I am quite big into organization of certified coin. And I have all my slabbed coins in a Google Sheet -Date -Mintmark -Denomination -TPG -Grade -Strike -Attribution -Certification Number -Price Paid How can my records be improved? Should I add a suggested value and a loss/gain difference?
This would largely depend on what you wish to achieve. As for the "suggested value", this is meaningless since you already have the price paid, prices tend to fluctuate, and you haven't yet sold the coins. The same goes for a "loss/gain" difference simply because you haven't lost or gained anything. Still, this may seem like a good idea in case something was to happen to you, but be very careful. Unrealistic expectations on behalf of those liquidating your coins can often cause headaches much worse than often meaningless estimations benefit them.
The only reason to worry about the value is for insurance purposes, provided you carry coin coverage.
Maybe add a 'Price Sold For' column and put N/A for all the coins still in possession. This way, you can keep track of financial gain over time.
Strike and attribution are more often associated with ancient coins. Won't find them on slabs of modern US and world coins, but of course, collector can have their own version of these in the database. Other data that can be useful are variety, provenance, and source of funds used for purchase. The latter can be especially important for taxes, wills, trusts, divorces, business accounting, etc. I use Excel for my coin database. One feature that is very useful is to have less frequently needed data in a comment (usually attached to the cell with the cert. no.). This data isn't cluttering the visual field, but pops-up by putting the cursor over the cell with the comment. Cal
Strongly agree, in fact those two things are two of the most important bits of information that every collector needs to keep - along with a paper receipt for each coin. You will have to have all 3 of those things for tax purposes if and when you sell the coin. edit - and for those who don't know it, if you do not have all 3 of those things and you do sell the coin, you will owe taxes on the full amount of what you sell it for.
Looks like it is all covered. I knew a guy with some fairly deep pockets that never recorded what he paid for a coin. He said it didn't matter, and it took the angst of feeling like he needed to make a profit on every sale away. "It's only worth what it will sell for - doesn't matter what I paid for it.", was his reply.
On your Federal and some state tax returns, you are supposed to declare any capital gain or loss on sale of collectibles in the previous tax year. A gain will be taxed; a loss may lower the taxes you have to pay on other sources of income. But, you need to have proof of purchase (or inheritance) and sale, and clear statements of dates, dollar amounts, and description of the coins. Cal
You're talking about state sales taxes when you buy coins. I'm talking about federal income taxes - and everybody owes those in every state.
OMG, yet another reason to foist my collection on my daughter and let her fool with all this balderdash! I've kept no such records, and unless Big Brother is keeping tabs on all of this, Nancy may not even know I have a single coin to confiscate.
You're not alone Geezer, I'd venture the majority of collectors never give a second thought to keeping the records they are required to keep. And one day it'll jump and bite them, or their heirs. And when it does somebody will owe a large, large, chunk of money in the form of taxes either in the form of income taxes if the coins are sold, or possibly huge inheritance taxes if they are passed on. Topped off with income taxes if and when they are later sold. People tend not to think about such things when they plan to pass on collections to heirs. They don't realize they may be saddling their heirs with a substantial debt - as opposed to doing them what they think is going to be a favor.
If you let your daughter inherit your collection, then the basis (i.e. acquisition value) for her is their value on the day you died. Won't matter what you paid for them. When she sells them, the capital gain will be the selling price minus basis. Cal
That is correct. I think they call this a stepped up basis. This works for my wife and I. If I were to pass, she will get a stepped up basis on my half of the collection. At that point here basis would be market value on half of the collection and what we actually paid on the other half. It's a great deal except I would have to die. This also works with houses. If I give my son a house while I'm alive, his basis is what I gave for the house. If I give it to him in my will, his basis will be the market value on the day I die. He could sell it and pay no taxes.
Perhaps under the laws of some states. For Federal tax purposes, the house would be considered a taxable gift. Its current value minus the $14K gifts-to-children exemption would be considered as taxable income to your child. And it would be taxed as ordinary income, not a capital gain. Depending on circumstances, it's often better to let your children inherit rather than giving them a taxable gift while you are still alive. Cal
