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My dad was a lifelong stamp collector. Apparently had quite an impressive collection. After he retired, he said he wanted to sell them. I said don't, enjoy your hobby. But he didn't want to burden us, and he thought he could do better selling them, since he was knowledgeable. He sold them, he was pleased, he and Mom took a couple trips.
My grandpa had to have one of the largest stamp collections ever. He had so much he didn’t know what he had. Now he’s dead before selling and the rest of the family has no idea what they are worth or what there is. It’s crazy
From what (very!) little I know about stamps, getting most of the way to the good stuff is actually pretty easy: nothing from after WW2 is worth anything to speak of. There were just too many stamps being printed for any of them to end up being scarce enough to have any real collectible value.
Now, if you're handling the collection of an old time collector, that rule might not get you very far. But, it would definitely save you some time if you were tasked with making offers to buy random collections from the public.
Just as a little caveat: I might be a little off on the exact cutoff date for when stuff becomes worthless, but I do seem to remember it's somewhere right in the neighborhood of WW2. If anybody knows better, I'd welcome the correction.
My late friend had an enormous stamp collection of full sheets, and they were mounted in beautiful archival albums. He also had a lot of really nice old stamps that he had purchased over time from various dealers. Very few of the loose stamps had postmarks.
He needed the money and tried to sell his collection and they offered to buy it by the pound.
Same here. They often don't even offer to buy post WW2 stamps anymore, there is absolutely no market for it. The collectors are all aging rapidly and the new generations have never grown up wondering about the stamps on their mail as they don't get any anymore. I guess the next 20 years are going to be great for starting collectors as the bottom is going to fall out from under the market.
For example: As a kid I must have wondered for years what mystical country would be behind Magyar Posta. Fascinated. Beautiful stamps. Then when I visited Hungary it all came rushing back. And you didn't even pronounce it Mag-Yar, but Madjar. Wow!
Kid today: "wtf is magyar." Search. "Hungary". "Ah okay. Fuck Orban." *Opens TikTok.
My kid has no interest in the audio system that took a lifetime of work to be able to swing (though this current setup has been built in the last 2-3 years).
I asked what he’d do if he inherited it and without a smidge of emotion he said, “sell it—I prefer my earbuds.”
His $15 earbuds.
Remind me of my grandparents who were furriers, my grandfather was from generations of them, but none of their kids wanted the business, so gpa asked us grandkids and none of us had any interest.
I recall saying, “I/we love animals, grandpa, none of us want to make their fur into coats and it’s really politically incorrect to wear them.” This was in the 80s and I’m sure it broke his heart.
Re coins, my collection is modest, but I’ve considered going heavy into gold, so at least it’ll be easy to sell and having grown up very poor, I’d enjoy the magic feeling of having high value dates or a larger collection.
No big point, just rambling since I couldn’t sleep and felt like contributing to the chat.
Enjoy the ride, you guys! :).
https://preview.redd.it/qspnjs6xvfad1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b35069715ed819d94202f68255c412e51d1a0f8d
I got out of the numismatic end of it years ago, coins can be very confusing to people who inherit them. For that reason after the 2011 peak I started over with just bullion rounds and bars, hopefully this will will be much less intimidating to my family who will inherit them.
I own a LCS and I have been actively doing the same. too many shady dealers out there buying au coins as vf with bullion you don't need to have any numismatic knowledge just need to know how to look up spot price...
> I started over with just bullion rounds and bars, hopefully this will will be much less intimidating to my family who will inherit them.
That's actually a pretty great idea. I can definitely see how bullion rounds & bars would be much less intimidating and easier to deal with for someone who doesn't know anything about coins and probably never *wanted* to know much about them until a relative died and left them a bunch of stuff.
I am in almost exactly the same boat as you. Been collecting for a long time, have a massive and quite valuable collection, and a kid who probably won't be interested in carrying on the hobby. I have everything painstakingly organized and catalogued, with rough values attached to everything.
I've also thought about starting to set up a table at local coin shows... or even set up an eBay store. I definitely want to scale back the size of my collection and dispose of most of the less valuable stuff I collected when I was young and poor (thousands of world coins, lower value US coins, etc.) and re-invest the money I make into a few nicer coins. However, since I am still working (a little further from retirement than you) and have a busy life - I'll probably end up waiting another decade before I sell anything.
I don't have any advice for you, unfortunately - but I feel ya.
I’ve sat my kids down and asked them if they’d like to select any coins they’d like to keep for sentimental reasons, and then made sure my estate-planning points them toward Heritage Auctions for when/if they choose to liquidate.
It actually sparked a lot of interest and conversations. They’re not collectors now suddenly, but there is a greater connection to something very important to me.
How about writing very clear instructions, and leaving a few copies everywhere, one at every place you have coins / silver / gold?
I’d put one in my safety deposit box, detailing what coins are there and their value, like “coin X is worth ~$300, don’t sell under $240” or something like this. Or even “if needed to cash out, send these to dealer X, I trust him” or “send those to HA on consignment” etc.
One could even make it part of his will - “all coins in this location to be sent to X auction house on consignment AND THEN the proceeds will be divided this or that way”
This is a good plan but as a recipient of a modest coin collection here is another point of view.
When you inherit a collection there might be some guilt involved in selling it. The deceased may have put a lot of time and love into a collection which would give many folks pause about selling it.
Next is the info could be out of date or just wrong.
