What will be the fate of your collection once you're gone?

I know this might be a pretty grim topic, but it's interesting nonetheless. What will happen to your collection once you are gone? If you look at your coins or banknotes, and figure out how old they are, you'll quickly realize that you are not the first collector to have these items. And these coins and notes have outlived a few collectors who them before you did... Some of my coins are from the 1800s, and I can only imagine how many "ex-owners" are long gone.

So what's next? Will the collection stay in your family? What if your children or grandchildren show no interest? Will it be donated to a museum? Auctioned off? Buried with you? Sealed in a deposit box and reopened 50 years from now?

Open to opinions, please share your thoughts! I personally have no idea what I would do, looking for insight :eat:

 

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I would say that it depends upon your family. If you have heirs who have an appreciation of numismatics and are interested in being the next custodian of your collection, that's great.

If not, you have an obligation to make sure that your collection is sold to a reputable dealer/collector who has the knowledge and appreciation of history that we all hold dear.

We are custodians of our collections. It is our obligation to pass on what we have held in trust for future generations. My coins ending up being just dollar signs to some idiot turns my stomach.

I have very specific directions in my will as to how my collection is to be disposed of after my death. My coins will be preserved.

 

that is hard to answer for me, being about 22 with no kids. i would probably have my girlfriend sell them, so she can have some money. it is sad but she has no interest and we are not rich, so just donating them would be hard for me to do. i am a hard worker, but the past few years of crohns disease has not been easy. i would have had a job for over 2 years with the pittsburgh police, now i have to wait till december.

i would hate to see them go because they were given to me, so another collector would have them. my girlfriends step dads, parents own antique shops and used to own a coin shop. the grandfather gave me the gold coins and rarer coins( i get the best ones when he dies, but not something to look forward to).

i guess each situation is unique, but imo, the best thing to do is keep them in a family members hands that has interest in the hobby. but if money was an issue when you have past, then that is hard to do...

my girlfriend said she is throwing all the JUNK i collect(coins included) in my coffin!:bigeyes:

 

Good opinions guys. I'm 21, and this is just something I thought of after making a recent purchase. A seller was selling some coins at a great price, and I jumped on the opportunity. What upset me is that the seller got the coins from a family member who passed away, and since this seller had no interest in coins or their history she just wanted to sell them quickly for some fast cash :headbang: yes, I got a good deal, but it made me wonder how someone after me would handle my collection.

Personally, I agree with you two and I hope I have future children/grandchildren who will have an interest in coins. My collection started from 1 coin, passed on to me from my grandpa, who got it from his grandfather, so my family has been pretty lucky having a set of coin collectors like that. Tommy I'm right there with you getting mad at some idiot selling it off for dollars... and putting instructions in the will is something I'll consider for the future, never thought of that.

 

That is the fate of many collections. There just are not always family members that care about our collections and would just want the cash.

I have one Heir that will keep at least 2 nice sets I've (almost) completed. Other then that I told the heir that they are free to sell or do with what they want. Including suggesting a dealer that would purchase them for a fair price.

We as collectors I believe should have a little plan at least left for them to know what they have received.

 

My trust provides instructions of which trusted dealers to contact to assist with liquidating my coins and to pay them fair compensation for their assistance. I have also left instructions on where to find all of my purchase information on my coins so that they at least know what I paid for each coin and when/where they were acquired.

 

That's what people with a modest or better collection should be doing.
I wish more would do it too as it breaks my heart every time one of these collections goes out to a person that gets theirs sold for 1/10th of what it should be.

 

hopefully my kids pick up on coins, if not I already know that my collection will be sold very fast. She will relish the day she gets to say goodbye to my "coins that just take up space in the closet." "you dont even do anything with them" apparently she wants me to put a leash on them and take them for a walk or something??? Either you get it or you dont and she obviously dont get it. LOL

 

lol does she get paintings for the walls or flowers for the yard?
Your right though...either get it or not...

 

I sell and buy coins, And I must say a whole lot of coin collection are left to kids and family members who do not have a clue on the matter. And there comes along a shark and they are left with very little of the ammount they should get.

I think that if I would leave it to my family they would have to know the value of the collection. But i´m sure I would never leave it to them. I would sell it and go for a long holiday with the mss.

 

my son has already said that he is going to roll everything up and take it to the bank.

I told him that I'd be dead and wouldn't care.

But that he would lose a lot of money.


He thought that he'd get to me... but, hey, payback & all

now he listens -- sometimes.

 

I plan to sell my very last coin the week before I die!

Hopefully it should have kept me in my retirement for a bit before that though. I don't suppose I'll ever stop buying and selling - I can do that even if I'm bedridden.

I like to think of the coin collection as our pension fund, as it's the nearest thing we've got to one of those.

 

I was already told that everything will be sold for $50.:headbang: Now who wants to be my best friend...

 

My son gets it all...hopefully a long time from now. TC

 

There have been a few Threads on this topic and they always seem to get my attention. Facing your own mortality is never an easy thing. Some of us will have a heads up on when that day will arrive due to certain medical issues we may encounter, however, not all of us will be so fortunate.

Each and every day we face the risk of losing our lives in daily activities such as driving to the store, our jobs, on a work site, during travel, activities and of course the fierce Mother Nature. The time to plan is at each and every purchase, document each coin or note and maintain receipt's as a guide for your heir's.

If you have unique items try to get proof of where they came from, who held them before you and how that person came about having them...such is the case with some very unique items I have accquired and have email documentation as well on the testement of the former owner.

Make a copy of your "Last Will" and store it in the safe along with your collections and place a second copy in a SDB. www.legalzoom.com is a great way to do this. Log and record all Banknotes via SN and image them with a synopsis of the note so that your heirs will at least have a clue what you have. It is my goal to make the life of my son, easier than mine and to teach him the significance of what he has to use for his life after mine.

Good luck to you all..


RB

 

I will be beyond knowing.
My wife knows who I recommend contacting.
If we both go at the same time my SiL and her hubby are intelligent.
They'll most likely get it correct.

 

As you get older you really start thinking about things like this and though its
Not a pleasant thought plans need to be made for the future, I think my
Collecting efforts will go along way for my kids and grand children in securing
A Better future for them

 

I'm 24 with no wife and no kids, so no heirs to my fortune

I have considered leaving the majority of it to my sister, who is getting interested in coins, but she is very young to suddenly come into a large collection like this.

I have also left instructions with my mom and brother to contact a very well trusted dealer friend of mine in the case of my unfortunate demise.

 

no she collects purses. but theres a HUGE difference she can actually do something with her purses LOL

 

Since my grown kids have no interest in my coins, I have thought about creating a document that contains facts about each coin (or coin type), explains its history, its value, and why its valuable (or not). That way, at least one of them just might come to appreciate the collection and decide to keep it and build on it. Otherwise, they would have enough information to get fair value if they decided to sell.