The Last Coin

DisneyFan

You are getting old and decide it's time to quit collecting coins. You have built up nice collections. You sell everything; but, would like to have one substantial coin for your and your heirs to remember from your Glory days. Not not a million dollar coin either. Possibly a $100,000 and no more than $200,000 coin. Maybe, even better, less than a $100,000 coin. What would you buy?

PeakRarities

I’d buy the nicest and highest grade $10 Draped eagle I could afford

coinbuf

Nothing, most heirs don't want to have to deal with the task of liquidating, cash is king.

JW77

well I guess you know my answer

DisneyFan

@coinbuf said:
Nothing, most heirs don't want to have to deal with the task of liquidating, cash is king.

Disagree.

A worse it's just one coin for big bucks (and course one needs to leave instructions as to how to best liquidate the coin).

BryceM

1 coin seems like a problem. They'll cherish it for as long as it takes to sell it and divvy up the value. If sentimentality is your thing, buy a nice Saint for each of them.

Sapyx

With multiple heirs, having just one valuable piece is just asking for trouble. They'd want to sell it for an even split.

And if they don't get anywhere near what you expect them to get for the coin, you'll be remembered as "the crazy guy who last-minute spent $100,000 of their inheritance on a worthless coin". Which is probably not the glittering legacy you'd be hoping for.

If you have an heir that has shown a non-financial interest in your collection, save "the best" of your actual collection, and will it specifically to them; they will cherish that remnant of your collection all the more and probably never sell it. Sell the rest of the collection and will to split it evenly, to avoid having the will contested.

Non-collector heirs literally won't care less about any coins you have in your estate. Non-cash assets simply cause delays and potential angst between the heirs, if there is disagreement about how best to dispose of it.

lkenefic

lol... I'll be knocking about two or three zeros off that Dollar value... but maybe my 1794 LC... PCGS VF20...

Spawnfreek

@coinbuf said:
Nothing, most heirs don't want to have to deal with the task of liquidating, cash is king.

Man, you are so right! I have a righteous comic collection, and my kids and grandkids couldn't give a sh7t! They will be sold 1 Hr. after I'm in the cold, cold ground. For pennies on the dollar, too!

Cladiator

Easy, 1792 Half Disme

JW77

My kids are in Dallas,: I told them to take the coin/coins over to heritage for auction if they don't want it . They will get a fair market price. I added "mention that M Feld is your dad's childhood best friend and negotiate those commisions down"

291fifth

Something the heirs could sell quickly for nearly as much as you paid for it. If they don't have a strong interest in coins such a purchase would be a big waste.

renomedphys

Easy. Chain Cent. A nice one at that.

DisneyFan

@Cladiator said:
Easy, 1792 Half Disme

In what condition? Really? That little itty bitty piece of silver?

DisneyFan

@Spawnfreek said:

@coinbuf said:
Nothing, most heirs don't want to have to deal with the task of liquidating, cash is king.

Man, you are so right! I have a righteous comic collection, and my kids and grandkids couldn't give a sh7t! They will be sold 1 Hr. after I'm in the cold, cold ground. For pennies on the dollar, too!

Heritage does do Comic Book auctions.

DisneyFan

@291fifth said:
Something the heirs could sell quickly for nearly as much as you paid for it. If they don't have a strong interest in coins such a purchase would be a big waste.

That's the whole idea.

Cladiator

@DisneyFan said:

@Cladiator said:
Easy, 1792 Half Disme

In what condition? Really? That little itty bitty piece of silver?

Absolutely. I've been a half dime guy for over two decades now. I'm fascinated by the little buggers and the '92 is the Queen of the bunch imo. The size is part of what makes them neat to me. In a perfect world it would be a nice wholesome VF coin. One day...maybe.

bigtime36

My grandpa was a big collector, he found out early 2014 he had stage 4 cancer so he went and bought a mid grade 1909 S VDB just because he always wanted that coin and his coin roll searches never came up with one. He was happy to make that last purchase as he passed that July. Jim

winesteven

As I interpret the question posed, when the time comes to sell my collection, if I were to keep one coin, which one would that be?

