Agree with this
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I don't agree with the person who said "if I go another 20 years without coins I'd be OK with it." Maybe not coins; but, I've always enjoyed collecting something. At the worse I could start filling up a stamp album and stamp stock book with inexpensive cancelled stamps.
Disagree with this...........what if I'm 25 years old?
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I think listing all the above is information overload. If you are into bullion, it would be much easier on everyone if you sold them all now
All good stuff. I think it’s a good thing to leave for her. You aren’t leaving a bunch of hard work at an emotional time. It all sucks when you lose a loved one and this will be beneficial when she’s ready to tackle it.
Also, every time I see the thread title I read it like this - “Is this good advice: to leave a spouse who knows nothing about coins after I’m gone?” And I think, wow, that’s pretty drastic. Didn’t you know she didn’t know coins before you married her, and why does she forget when you leave?
This is a good and serious topic and we all are trying to figure out what part coins play in our legacy and what our heirs go through when we pass. It’s tough and exciting not knowing our expiration date.
If you are 25 you really should be worrying about other things than dying.
@1630Boston said:
Disagree with this...........what if I'm 25 years old?
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I think listing all the above is information overload. If you are into bullion, it would be much easier on everyone if you sold them all now
My adult kids know there's value in my coin collection (and the gun safe), but they likely don't know what is what. My ex-wife never cared about my coins, and my new GF is somewhat interested (she'd like to attend a show just to see what it's all about) but I doubt she's going to start collecting any time soon. We both make allowances for each others hobbies.... hers is Ballet, mine are coins and boom-sticks...
I'm half-way through a Box-of-20 with all certified coins so those should be easy enough to liquidate at a major auction house, but the rest of my collection could be problematic. I'm about 10 coins away from completing a 7070 album and my passion is Large Cents... mostly raw Middle Dates in VF-AU condition. I also have a dozen or so nicely toned AU Morgan Dollars left over from a Date Set run. So, I'll either have to liquidate beforehand, or leave some sort of instructions as to what to do... having a contact list is a great idea.
Collecting: Dansco 7070; Middle Date Large Cents (VF-AU); Box of 20;
If I was potentially inheriting a collection of ...whatever... that I had no real interest in pursuing, my preference would be that the person leaving it to me arranged for the sale himself and left me the proceeds instead of leaving the chore of disposing of the collection to me.
edited to add... I know people can be passionate about their collections and I think that makes it easy to convince yourself that others will be, too. In all my life, nobody I know who isn't a coin collector has ever expressed the slightest interest in the topic aside from a polite "Oh, that's nice" response to being shown something I thought was really special.
@3stars said:
If you are 25 you really should be worrying about other things than dying.
PS
If I was twenty-Five Years old, I'd still be rappelling and jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, AND not posting this thread here.
Just looking for other collectors' advice.
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All is Good Here
@MasonG said:
If I was potentially inheriting a collection of ...whatever... that I had no real interest in pursuing, my preference would be that the person leaving it to me arranged for the sale himself and left me the proceeds instead of leaving the chore of disposing of the collection to me.
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The idea here that people are missing is that WE do not know when that TIME IS.
@1630Boston said:
The idea here that people are missing is that WE do not know when that TIME IS.
Of course, just about nobody knows when that time is and I'm not talking about people who die unexpectedly. I'm talking about people who are getting older and understand that their time is becoming limited.
@BucketHead said:
Great thread. There are two things I do which I am hoping will make it easier for whomever winds up having to sweep up after me:
I keep receipts for every coin/token I purchase which I keep in a binder with the list above so that in the event I pass while I am married my wife will be able to demonstrate a cost basis for tax purposes. It's also helpful if I ever decide to sell.
If anyone has any more suggestions I would appreciate it.
Cheers.
When you die, the cost basis is really not terribly important. When you die, the heirs receive a "step-up cost basis." Which means the value on the date of death becomes THEIR cost for tax purposes, and any subsequent capital gains/losses. From IRS Publication 551:
Inherited Property
The basis of property inherited from a decedent
is generally one of the following.
1. The FMV of the property at the date of the
individual's death.
It would be best to consult a tax professional in your planning. At the least, consult Pub 551 and google "step up cost basis."
Autism Awareness: There is no limit to the good you can do, if you don't care who gets the credit.
@1630Boston said:
Disagree with this...........what if I'm 25 years old?
.
.
I think listing all the above is information overload. If you are into bullion, it would be much easier on everyone if you sold them all now
I thought you were the 392 year old Boston relative of the ghost that hung around with Mrs. Muir.
I realize ETFs are considered taboo here; but, they really do make sense for someone winding down their collection in terms of being easy to buy and sell. I own both and have been liquidating my bullion over time. Bullion takes up too much space and would be a pain for a spouse to sell.
Wow. This thread has legs. So, all of this is good to think about, but for most of us, what happens to the coins is only part of a much larger question.
Around 2/3 of Americans don't even have a will, let alone a comprehensive estate plan. If you have minor children, you ABSOLUTELY need a will. Safe deposit boxes have a mysterious way of going empty at some point after probate orders them to be sealed. Contested assets, tax implications, relatives showing up out of the woodwork..... Really, what most people need is just to cover the basics. The more the courts stay out your estate, the better. A will is the only way to do this.
If the family is going to be left destitute or permanently harmed if they can't get the value out a coin collection........ maybe a bit too much of your net worth is tied up there. Just my opinion, but hobby stuff should be a sideshow to the primary plan. People make the worst mistakes when they confuse collecting with investing, get in a bind, and get greedy or desperate. A need for quick liquidation + ignorance = bad outcome.
For me, teaching everyone that they have value, that there are a bunch of right ways to liquidate them (if desired), and providing a few contact persons is enough.
