Attending my first Coin Show

I'm kind of curious. This sounds like a fantastic collection to have inherited. Seems like it should have been evaluated for possible inheritance taxes if it also came along with a farm. Didn't that give some idea?

 

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Someone already mentioned this, but maybe go to a few shows before you do anything. I would write down the top five coins on paper and go around from table to table asking what the dealers would pay for them. I do that with my bullion when I want to sell. Literally go table to table asking what their buy price is.

 

If most of the stuff is slabbed, you might want to get a sample pack of the Coin Dealer Newsletter (CDN). Goggle them. This will give you an idea of the dealer prices for some of the better coins

 

Someone mentioned inheritance taxes. If probate and distribution have finished and the coins are now in your possession but weren't declared, it's up to your conscious whether to re-open things. Many folks probably wouldn't, but if you sell and deposit the proceeds or sell more than $10K via a single source, it may be reported to taxing authorities and they may want to know where the money came from. You may want to consult an attorney (better than a non-attorney tax consultant because of privilege).

When it comes to capital gains tax on sales of the coins (yes, it applies), your basis will be their fair-market retail value on the day they came into your possession. So you need an inventory with that data. This is where the fact that many retail guides, like the Red Book, often have inflated prices is handy. You want your basis to be as high as possible, but it needs to rely on a reference acceptable to taxing authorities. They will likely want to you to be consistent though; you can't pick and choose references coin-by-coin to get the highest total basis. Be sure to get receipts for all sales. Capital gains on coins may be treated differently than gains on stocks, bonds or real estate. Consult a tax authority.

Cal

 

Hi, I am having his farm land appraised, but even with that value and the value of what I'm discovering with the coins it doesn't look like it will still meet the threshold for estate taxes. (This amount varies by state)

The funny thing is that this coin collection was sort of a secret hobby of his--no one knew about it or the extent of it, and I'm just now learning as I begin to sort through it all. He was a great businessman but not technologically savvy, I've found hand written lists of the coins but no digital inventory, so it's taking me awhile as a novice to sort through and evaluate them.

My estate lawyer, my father's tax professional, and personal financial advisor are all involved in helping me with the tax side of things.

 

The estate is still open, I have an estate lawyer, my father's personal tax professional, and my own financial planner involved. I'm covering my bases, have have discussed the situation with each of them.

Thanks for the advice.

 

Good on ya for that.
ebay completed & sold listings are also a very good way to get a feel for what some of these are worth.

I did a search on 2 of the coins you have pictured $10 1843/1843 & 1869 $5 golds
and what I found in my search is that they have none listed on ebay in the recent past or present.
Which means to me anyhow is they are scarce dates and should bring prices higher than guide prices (and certainly not wholesale greysheet).

Also looking at the picture you have I'm sure there are a few more in there that meet this criteria as well and taken into account when assessing value so you don't get hosed on em.

 

NGC price guide has that 1869 AU55 half-eagle at $7250. Did you pick that one as one of the best coins you've found so far in the bunch, or is that typical of the older stuff?

 

I have that one to the side because of the high value, it is not typical of the older stuff. Most of the older things are still high (between $1500-4000) but that one is one of the highest in the collection that I have found so far. I have two full holders of $20 coins from 1870s to 1920s, that grouping is currently the largest with the most consistent grading and highest value.

 

You can also search Heritage Auctions Prices realized database. You need to sign up. An 1843/1843 Eagle in AU53 sold for $1900+ in Aug 2015

 

Just signed up! Thanks

 

"best use of your time..."

Nonsense. A couple hours to watch an efficient marketplace (which you must eventually deal with, one way or the other), crucial to your long-term success. Exposure to prices from good sellers and bad, desperate or sassy, all valuable experience.

I'm going to up the ante from my previous post -- go to six coin shows before you sell even one coin. Immerse yourself in that culture. Be aware of prices. See what's moving. Listen hard.

 

You will most likely do better with eBay or Great Collections for those. A lot of dealers only sell those as 70s and will buy them like they are just buillion. That may not be the case with every dealer there but if they try and tell you the 70 adds no value don't buy into it. It's not a huge premium for most of the recent dates but there still is some

 

My suggestion is to observe what happens at a coin show and how the wheeling and dealing is done. You obviously have a lot of inventory work and my feeling is that you are not ready to deal. I would also try to get some information from pegs and gray sheets.

Also, as you have a decent amount, you may want to sell stuff over several shows instead of going for one lump transaction.

 

This is well outside my experience, but I know that big auction houses will send someone to you if you'd like to consign a large collection through them. I'm thinking the threshold for size is somewhere around $50K, which this one likely exceeds by at least an order of magnitude. I wonder if that would be the way to go?

 

If you sell out in 2017, say, your taxes are going to be minimal, as the difference between your "net" and your "basis" is not going to be very much.

I'm leaning more and more toward letting an auction house like Stack's or Heritage take over, take it all, and some months from now you'll get a big check, with no tax worries. There may be case history that auction proceeds within a certain amount of time ARE your basis. Consignment should be competitive.

And the old joke, for later:
Q. How do you retire with a million dollars in the stock market?
A. Start with two million...

 

My feeling from what I've read is that selling bit by bit is more lucrative than a lump, I hadn't intended to ever sell the collection out right in its entirety to any one dealer or collector.

 

This is what all my finsncial/tax professionals have advised me.

Interesting, as I've seen many times in my research and in this forum that an auction house isn't always the best way to go, are you suggesting it because it would probably be the easiest route since I'm more of a novice? Or probably the best way to get the highest value since I'm dealing with what appears to be a high volume of rare coins?

 

Fortunately, that's not what an auction house does, either.

And here's a worst-case scenario. High inflation comes to the U.S., and you sell (by whatever means) items for 50% to 100% more than anticipated. Now your proceeds (in nominal dollars) far exceeds your basis, and you owe taxes across the board, but you're being paid in dollars worth much less. Just a thought.

 

"because..."

All of the above, plus, "What's your time worth?" and "What could possibly go wrong (doing it myself)?"