that!!!
I'm fortunate to live in the 3rd safest city in America with a population over 100,000. By all means, I take reasonable precautions, but the threat of burglary isn't something that causes me excessive worry. That said, I don't discuss my hobby with anybody, even my family. My wife and four grown children know I collect coins, but they don't know what I have nor how much it's worth. They do know to not mention it to friends and acquaintances. Should I get abducted by aliens, the wife and youngest child know where to find the records on my computer.
I tell plenty of folks that I collect coins....they usually ask: "Oh, like the State Quarters"? Yes, I say, exactly ;-)