In my case, I have no $100,000 coins. I also have no $50,000 coins. Only about 8% of my coins are valued at $10,000 or higher, with a good part of that 8% not far from that $10,000 level. So for me, I’d probably pick one of those 8% with the nicest eye appeal, possibly with a “+” as part of the grade.

Steve

GoldFinger1969

Probably an MCMVII High Relief in MS-65 or MS-66 with a CAC designation possible, depending on how high the $$$ range.

jmlanzaf

@DisneyFan said:

@coinbuf said:
Nothing, most heirs don't want to have to deal with the task of liquidating, cash is king.

Disagree.

A worse it's just one coin for big bucks (and course one needs to leave instructions as to how to best liquidate the coin).

You can't disagree with what HE would choose to do.

I would never buy $100,000 coin. Period.

rec78

Stella.

ricko

I will try to avoid leaving any expensive coins for my heirs to deal with. Likely sell most significant coins in a few years. And the three or four series I assembled. If I precede my wife, she will know what to do with any gold coins, and believe me, though she is not a collector, she is tough, and will have all the necessary data prior to selling. Cheers, RickO

DisneyFan

@rec78 said:
Stella.

$4 Stella - at what grade and price?

coinbuf

@DisneyFan said:

@coinbuf said:
Nothing, most heirs don't want to have to deal with the task of liquidating, cash is king.

Disagree.

A worse it's just one coin for big bucks (and course one needs to leave instructions as to how to best liquidate the coin).

I don't mind if you disagree, as long as you don't mind that I disagree with your plan. And let's explore your scenario a bit further, this only works if you have a single heir, a wife only or a single child. How do you expect multiple heirs to split one coin? What if one heir wants to keep the coin but cannot afford to buy out the other heirs? What if the will gets contested or the heirs disagree with your instructions on how to liquidate because perhaps your liquidation plan will take too long and one of the heirs is in a hurry to buy their medicinal herbs.

I can foresee so many possible problems that could potentially create a ton of discord and hard feeling between your heirs with your plan. It's your choice but it would be far easier and avoid all the possible issues that come with this scenario to simply just leave one identical $1,000 coin to each heir. Someone already suggested a single gold saint to each heir, that is simple and allows each person the opportunity to keep or sell as they desire, not feel that they were forced to sell to meet the needs of all the heirs.

johnny010

@jmlanzaf said:

@DisneyFan said:

@coinbuf said:
Nothing, most heirs don't want to have to deal with the task of liquidating, cash is king.

Disagree.

A worse it's just one coin for big bucks (and course one needs to leave instructions as to how to best liquidate the coin).

You can't disagree with what HE would choose to do.

I would never buy $100,000 coin. Period.

Why not?

johnny010

I personally told the kids they have been reared in such a way I “expect” them to be able to take what they have been taught in life and not have issues when the time comes to deal with my assets. Personally if my dad was looking for “one last coin” I’d be helping him and not even considering what was happening with my inheritance. So, based on that, I’d buy what I want.

PeakRarities

@coinbuf said:

@DisneyFan said:

@coinbuf said:
Nothing, most heirs don't want to have to deal with the task of liquidating, cash is king.

Disagree.

A worse it's just one coin for big bucks (and course one needs to leave instructions as to how to best liquidate the coin).

I don't mind if you disagree, as long as you don't mind that I disagree with your plan. And let's explore your scenario a bit further, this only works if you have a single heir, a wife only or a single child. How do you expect multiple heirs to split one coin? What if one heir wants to keep the coin but cannot afford to buy out the other heirs? What if the will gets contested or the heirs disagree with your instructions on how to liquidate because perhaps your liquidation plan will take too long and one of the heirs is in a hurry to buy their medicinal herbs.

I can foresee so many possible problems that could potentially create a ton of discord and hard feeling between your heirs with your plan. It's your choice but it would be far easier and avoid all the possible issues that come with this scenario to simply just leave one identical $1,000 coin to each heir. Someone already suggested a single gold saint to each heir, that is simple and allows each person the opportunity to keep or sell as they desire, not feel that they were forced to sell to meet the needs of all the heirs.