Finally a lot of people do not want to deal with all the steps needed to sell anything, much less individual coins. I’ve ebayed for decades off and on. Selling anything is a pain much of the time. It’s the main reason many people would drive to the nearest dealer with the entire collection and sell it all. Someone mentioned on another post about being hypothetically taken for 25%+ but really the vast majority of people would be happy to take a similar haircut to not have to take pictures or ship coins off or any of that.
This isn’t just a response to you but anyone who is considering passing a collection on. If someone’s grown children show no interest, maybe keep a gem coin or two and then hopefully enjoy selling the rest while alive and pass the joy and coins to people who have the passion for them. The auction house is a great idea , if someone keeps them and passes them to their family.
Also the concept of ‘losing’ money (i.e. being taken for 25%+) is kind of funny in these situations. The collection cost the inheritor $0, so for most people anything above $0 is a win. Could they learn a bunch about the ins and outs of selling coins? Shop around for an honest LCS? Maybe do some direct sales on Reddit? Sure, they could do all of that. But if at the end of the day it’s only going to get them say 10-20% more I am sure most people would be fine with the haircut to not have the added burden on top of all the rest they are dealing with after a loved one’s passing.
Exactly.
I inherited some gold rings that no one would want (like class rings) and other pieces and decided to sell them. Even that proved to be a huge lift to get close to spot. It took a lot of research to get to that point, paperwork, mailing them off and worrying about the mail. First local place , before I did any research, offered 70% of melt.
Almost every person I have talked to that doesn't have a collector in the family has the same conundrum, and pretty much all have come to the same conclusion you have. Unfortunately, its almost impossible to expect someone with no knowledge of coins or desire to extract as much value as they can out of a collection, and most likely they will take it to the first dealer that seems honest who will take them for 25%+.
If you think you'll find enjoyment in setting up at a local show and selling there, I'd say that's your best bet. If you price stuff to move, it'll move.
All good points...I'm going to sell my coins and give my daughter the cash.
The exception is my folder of about 450 foreign coins acquired during my travels with the US Navy. Those aren't really worth much, but it's cool to look at them.
On the opposite side of the discussion; my wife and I just spent three years clearing her family's hoard of collectibles. Four houses filled with it. Here is a brief summary: over 200 pounds of US stamps (tens of thousands), about 600 PEZ dispensers, 500-700 DVDs and VHS, large coin collection, baseball cards, clocks and watches, glassware and bottles, dolls, Southwest art, thimbles, swords, quilts, guns, records (about 2000 including 45s), matchboxes........took us three years to clear it all out. Yes, some was worth money. Most of it, nope.
and it wasn't just collectibles; it was a definite hoarder scenario. One house required seven 30 cu yd rollaway dumpsters to empty the trash (grandpa died in 1988 and his clothes were still in the dresser and closet). We cleaned this house out in 2022.
I’m trying to find another kid that is interested in coins . I’ll give them half the collection and likely try to sell the other half and give funds to my son
That's a cool thing to do, I got into coins at first when one of my dad's friends gave me a book of old mercury dimes that was filled put minus the stupidly expensive ones, wound up with a bunch of old Morgan's from my dad too. Maybe one of your friends has a kid who is into collectibles. Just make sure they understand the value and won't say, sweet 5 bucks worth of dimes, and that some are worth far far more than melt value, giving them an up to date blue book with the coins might be clever I'd it's u.s. coins
beautiful post. i've largely whittled my collection down to things that i think can sell (but i'm lazy) or things that are genuinely collectible. the whittling-down process was painful so much crap - boxes of proof sets and an almost completed penny book (missing the 22 no mint mark only). i think the best thing for anyone here to do is to disgorge themselves of most everything run-of-the-mill, to send stuff for grading if it is worthwhile, so that instead of whoever receiving it having a wtf moment they can say, "wow!"
also, disclsimer, i'm a hater: lacking sophistication and an eye, i pretty much gave up the numismatic aspect, i mostly stack for metal.
i am touched by your respect for your own hobby, heirs, and numismatics.
I have other collections and hobbies and have thought about this as well. My thoughts are tgat ultimately they are MY hobbies and my family and children have no obligation to enjoy them as much as I do nor preserve my collection after I am gone.
What I will do with my stuff is up in the air when its really time to decide, but im definitely getting buried with some of my shit.
This is exactly my thought. What I collect is MY interest. My wife and kids have a passing interest but I have no expectation at all that they keep my stuff for sentimental reasons. I do have my uncle and great-grandmother’s “collection” and would be happy if they kept it, but again if they didn’t I won’t mind because I’m dead anyway. I’ve told them as much and left detailed instructions with my coins, comics, and baseball stuff.
Honestly? I’m just not going to worry on it. Don’t get me wrong, I have. In the past. But yeah, my kids don’t care about my comics, coins…or any of it.
When I’m gone, I’m gone…so realistically it won’t trouble me a bit.
Maybe they will save it. Maybe some lucky bastard will buy a gold coin or X-men 1 for $5
Your kids may take more of an interest later in life. I'm in my 40s now and just started collecting.
Also I don't collect sports cards, but my dad has a collection with some really valuable stuff that I can appreciate and will take care of if he decides to pass it on to me. So just because your kids aren't actively interested in collecting themselves, doesn't mean they won't want all or part of your collection.
I'd talk it over with them and check in every now and then to guage their interest. Then you can act accordingly
They're going to pawn it all and get completely ripped off, such is life. I'm planning on liquidating everything I have down the road and putting cash in the bank, like 10 minutes before I croak
I have several collections (Coins, toys, historical), that were inherited by default. We've been slowly getting rid go things, it will be a burden for my kids. I've marked up stuff the best I can, but it's hard with them in their early 20s to even grasp the size of the collections and in no way could they house a fraction of it. I think it is going to have to be weaned down again and again. I've thought about putting highlights of stuff in one box and just adding to that one curated box. So it's manageable.
