Who to consign to??

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by BlackberryPie, Dec 31, 2021.

  1. BlackberryPie

    BlackberryPie I like pie

    My father has decided it’s time to let his collection go. He has approx $500k in items, which is way too much to try and sell individually.

    Would GC, Heritage, or Legends be the better choice to consign to?

    Any other suggestions could be helpful too.
     
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  3. Lehigh96

    Lehigh96 Toning Enthusiast

    Legend deals in very high end stuff that is almost exclusively PCGS graded with CAC approval. Heritage has a $2500 minimum value for a each coin to be included in their signature sales, and will auction lower priced material in their weekly auctions, but their consignment fees are very high. That said, with a $500K consignment, you would easily be able to negotiate a better deal than their stated terms. Great Collections has the lowest fees and would be the best place to liquidate lower priced material.

    Without knowing the makeup of your father's collection, it is impossible for me to make an educated decision about which auction house you should use.
     
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  4. Treashunt

    Treashunt The Other Frank

    Give us some idea of what he has.

    Junk silver could be just 'dumped' at local dealers.
     
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  5. ddddd

    ddddd Member

    You might want to try and contact all the major players- GC, Heritage, Stacks, and Legend- with a list of what you have and see what each says. It might even be worthwhile to split the consignment between several places.
     
  6. Publius2

    Publius2 Well-Known Member

    A friend of mine just liquidated his Barber dime collection through GC and netted about $22k for it. He was delighted with GC's service and what he got for his coins.

    If you'll give us some idea of the material in your father's collection, the folks here can give you better comments.
     
  7. baseball21

    baseball21 Well-Known Member

    This. 500k does give you leverage but there's a big difference between a hoard of 500 dollar coins vs a handful of 5 figure coins.

    Most likely the best option will be using a combination of places
     
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  8. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    Please consult a tax attorney before doing anything. It can mean a lot of money to either your father or to the government. New rules take place starting tomorrow.
     
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  9. Matthew Kruse

    Matthew Kruse Young Numismatist

    Agreed. If he sells at a gain, he will have to pay a long term capital gains tax.
     
  10. scottishmoney

    scottishmoney Buh bye

    Any significant collection can actually be divided betwixt several auction houses that tailor to the specifics of the collection. Some types of coins do better with specific auction venues.
     
  11. Publius2

    Publius2 Well-Known Member

    A minor point: For numismatic and other collectibles, there is no lower-rate long-term capital gains. All capital gains for these items are taxed at the higher, short-term capital gains rate of 28% regardless of how long the item has been held.
     
  12. Matthew Kruse

    Matthew Kruse Young Numismatist

    If you were to sell at a coin dealer or to another collector privately, how would the IRS know to tax you? Or do you have to report it yourself? And I assume this is only for collectibles worth a certain amount or more.
     
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  13. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    I don’t understand the new tax laws, that’s why I pay to have it done. Starting on 1-1-2022 items that you sell over $600.00 are involved in this new law. That’s why I said what I did, check with a tax attorney.
     
  14. MIGuy

    MIGuy Supporter! Supporter

    I second this suggestion, it may be advisable to transfer the coins to a trust or other entity prior to sale to minimize tax consequences. There are a lot of variables involved depending on the father’s short term / long term needs and / or goals. Hopefully an elder law and estate planning attorney are also consulted if appropriate. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/12/set-up-a-trust-fund.asp
     
    Last edited: Dec 31, 2021
  15. Publius2

    Publius2 Well-Known Member

    Tax rules are different for businesses than for individuals. My comments are addressed to individual tax payers.

    First of all, nobody cares if you buy and sell the occasional junk Morgan and make a little unreported capital gain. But you should know that if you buy a Morgan for $20 and then sell it for $30, you now have a capital gain of $10 and are required to report that on your tax return and pay a 28% capital gains tax ($2.80). The fact that no one is going to catch you at this is immaterial. You still owe the tax.

    But if you "forget" to file and pay larger amounts, say $2800 of tax, your situation is quite different.

    The law requires each taxpayer to know what income they are supposed to be reporting on and paying taxes upon. "Ignorance is no excuse" and if you think otherwise, I wish you the very best of luck in your tax audit. Also, check into the tax troubles of two very prominent Americans, Willie Nelson and Wesley Snipes.

    So, it's supposed to be that you report your income types, sources, and amounts to the IRS based on the honor system. But because there is such a large amount of tax cheating going on (not as much in the USA as in say Italy or Greece but still quite a lot) explains why we now have third party reporting through Paypal/Venmo and a proposal in D.C. for the reporting of more than $10,000 annual throughput at your bank/credit union.

    And no, as a general rule, there is no de minimis amount of capital gains that is excluded from reporting as capital gains. If you make a capital gain, you are required to file on it.

    Tax law, regulations and tax court precedent is voluminous and cannot be reiterated in its complexity in this kind of venue. But the upshot is, "If you earn it and there is no legal basis for excluding it, then you owe taxes on it and are required to file upon it as one kind of income or another."
     
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  16. Matthew Kruse

    Matthew Kruse Young Numismatist

    Interesting, thank you for sharing.
     
  17. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    Didn’t mean to derail your thread but I think it’s very important what was said.
     
  18. Tamaracian

    Tamaracian 12+ Yr Member--Supporter

    @BlackberryPie You may want to contact this attorney as he specializes in numismatic inheritances:

    "David L. Ganz is a past President of the American Numismatic Association (1993-95), and for more than 40 years has written about coins and coin collecting. A lawyer by profession, he has practiced as senior partner in the New York firm of Ganz & Hollinger, P.C. since 1980."
     
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  19. Captain Sully

    Captain Sully Active Member

    Great stuff. However in dealing with just silver. Which is better, sell to recognized performer Gainsville Coins or Auction? I need to unload Silver Eagles and such for sure. Also many Morgan's in various states.
    S
     
  20. MIGuy

    MIGuy Supporter! Supporter

    I've bought some coins (nothing fancy) from Charter Oak Coins in Connecticut at auction some time ago, I think they do monthly auctions and I did get an email with relatively favorable terms for consigning to them, though I've never done that - I'm sure there are others that do the same thing. Their auction lists have Silver Eagles, Morgans, some gold coins, all sorts of stuff. I'd be surprised if some of the dealer members here don't do it as well. I'd think you would want to find someone local to you if possible.
     
  21. calcol

    calcol Supporter! Supporter

    OP, does your father need money from sale of the coins to meet ongoing expenses? If not, he might want to reconsider selling. If the coins are passed on via a will, the beneficiaries will not owe tax on capital gains while in your father’s possession. He or you should provide a detailed inventory plus care and selling instructions for beneficiaries.

    If the coins are worth $500k and most of the value is in 4-figure and up certified coins, auction houses will jump at the chance to sell the collection. And he and you will be in a good bargaining position to get good terms. If the collection is mostly lower value certified coins, the auction houses will take them, but you won’t get as good a deal. OTOH, if most the of value is in raw coins that are worth a few hundred each at most, big auction houses won’t be interested. In that case, selling to dealers or through small auction companies will be the way to go.

    Cal
     
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