@ErrorsOnCoins said:
I show my wife every coin I buy and ask her if I should buy coins that I am borderline on, she says to buy the coin about 95% of the time.
She never had an interest in coins but I can tell when she really likes one of the coins I get in. She will be fine as she knows the value and what options she has upon my demise.
Tell her to lower the price on the San Diego brockage
My wife has instructions that our sons are to receive the coins. My sons have instructions that, should me wife remarry after I pass, they are to come get them before said marraige. They have the combos. All are aware of my intentions and I trust them all.
Comments
Agree with this
.
I don't agree with the person who said "if I go another 20 years without coins I'd be OK with it." Maybe not coins; but, I've always enjoyed collecting something. At the worse I could start filling up a stamp album and stamp stock book with inexpensive cancelled stamps.
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Disagree with this...........what if I'm 25 years old?
.
.
I think listing all the above is information overload. If you are into bullion, it would be much easier on everyone if you sold them all now
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
All good stuff. I think it’s a good thing to leave for her. You aren’t leaving a bunch of hard work at an emotional time. It all sucks when you lose a loved one and this will be beneficial when she’s ready to tackle it.
Also, every time I see the thread title I read it like this - “Is this good advice: to leave a spouse who knows nothing about coins after I’m gone?” And I think, wow, that’s pretty drastic. Didn’t you know she didn’t know coins before you married her, and why does she forget when you leave?
This is a good and serious topic and we all are trying to figure out what part coins play in our legacy and what our heirs go through when we pass. It’s tough and exciting not knowing our expiration date.
If you are 25 you really should be worrying about other things than dying.
My adult kids know there's value in my coin collection (and the gun safe), but they likely don't know what is what. My ex-wife never cared about my coins, and my new GF is somewhat interested (she'd like to attend a show just to see what it's all about) but I doubt she's going to start collecting any time soon. We both make allowances for each others hobbies.... hers is Ballet, mine are coins and boom-sticks...
I'm half-way through a Box-of-20 with all certified coins so those should be easy enough to liquidate at a major auction house, but the rest of my collection could be problematic. I'm about 10 coins away from completing a 7070 album and my passion is Large Cents... mostly raw Middle Dates in VF-AU condition. I also have a dozen or so nicely toned AU Morgan Dollars left over from a Date Set run. So, I'll either have to liquidate beforehand, or leave some sort of instructions as to what to do... having a contact list is a great idea.
Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
My father in law showed me his collection years ago, and where he keeps everything. They will be in good hands when he passes.
If I was potentially inheriting a collection of ...whatever... that I had no real interest in pursuing, my preference would be that the person leaving it to me arranged for the sale himself and left me the proceeds instead of leaving the chore of disposing of the collection to me.
edited to add... I know people can be passionate about their collections and I think that makes it easy to convince yourself that others will be, too. In all my life, nobody I know who isn't a coin collector has ever expressed the slightest interest in the topic aside from a polite "Oh, that's nice" response to being shown something I thought was really special.
PS
If I was twenty-Five Years old, I'd still be rappelling and jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, AND not posting this thread here.
Just looking for other collectors' advice.
.
All is Good Here
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
.
.
The idea here that people are missing is that WE do not know when that TIME IS.
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Of course, just about nobody knows when that time is and I'm not talking about people who die unexpectedly. I'm talking about people who are getting older and understand that their time is becoming limited.
When you die, the cost basis is really not terribly important. When you die, the heirs receive a "step-up cost basis." Which means the value on the date of death becomes THEIR cost for tax purposes, and any subsequent capital gains/losses. From IRS Publication 551:
Inherited Property
The basis of property inherited from a decedent
is generally one of the following.
1. The FMV of the property at the date of the
individual's death.
It would be best to consult a tax professional in your planning. At the least, consult Pub 551 and google "step up cost basis."
I believe you are correct
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
I thought you were the 392 year old Boston relative of the ghost that hung around with Mrs. Muir.
I realize ETFs are considered taboo here; but, they really do make sense for someone winding down their collection in terms of being easy to buy and sell. I own both and have been liquidating my bullion over time. Bullion takes up too much space and would be a pain for a spouse to sell.
Wow. This thread has legs. So, all of this is good to think about, but for most of us, what happens to the coins is only part of a much larger question.
Around 2/3 of Americans don't even have a will, let alone a comprehensive estate plan. If you have minor children, you ABSOLUTELY need a will. Safe deposit boxes have a mysterious way of going empty at some point after probate orders them to be sealed. Contested assets, tax implications, relatives showing up out of the woodwork..... Really, what most people need is just to cover the basics. The more the courts stay out your estate, the better. A will is the only way to do this.
If the family is going to be left destitute or permanently harmed if they can't get the value out a coin collection........ maybe a bit too much of your net worth is tied up there. Just my opinion, but hobby stuff should be a sideshow to the primary plan. People make the worst mistakes when they confuse collecting with investing, get in a bind, and get greedy or desperate. A need for quick liquidation + ignorance = bad outcome.
For me, teaching everyone that they have value, that there are a bunch of right ways to liquidate them (if desired), and providing a few contact persons is enough.
Tell her to lower the price on the San Diego brockage
Unless half dollars are going to get much bigger by the time you go, I’d update your description of the size of a silver eagle.
Yes, that was a quick draft, thanks.
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
I'm planning to get dementia and give away my coins while walking around the neighborhood naked
"Plant this in your back yard and one day a giant beanstalk will grow"
My wife has instructions that our sons are to receive the coins. My sons have instructions that, should me wife remarry after I pass, they are to come get them before said marraige. They have the combos. All are aware of my intentions and I trust them all.
USAF veteran 1984-2005