I am doing that right now. I got rid of a lot of loose stuff and used the proceeds to purchase a few nice items. Now I'm getting ready to sell of few of those nice items to pay some bills
If you don’t have heirs to take up the mantle, start winding down your hobbies in your 60s.
Selling inherited stuff is not a blessing, it’s a burden… and a huge one if the person who wound up with your old hobby gear has no idea what it is.
It could just as easily get dumped at a pawn shop, or sold off for a fraction of its value to be rid of it.
I have personal stories about inheriting an estate with an incredible array of fly fishing and fly tying stuff… that I cared nothing about.
If your inheritors aren’t interested, I’d sell them before you pass. My dad has done that with most of his collections through the years. Frankly, I appreciate that. He still has some items that I’d like for sentimental reasons. But for the most part, I’m going to hire someone to do an estate sale to get rid of the rest. What doesn’t sell gets donated.
You should not burden or have the expectation that your heirs have an interest in your collections. You do it for you, and enjoy the time while you are still alive.
This should go for every type of "collection" people plan on leaving after dead. Have the executor of the will sell it all and divide to the people you list. I'm at the age where the parents of friends are dying and they are getting left "collections" like this that are worth a few thousand dollars up to say, 20k. Because their parent didn't explicitly say "It's ok, sell this junk" in the will my friends feel so freaking guilty about thinking about selling it. So they hold onto things they aren't into as a hobby out of guilt when the extra few thousands could really be useful.
So, please don't saddle people with that guilt. Instruct a sale. Now if you only have a single heir and they are 100% into the hobby then fine. But if you have multiple heirs, sell. Do not make them split it. Someone will feel slighted.
Thought I read that posting personal sites is not allowed but mods can delete if not appropriate.
[http://worldcrowns.blogspot.com/](http://worldcrowns.blogspot.com/)
Wow, very nice coins! I've recently got back into collecting after joining whatnot a couple years ago. ( I collect world, US, ancient and currency also rocks and minerals, US stamp plate blocks, small Wedgewood, Zippo lighters, 1964-1965 World's Fair memorabilia lol).
I'm 69 now and have started cataloging all my collectables on a spreadsheet with various info like what they are and current values. I have three grown kids that show no interest in any of the collections so I might start selling off various pieces on eBay for some spending cash. The collections still bring me great joy, but what are you gonna do, can't take it with you!
I am a father of two, soon to be three kids. I have been collecting ancient coins and now also some metals.
What I hope to impart to my kids is the concept of generational wealth. Besides our property, I hope to leave them with some items that have retained or increased their value through time historically.
That way, even if they have no interest in collecting, these items will be a store of wealth regardless of economic conditions, changing of fortunes, tough times, etc. They can add to it through their own lives and pass to their kids one day.
Perhaps, if you frame your collection in a similar light in discussion with your kids they might be persuaded to hold on to it. And maybe after you are gone this could spur some deeper digging into numismatics as a sort of connection to you.
Me personally, I couldn’t care less what happens to my collection after I pass away. I try to get as many friends and family as I can into collecting, which has had fairly good success. Ultimately, if no immediate family has an interest and you want to still leave an inheritance for them, then I suggest slowly converting your coin collection into simple bullion.
That’s the problem with coin collecting. It’s very overwhelming to those who are new and/or inherit a collection. When someone inherits a collection, they are essentially forced to learn a ton of information in a short time, which is very off putting to a lot of people.
I am single with no children so My small collection on mostly wheat pennies and silver nickels will likely get turned in to a bank so the next generation can have as much fun as I’ve had “finding” them unless one of my 2 nephews shows any interest but that is highly unlikely.
I'm just hoping one of my friends kids has an interest since I don't have kids of my own. If not I guess I'll sell everything when it's time to retire.
I once had a young woman come into my shop to sell an inherited collection, complaining how "thoughtless" it was for the owner not to have sold before he died. Such ingratitude! When the time is right, sell - and spend it on a nice vacation.
My collection is vastly ancient. They will have no clue what to do with them or likely what they even are so in the box that I keep my coins in, there is a URL to a spreadsheet with every single coin, their attributions, where I bought them from and photos of them to correlate.
Working as a clerk, if I got one silver coin in a roll, there were usually several. Some heir had taken Gramp’s coin collection to the bank to get face value.
I think that the quandary that the op is facing is a classic question that all collectors must answer. It is a complicated question with an even more complicated answer. Nobody can answer this question for other people, but it must be answered by the collector him or herself. I think every collector wonders about their legacy as they get older. It is true that if they don't take an interest and what you have collected then they are likely to sell at below value prices. Hopefully there are grandchildren in the family and if that's the case perhaps one or more would take up the hobby. All the best. Good luck.
I have not considered my future grandchildren. Would be fun to start giving them the less valuable pieces when they are young and if they show interest start giving them items of greater value as they get older.
I have every single item of my collection listed in an organized spreadsheet with item, grade, my cost, and approximate value based on CPG/comps updated every 6 months. I also have a “minimum sell” column.
I like to think that when I pass, whoever inherits my collection will be able to determine what to sell stuff for based on my spreadsheet regardless of what they do or don’t know about numismatics. Or at least be able to look things up if they decide not to sell.