I don't necessarily disagree that a single coin may not be the optimal scenario with multiple heirs, but wouldn't it be fairly easy to treat the coin as you would with any other type of asset (Real estate, stock portfolio, 401k)? Couldn't it just be specified in a will how the coin would be liquidated with a pre determined auction venue and the proceeds split evenly between the children? There could be a clause that if one heir wanted to keep the coin, they would have two buy out the other heirs based on a 3rd party professional appraisal of said coin?

Edit: I understand everyone is just trying to give OP sound advice, but the way I understand it, this 1 last coin is not just about an investment to leave to children. This is one last triumphant purchase that OP might have dreamed about his whole life, and its finally feasible to do so. Even if OP could invest the 100-200k many other ways, the coin would provide a substantial amount of enjoyment in his final years.

Indianlincoln

1955 DDO Lincoln 65+ RD

DisneyFan

@coinbuf said:

@DisneyFan said:

@coinbuf said:
Nothing, most heirs don't want to have to deal with the task of liquidating, cash is king.

Disagree.

A worse it's just one coin for big bucks (and course one needs to leave instructions as to how to best liquidate the coin).

I don't mind if you disagree, as long as you don't mind that I disagree with your plan. And let's explore your scenario a bit further, this only works if you have a single heir, a wife only or a single child. How do you expect multiple heirs to split one coin? What if one heir wants to keep the coin but cannot afford to buy out the other heirs? What if the will gets contested or the heirs disagree with your instructions on how to liquidate because perhaps your liquidation plan will take too long and one of the heirs is in a hurry to buy their medicinal herbs.

I can foresee so many possible problems that could potentially create a ton of discord and hard feeling between your heirs with your plan. It's your choice but it would be far easier and avoid all the possible issues that come with this scenario to simply just leave one identical $1,000 coin to each heir. Someone already suggested a single gold saint to each heir, that is simple and allows each person the opportunity to keep or sell as they desire, not feel that they were forced to sell to meet the needs of all the heirs.

As a retired bank trust officer dealing with estates, I understand the issues you mentioned and they are valid. In the case of a $100,000 coin, one would hope it's a minor portion of a person's estate.

Overdate

I'll leave my heirs a nice BU 1950-D nickel.

I paid $30 for it in 1964, so it must be worth a fortune by now, right?

rec78

@DisneyFan said:

@rec78 said:
Stella.

$4 Stella - at what grade and price - Basically any grade that is not a damaged coin. There was one at a local coin show in Dec. 2022 a dealer had marked $90,000. I did not ask him what he wanted for it. I do not have $90,000.

CoinHoarder

@coinbuf said:
Nothing, most heirs don't want to have to deal with the task of liquidating, cash is king.

I agree with @coinbuf. Along with plenty of cash, I would include easily liquidated gold and silver.

The most that I have ever spent on a coin was $1,750 for an 1874-S Double Eagle. I would also leave that to my heirs. So I guess that would be "The Last Coin" for me.

joeykoins

A Roll of BU Carson City Dollars.
Mixed dates!
Some PL's too, if possible.

dsessom

1839-D Dohlonega minted Half Eagle in MS61.

Project Numismatics

1922 Peace dollar passed down from my grandmother and 1972 Eisenhower dollar given to me by my mom. Worth about $30 and $1, respectively. If heirs aren’t collectors, leaving them expensive coins is a disservice.

NeophyteNumismatist

I would say to buy a coin that THEY remember you chasing. For my kids (at least today), that would be a half cent. My kids know how much I obsess over them and chase them. When they look at that coin, they would certainly think of me as a coin collector. If I bought a Brasher Doubloon, it would be a BIG "WOW" coin for collectors, but would not resonate with my kids as a representation of me as a collector.

Personally, I would buy each of my kids a nice (but not over the top) half cent. This would be something that they could appreciate and associate with me... but not something that they would be tempted to sell for a down payment on a car or a trip to Disney.

I would also give them the coin while I am alive (ideally). I would want to tell them about the coin and why I picked it, just for them to have a piece of my coin collecting history.

neildrobertson

For most heirs, a $100,000 coin is too expensive to be kept. Most people would feel uncomfortable owning a single item other than a house that's worth that much.

If they goal is for them to keep it, it needs to be sufficiently cheap that someone would keep it for sentimental reasons.