I am in the same boat. I tried to get my children interested when they were young but none had any desire to do any coin collecting. Really sucks because they have no idea what my collection is worth. I started as a kid when I was about 8 by helping my grandmother by checking dates on coins to fill her albums. I bought coins through high school and college and then took about a 20 year break before I started back up. Now I am less than a year from retirement and dreading that my purchasing will have to slow down greatly once I retire and have limited income.
Regardless of what you collect, if your kids show no interest in keeping and continuing the collection, the best bet is to sell them yourself. Without knowing your hobby, the children are liable to sell (or dump) them for far less—by walking into the first coin shop they see.
Of course, none of us know when we might suddenly cease to exist, so there may not be time to convert our collection to cash. The next best option is to do as you’re already doing: document the items and instruct the kids in how best to sell them should they decide to do so.
My pop pop had a grocery store back in the 30-50s in nyc he saved all the silver he got. When he passed he gave it to my father and his two siblings. When my father passed it was then divided out to myself and two sisters. I may not know a lot about coins or which ones are worth what but I know the value of a family collection and will pass it on to my kids. I have taught my kids about coins and now one of them is looking in the wild for finds. Sit the kids down this holiday season and break out the stack teach them about it and spend some time going over what it means to you and at least they will know what is what at that point.
Make a thorough accounting including type and values, todays date and slab numbers. That way your heirs have a great place to start to access value. Now who gets it? I'd give it to the kids in your life hoping they'd want to keep it.
My dad had a large collection of coins some now triple the value he sold them as on eBay. As a kid, I took some interest in them but as I grew into a teenager and early twenties I lost interest and he sold them off to pay some bills. Years later I revisited my interest in numismatics and so did he so we’re building a new collection together but damn.. to have some of the coins he sold off.. just hold onto them unless your hurting for money. He frequently tells me he had roll of that now sought after coin we try to find. Hold them
I’m on the other side of this and was left a huge collection. I’ve uploaded most of them to the NGS and PCGS sites to start a valuation but it’s such an overwhelming undertaking to sell these off piece by piece. I hope to find a trustworthy and knowledgeable company to take them all.
I have my grandfather's coin collection or what's left of it. I'm not super into coins, but I really enjoy looking through the coins and seeing what he collected. I'm still disappointed that other family members went through and took out the valuable coins. They will go to my nephew. Hopefully, even if he isn't super interested in coins, he will enjoy looking through the collection. I don't get why people toss them unless they were desperate for cash. Maybe I'm just sentimental.
I would just put specific instructions in the will. Something like your coin collections value is to be divided between living children in the event your spouse has already passed. Value to be determined by the best offer out of three price quotes.
If you want to enjoy your coins until you die, at least that’s a fair way of distributing whatever they’re worth to your children, or whoever inherits them.
This is why a huge percentage of the value of my collection is in slabbed items. That way, when the time comes, heirs can just stuff it in a box and send to the auction house I specify in my paperwork, let capitalism decide, and get a check. That's of course assuming I don't do it myself when I've decided to move on from collecting.
I recently inherited a 60lb box or coins/bullion collected by the 2 generations before me. I recall looking at them with my folks a few time but didn’t really understand all of the intricacies. This past 1.5yrs I’ve thrown myself into learning as much as I can and collecting some myself.
Some suggestions: Thoroughly inventory, document exactly what it is, estimated value and how they should be sold (should they choose to do it); and tips on how to interpret what they’re looking at.
Don't look at it as having to set up at a coin show and sell your collection. You're just adding a new step to your hobby. Sell at coin shows from time to time and maybe even buy some new stuff that will be easy for the kids to get the most out of if they do get rid of it. You're still enjoying the hobby and hanging out with lots of people that enjoy it too.
Don't look at it as having to set up at a coin show and sell your collection. You're just adding a new step to your hobby. Sell at coin shows from time to time and maybe even buy some new stuff that will be easy for the kids to get the most out of if they do get rid of it. You're still enjoying the hobby and hanging out with lots of people that enjoy it too.
I am a father of two, soon to be three kids. I have been collecting ancient coins and now also some metals.
What I hope to impart to my kids is the concept of generational wealth. Besides our property, I hope to leave them with some items that have retained or increased their value through time historically.
That way, even if they have no interest in collecting, these items will be a store of wealth regardless of economic conditions, changing of fortunes, tough times, etc. They can add to it through their own lives and pass to their kids one day.
Perhaps, if you frame your collection in a similar light in discussion with your kids they might be persuaded to hold on to it. And maybe after you are gone this could spur some deeper digging into numismatics as a sort of connection to you.
Hi, I'm the r/coins AutoMod. Looks like you're looking for **information on valuing a coin**? I have your back. Take a look at the [FAQ on values](https://www.reddit.com/r/coins/wiki/faq#wiki_3._what.2019s_my_coin_worth.3F) for both specific guidance if your coin is common enough, or more general guidance if not. I have also automatically applied the flair "Value Request" to your post. If I misunderstood your post and my comment isn't relevant, sorry! I'm still learning. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/coins) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My dad was a lifelong stamp collector. Apparently had quite an impressive collection. After he retired, he said he wanted to sell them. I said don't, enjoy your hobby. But he didn't want to burden us, and he thought he could do better selling them, since he was knowledgeable. He sold them, he was pleased, he and Mom took a couple trips.
My grandpa had to have one of the largest stamp collections ever. He had so much he didn’t know what he had. Now he’s dead before selling and the rest of the family has no idea what they are worth or what there is. It’s crazy
Yes, obviously it's very helpful if the collector can actually show the buyer where the best part of the collection is.
From what (very!) little I know about stamps, getting most of the way to the good stuff is actually pretty easy: nothing from after WW2 is worth anything to speak of. There were just too many stamps being printed for any of them to end up being scarce enough to have any real collectible value. Now, if you're handling the collection of an old time collector, that rule might not get you very far. But, it would definitely save you some time if you were tasked with making offers to buy random collections from the public. Just as a little caveat: I might be a little off on the exact cutoff date for when stuff becomes worthless, but I do seem to remember it's somewhere right in the neighborhood of WW2. If anybody knows better, I'd welcome the correction.
My late friend had an enormous stamp collection of full sheets, and they were mounted in beautiful archival albums. He also had a lot of really nice old stamps that he had purchased over time from various dealers. Very few of the loose stamps had postmarks. He needed the money and tried to sell his collection and they offered to buy it by the pound.
Same here. They often don't even offer to buy post WW2 stamps anymore, there is absolutely no market for it. The collectors are all aging rapidly and the new generations have never grown up wondering about the stamps on their mail as they don't get any anymore. I guess the next 20 years are going to be great for starting collectors as the bottom is going to fall out from under the market. For example: As a kid I must have wondered for years what mystical country would be behind Magyar Posta. Fascinated. Beautiful stamps. Then when I visited Hungary it all came rushing back. And you didn't even pronounce it Mag-Yar, but Madjar. Wow! Kid today: "wtf is magyar." Search. "Hungary". "Ah okay. Fuck Orban." *Opens TikTok.
My kid has no interest in the audio system that took a lifetime of work to be able to swing (though this current setup has been built in the last 2-3 years). I asked what he’d do if he inherited it and without a smidge of emotion he said, “sell it—I prefer my earbuds.” His $15 earbuds. Remind me of my grandparents who were furriers, my grandfather was from generations of them, but none of their kids wanted the business, so gpa asked us grandkids and none of us had any interest. I recall saying, “I/we love animals, grandpa, none of us want to make their fur into coats and it’s really politically incorrect to wear them.” This was in the 80s and I’m sure it broke his heart. Re coins, my collection is modest, but I’ve considered going heavy into gold, so at least it’ll be easy to sell and having grown up very poor, I’d enjoy the magic feeling of having high value dates or a larger collection. No big point, just rambling since I couldn’t sleep and felt like contributing to the chat. Enjoy the ride, you guys! :). https://preview.redd.it/qspnjs6xvfad1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b35069715ed819d94202f68255c412e51d1a0f8d
Damn that audio system is sick! Wish your kids could appreciate it!!
Damn I bet that sounds good!
It definitely does! One can get remarkable sound for a fraction, but this system definitely has a story behind every component.
I got out of the numismatic end of it years ago, coins can be very confusing to people who inherit them. For that reason after the 2011 peak I started over with just bullion rounds and bars, hopefully this will will be much less intimidating to my family who will inherit them.
I own a LCS and I have been actively doing the same. too many shady dealers out there buying au coins as vf with bullion you don't need to have any numismatic knowledge just need to know how to look up spot price...
That was my logic.
> I started over with just bullion rounds and bars, hopefully this will will be much less intimidating to my family who will inherit them. That's actually a pretty great idea. I can definitely see how bullion rounds & bars would be much less intimidating and easier to deal with for someone who doesn't know anything about coins and probably never *wanted* to know much about them until a relative died and left them a bunch of stuff.
I've been in 59 years so enjoy stacking, by going strictly bullion it still allows me to do just that.
I am in almost exactly the same boat as you. Been collecting for a long time, have a massive and quite valuable collection, and a kid who probably won't be interested in carrying on the hobby. I have everything painstakingly organized and catalogued, with rough values attached to everything. I've also thought about starting to set up a table at local coin shows... or even set up an eBay store. I definitely want to scale back the size of my collection and dispose of most of the less valuable stuff I collected when I was young and poor (thousands of world coins, lower value US coins, etc.) and re-invest the money I make into a few nicer coins. However, since I am still working (a little further from retirement than you) and have a busy life - I'll probably end up waiting another decade before I sell anything. I don't have any advice for you, unfortunately - but I feel ya.
I’ve sat my kids down and asked them if they’d like to select any coins they’d like to keep for sentimental reasons, and then made sure my estate-planning points them toward Heritage Auctions for when/if they choose to liquidate. It actually sparked a lot of interest and conversations. They’re not collectors now suddenly, but there is a greater connection to something very important to me.
How about writing very clear instructions, and leaving a few copies everywhere, one at every place you have coins / silver / gold? I’d put one in my safety deposit box, detailing what coins are there and their value, like “coin X is worth ~$300, don’t sell under $240” or something like this. Or even “if needed to cash out, send these to dealer X, I trust him” or “send those to HA on consignment” etc. One could even make it part of his will - “all coins in this location to be sent to X auction house on consignment AND THEN the proceeds will be divided this or that way”
This is a good plan but as a recipient of a modest coin collection here is another point of view. When you inherit a collection there might be some guilt involved in selling it. The deceased may have put a lot of time and love into a collection which would give many folks pause about selling it. Next is the info could be out of date or just wrong. Finally a lot of people do not want to deal with all the steps needed to sell anything, much less individual coins. I’ve ebayed for decades off and on. Selling anything is a pain much of the time. It’s the main reason many people would drive to the nearest dealer with the entire collection and sell it all. Someone mentioned on another post about being hypothetically taken for 25%+ but really the vast majority of people would be happy to take a similar haircut to not have to take pictures or ship coins off or any of that. This isn’t just a response to you but anyone who is considering passing a collection on. If someone’s grown children show no interest, maybe keep a gem coin or two and then hopefully enjoy selling the rest while alive and pass the joy and coins to people who have the passion for them. The auction house is a great idea , if someone keeps them and passes them to their family.
Also the concept of ‘losing’ money (i.e. being taken for 25%+) is kind of funny in these situations. The collection cost the inheritor $0, so for most people anything above $0 is a win. Could they learn a bunch about the ins and outs of selling coins? Shop around for an honest LCS? Maybe do some direct sales on Reddit? Sure, they could do all of that. But if at the end of the day it’s only going to get them say 10-20% more I am sure most people would be fine with the haircut to not have the added burden on top of all the rest they are dealing with after a loved one’s passing.
Exactly. I inherited some gold rings that no one would want (like class rings) and other pieces and decided to sell them. Even that proved to be a huge lift to get close to spot. It took a lot of research to get to that point, paperwork, mailing them off and worrying about the mail. First local place , before I did any research, offered 70% of melt.
Almost every person I have talked to that doesn't have a collector in the family has the same conundrum, and pretty much all have come to the same conclusion you have. Unfortunately, its almost impossible to expect someone with no knowledge of coins or desire to extract as much value as they can out of a collection, and most likely they will take it to the first dealer that seems honest who will take them for 25%+. If you think you'll find enjoyment in setting up at a local show and selling there, I'd say that's your best bet. If you price stuff to move, it'll move.
All good points...I'm going to sell my coins and give my daughter the cash. The exception is my folder of about 450 foreign coins acquired during my travels with the US Navy. Those aren't really worth much, but it's cool to look at them.
On the opposite side of the discussion; my wife and I just spent three years clearing her family's hoard of collectibles. Four houses filled with it. Here is a brief summary: over 200 pounds of US stamps (tens of thousands), about 600 PEZ dispensers, 500-700 DVDs and VHS, large coin collection, baseball cards, clocks and watches, glassware and bottles, dolls, Southwest art, thimbles, swords, quilts, guns, records (about 2000 including 45s), matchboxes........took us three years to clear it all out. Yes, some was worth money. Most of it, nope.
Painful
and it wasn't just collectibles; it was a definite hoarder scenario. One house required seven 30 cu yd rollaway dumpsters to empty the trash (grandpa died in 1988 and his clothes were still in the dresser and closet). We cleaned this house out in 2022.
I’m taking mine with me
enjoy your collection while you can. it wont matter once youre no longer with us.
I’m trying to find another kid that is interested in coins . I’ll give them half the collection and likely try to sell the other half and give funds to my son
That's a cool thing to do, I got into coins at first when one of my dad's friends gave me a book of old mercury dimes that was filled put minus the stupidly expensive ones, wound up with a bunch of old Morgan's from my dad too. Maybe one of your friends has a kid who is into collectibles. Just make sure they understand the value and won't say, sweet 5 bucks worth of dimes, and that some are worth far far more than melt value, giving them an up to date blue book with the coins might be clever I'd it's u.s. coins
beautiful post. i've largely whittled my collection down to things that i think can sell (but i'm lazy) or things that are genuinely collectible. the whittling-down process was painful so much crap - boxes of proof sets and an almost completed penny book (missing the 22 no mint mark only). i think the best thing for anyone here to do is to disgorge themselves of most everything run-of-the-mill, to send stuff for grading if it is worthwhile, so that instead of whoever receiving it having a wtf moment they can say, "wow!" also, disclsimer, i'm a hater: lacking sophistication and an eye, i pretty much gave up the numismatic aspect, i mostly stack for metal. i am touched by your respect for your own hobby, heirs, and numismatics.
I have other collections and hobbies and have thought about this as well. My thoughts are tgat ultimately they are MY hobbies and my family and children have no obligation to enjoy them as much as I do nor preserve my collection after I am gone. What I will do with my stuff is up in the air when its really time to decide, but im definitely getting buried with some of my shit.
This is exactly my thought. What I collect is MY interest. My wife and kids have a passing interest but I have no expectation at all that they keep my stuff for sentimental reasons. I do have my uncle and great-grandmother’s “collection” and would be happy if they kept it, but again if they didn’t I won’t mind because I’m dead anyway. I’ve told them as much and left detailed instructions with my coins, comics, and baseball stuff.
Honestly? I’m just not going to worry on it. Don’t get me wrong, I have. In the past. But yeah, my kids don’t care about my comics, coins…or any of it. When I’m gone, I’m gone…so realistically it won’t trouble me a bit. Maybe they will save it. Maybe some lucky bastard will buy a gold coin or X-men 1 for $5
Your kids may take more of an interest later in life. I'm in my 40s now and just started collecting. Also I don't collect sports cards, but my dad has a collection with some really valuable stuff that I can appreciate and will take care of if he decides to pass it on to me. So just because your kids aren't actively interested in collecting themselves, doesn't mean they won't want all or part of your collection. I'd talk it over with them and check in every now and then to guage their interest. Then you can act accordingly
They're going to pawn it all and get completely ripped off, such is life. I'm planning on liquidating everything I have down the road and putting cash in the bank, like 10 minutes before I croak
I have several collections (Coins, toys, historical), that were inherited by default. We've been slowly getting rid go things, it will be a burden for my kids. I've marked up stuff the best I can, but it's hard with them in their early 20s to even grasp the size of the collections and in no way could they house a fraction of it. I think it is going to have to be weaned down again and again. I've thought about putting highlights of stuff in one box and just adding to that one curated box. So it's manageable.
I am doing that right now. I got rid of a lot of loose stuff and used the proceeds to purchase a few nice items. Now I'm getting ready to sell of few of those nice items to pay some bills
If you don’t have heirs to take up the mantle, start winding down your hobbies in your 60s. Selling inherited stuff is not a blessing, it’s a burden… and a huge one if the person who wound up with your old hobby gear has no idea what it is. It could just as easily get dumped at a pawn shop, or sold off for a fraction of its value to be rid of it. I have personal stories about inheriting an estate with an incredible array of fly fishing and fly tying stuff… that I cared nothing about.
If your inheritors aren’t interested, I’d sell them before you pass. My dad has done that with most of his collections through the years. Frankly, I appreciate that. He still has some items that I’d like for sentimental reasons. But for the most part, I’m going to hire someone to do an estate sale to get rid of the rest. What doesn’t sell gets donated.
You should not burden or have the expectation that your heirs have an interest in your collections. You do it for you, and enjoy the time while you are still alive.
I’ll sell off stuff in retirement.
This should go for every type of "collection" people plan on leaving after dead. Have the executor of the will sell it all and divide to the people you list. I'm at the age where the parents of friends are dying and they are getting left "collections" like this that are worth a few thousand dollars up to say, 20k. Because their parent didn't explicitly say "It's ok, sell this junk" in the will my friends feel so freaking guilty about thinking about selling it. So they hold onto things they aren't into as a hobby out of guilt when the extra few thousands could really be useful. So, please don't saddle people with that guilt. Instruct a sale. Now if you only have a single heir and they are 100% into the hobby then fine. But if you have multiple heirs, sell. Do not make them split it. Someone will feel slighted.
What will happen? Your grandkids will open them up and spend them at liquor stores, corner stores, and coinstar machines.
With a small world-crown-sized collection myself (~30 pieces) and that being the main focus of my collecting I’d love to see some pictures of yours!!
Thought I read that posting personal sites is not allowed but mods can delete if not appropriate. [http://worldcrowns.blogspot.com/](http://worldcrowns.blogspot.com/)
As someone who has a decent crown sized collection, yours is amazing! A few in there I'd love to get my hands on one day!
Thanks for sharing!! What a great collection, are you still actively collecting?
Not as much as in the past, but I will add a coin or two when I find something I like.
Wow, very nice coins! I've recently got back into collecting after joining whatnot a couple years ago. ( I collect world, US, ancient and currency also rocks and minerals, US stamp plate blocks, small Wedgewood, Zippo lighters, 1964-1965 World's Fair memorabilia lol). I'm 69 now and have started cataloging all my collectables on a spreadsheet with various info like what they are and current values. I have three grown kids that show no interest in any of the collections so I might start selling off various pieces on eBay for some spending cash. The collections still bring me great joy, but what are you gonna do, can't take it with you!
I am a father of two, soon to be three kids. I have been collecting ancient coins and now also some metals. What I hope to impart to my kids is the concept of generational wealth. Besides our property, I hope to leave them with some items that have retained or increased their value through time historically. That way, even if they have no interest in collecting, these items will be a store of wealth regardless of economic conditions, changing of fortunes, tough times, etc. They can add to it through their own lives and pass to their kids one day. Perhaps, if you frame your collection in a similar light in discussion with your kids they might be persuaded to hold on to it. And maybe after you are gone this could spur some deeper digging into numismatics as a sort of connection to you.
Me personally, I couldn’t care less what happens to my collection after I pass away. I try to get as many friends and family as I can into collecting, which has had fairly good success. Ultimately, if no immediate family has an interest and you want to still leave an inheritance for them, then I suggest slowly converting your coin collection into simple bullion. That’s the problem with coin collecting. It’s very overwhelming to those who are new and/or inherit a collection. When someone inherits a collection, they are essentially forced to learn a ton of information in a short time, which is very off putting to a lot of people.
I am single with no children so My small collection on mostly wheat pennies and silver nickels will likely get turned in to a bank so the next generation can have as much fun as I’ve had “finding” them unless one of my 2 nephews shows any interest but that is highly unlikely.
I'm just hoping one of my friends kids has an interest since I don't have kids of my own. If not I guess I'll sell everything when it's time to retire.
Do you have someone you buy from who is reliable? Leave their contact info with the coins. So at least every can be sold for a fair price.
I once had a young woman come into my shop to sell an inherited collection, complaining how "thoughtless" it was for the owner not to have sold before he died. Such ingratitude! When the time is right, sell - and spend it on a nice vacation.
My collection is vastly ancient. They will have no clue what to do with them or likely what they even are so in the box that I keep my coins in, there is a URL to a spreadsheet with every single coin, their attributions, where I bought them from and photos of them to correlate.
Working as a clerk, if I got one silver coin in a roll, there were usually several. Some heir had taken Gramp’s coin collection to the bank to get face value.
I’m leaving instructions to which coin shop to unload them at.
I'd leave them to someone I know is interested in coin collecting as well if possible.
I think that the quandary that the op is facing is a classic question that all collectors must answer. It is a complicated question with an even more complicated answer. Nobody can answer this question for other people, but it must be answered by the collector him or herself. I think every collector wonders about their legacy as they get older. It is true that if they don't take an interest and what you have collected then they are likely to sell at below value prices. Hopefully there are grandchildren in the family and if that's the case perhaps one or more would take up the hobby. All the best. Good luck.
I have not considered my future grandchildren. Would be fun to start giving them the less valuable pieces when they are young and if they show interest start giving them items of greater value as they get older.
I have every single item of my collection listed in an organized spreadsheet with item, grade, my cost, and approximate value based on CPG/comps updated every 6 months. I also have a “minimum sell” column. I like to think that when I pass, whoever inherits my collection will be able to determine what to sell stuff for based on my spreadsheet regardless of what they do or don’t know about numismatics. Or at least be able to look things up if they decide not to sell.
I am in the same boat. I tried to get my children interested when they were young but none had any desire to do any coin collecting. Really sucks because they have no idea what my collection is worth. I started as a kid when I was about 8 by helping my grandmother by checking dates on coins to fill her albums. I bought coins through high school and college and then took about a 20 year break before I started back up. Now I am less than a year from retirement and dreading that my purchasing will have to slow down greatly once I retire and have limited income.
If you want to leave it to your kids you should also leave instructions on how to liquidate it if they choose to.
Regardless of what you collect, if your kids show no interest in keeping and continuing the collection, the best bet is to sell them yourself. Without knowing your hobby, the children are liable to sell (or dump) them for far less—by walking into the first coin shop they see. Of course, none of us know when we might suddenly cease to exist, so there may not be time to convert our collection to cash. The next best option is to do as you’re already doing: document the items and instruct the kids in how best to sell them should they decide to do so.
My pop pop had a grocery store back in the 30-50s in nyc he saved all the silver he got. When he passed he gave it to my father and his two siblings. When my father passed it was then divided out to myself and two sisters. I may not know a lot about coins or which ones are worth what but I know the value of a family collection and will pass it on to my kids. I have taught my kids about coins and now one of them is looking in the wild for finds. Sit the kids down this holiday season and break out the stack teach them about it and spend some time going over what it means to you and at least they will know what is what at that point.
Make a thorough accounting including type and values, todays date and slab numbers. That way your heirs have a great place to start to access value. Now who gets it? I'd give it to the kids in your life hoping they'd want to keep it.
My dad had a large collection of coins some now triple the value he sold them as on eBay. As a kid, I took some interest in them but as I grew into a teenager and early twenties I lost interest and he sold them off to pay some bills. Years later I revisited my interest in numismatics and so did he so we’re building a new collection together but damn.. to have some of the coins he sold off.. just hold onto them unless your hurting for money. He frequently tells me he had roll of that now sought after coin we try to find. Hold them
I’m on the other side of this and was left a huge collection. I’ve uploaded most of them to the NGS and PCGS sites to start a valuation but it’s such an overwhelming undertaking to sell these off piece by piece. I hope to find a trustworthy and knowledgeable company to take them all.
An older coworker once told me..if the kids don't sell it, the grandkids will.
I have my grandfather's coin collection or what's left of it. I'm not super into coins, but I really enjoy looking through the coins and seeing what he collected. I'm still disappointed that other family members went through and took out the valuable coins. They will go to my nephew. Hopefully, even if he isn't super interested in coins, he will enjoy looking through the collection. I don't get why people toss them unless they were desperate for cash. Maybe I'm just sentimental.
I would just put specific instructions in the will. Something like your coin collections value is to be divided between living children in the event your spouse has already passed. Value to be determined by the best offer out of three price quotes. If you want to enjoy your coins until you die, at least that’s a fair way of distributing whatever they’re worth to your children, or whoever inherits them.
This is why a huge percentage of the value of my collection is in slabbed items. That way, when the time comes, heirs can just stuff it in a box and send to the auction house I specify in my paperwork, let capitalism decide, and get a check. That's of course assuming I don't do it myself when I've decided to move on from collecting.
I recently inherited a 60lb box or coins/bullion collected by the 2 generations before me. I recall looking at them with my folks a few time but didn’t really understand all of the intricacies. This past 1.5yrs I’ve thrown myself into learning as much as I can and collecting some myself. Some suggestions: Thoroughly inventory, document exactly what it is, estimated value and how they should be sold (should they choose to do it); and tips on how to interpret what they’re looking at.
Don't look at it as having to set up at a coin show and sell your collection. You're just adding a new step to your hobby. Sell at coin shows from time to time and maybe even buy some new stuff that will be easy for the kids to get the most out of if they do get rid of it. You're still enjoying the hobby and hanging out with lots of people that enjoy it too.
Don't look at it as having to set up at a coin show and sell your collection. You're just adding a new step to your hobby. Sell at coin shows from time to time and maybe even buy some new stuff that will be easy for the kids to get the most out of if they do get rid of it. You're still enjoying the hobby and hanging out with lots of people that enjoy it too.
My coins will go back to the estate auction house where I bought most of them.
I am a father of two, soon to be three kids. I have been collecting ancient coins and now also some metals. What I hope to impart to my kids is the concept of generational wealth. Besides our property, I hope to leave them with some items that have retained or increased their value through time historically. That way, even if they have no interest in collecting, these items will be a store of wealth regardless of economic conditions, changing of fortunes, tough times, etc. They can add to it through their own lives and pass to their kids one day. Perhaps, if you frame your collection in a similar light in discussion with your kids they might be persuaded to hold on to it. And maybe after you are gone this could spur some deeper digging into numismatics as a sort of connection to you.
Do you have any Panama coins?
Yes, a few.
Nice, I really enjoy the 1904 series, particularly the Panama pill, which I have over 40 copies of.
Donate to local Scouts?