Inheritance as usual

Jzyskowski1

My son and his wife are attending her grandmas funeral and here was her collection. I’m posting this because we talk around here about these type of inheritance collection. Thinking she was doing a good thing. There’s the obligatory 5 gold Buffalo copies. And well it’s an example of the typical stuff that is good for handing out to relatives but if the intent was to leave value perhaps a few hundred dollar bills would have been better. I’m aware in this situation it was a little bit of everything. Remembrance and value.
There’s a 71 Ike proof and that’s about it.

vplite99

I see "Littleton" - that is sad.

BStrauss3

I'm sorry for your double loss - both Grandma and her "valuable collection for the heirs".

Jzyskowski1

I’m really wasn’t expecting anything. The kids weren’t either. Grandma was into costume jewelry, so……
I was just sharing but thank you so was a keeper. Lived a long life and she blessed the family by providing tickets to the Indy 500 several years ago. There must have been 12-14 of us. What a party. Had access to the infield and sat inside turn 1. Good times.

Glen2022

so many people get hooked by the various ads on TV, magazines, etc. for coins or other so-called collectibles that are not worth the money or other real coins that are extremely overpriced.. So sad.

Jzyskowski1

These were the tell.

ShaunBC5

Sorry for the loss.
There’s some pretty valuable costume jewelry out there. Don’t know if she had any, but it could be worth a lot more than the coin collection.

Onastone

@Jzyskowski1 said:
These were the tell.

And those were the "4 gold coins" from the little paper envelope?

logger7

Probably had a bumper sticker, "We're spending our kid's inheritance". Unfortunately with less and less collections from the middle classes as the trend has been to a big shift to the top, we'll probably see less quality mid-range collections.

Jzyskowski1

@Onastone said:

@Jzyskowski1 said:
These were the tell.

And those were the "4 gold coins" from the little paper envelope?

YUPPERS 🤠

Steven59

Sorry for you loss of your Grandmother. My Dad ,before he died at age 95, was always getting Littleton Coin "Deals" in the mail because he had no idea how to use a computer. I had to stop him many times from dealing with them.

Namvet69

She thought she was doing something nice cause she loved you. Subscription collections can be depressing. Peace Roy

Tramp

Sorry for your loss. Invaluable are memories!

mr1931S

Not everyone gives a carp about having an expensive coin collection to hand down to the heirs. Good for grandma. If she enjoyed her acquisitions no matter how meager they might now be considered by family members now that she's gone, more power to her.

mark_dak

@Jzyskowski1 said:

@Onastone said:

@Jzyskowski1 said:
These were the tell.

And those were the "4 gold coins" from the little paper envelope?

YUPPERS 🤠

Sorry for your loss. At least you know her intentions were good. Maybe there's a piece for each relative worth hanging onto as a remembrance, even if the value is minimal.

Mark

Jzyskowski1

Thanks guys
This wasn’t my mother it was my daughter in laws grammy. She was part of the distant relatives. See em every couple years. Still we managed to keep intouch and get to know each other.
I’m certain she thought about the coins but she did mark certain events so we will look into that and hopefully place the coins in appropriate hands. Thanks 🙏

gumby1234

Sorry for the loss. The Indy 500 tix must have cost her a small fortune.

hfjacinto

Sorry for your loss.

My local dealer gets on average 2-3 great collections a year. He considers a great collection one that the majority doesn’t have to be wholesaled. For example the last great collection he got included a few pre 1933 gold coins, a set of ASE in a Dansco, a US note type set including a full fractional set and and a top 50 slabbed set (7070 coins), that was probably his show piece in 2022, the average collection is common US Mint stuff, Littleton or constitutional silver coins.

I was told the story of a set in the early 2000’s that he paid over $200k, that included a set of large us notes and 4 state quarter that were on Sacajawea planchets. Majority of the items are in the dealers personal collection. That one actually he lost money on as he kept all the unique items (he believes today it’s worth around $1.5 million).

Jzyskowski1

Thanks grammy.  Rest peacefully 🙏

ricko

Sorry for the family's loss.... The important thing is her 'intent'... She believed she was acquiring value to be passed on.... Cherish the intent, and save something to commemorate the lady. Cheers, RickO

Jzyskowski1

Spot on @ricko
Thanks. I suggested to the powers that be, that giving family members something tangible to keep and hold would be a good choice for her collection. 🙏

GaCoinGuy

Condolences for the loss.

My wife's grandmother knows I collect coins, so she makes a point of going to the bank every month and asking for Ike's and half dollars and gives them to me along with any wheaties and other oddities. While they are not anything of high value, I managed to find a Dansco 7080 here on the BST to keep them in.

NeophyteNumismatist

I am very sorry for the loss of your Grandma. It's never easy, but may your fond memories last a lifetime.

My great grandmother collected cat figurines - wood, metal, ceramic, ect. She had over 100 of them. When she died, I was 12 years old. The adults all got a cat, but the kids didn't get one. When I got older, my mother gifted me the wooden cat figurine she received from her grandmothers funeral. Today it proudly sits in my home. Monetarily it is nearly worthless, but I would not trade it for a Disme.

Collecting coins is interesting in that it is challenging to remove the "business" aspect from coins. Coins are literally money which likely drives that aforementioned mentality forward. But, I would look at this collection for what it really is - fond memories. This is something that she obviously loved, and a pastime you both enjoy. She felt treasure in her hands holding those gold plated buffalo coins, and I think it's great. Did she get the best deal on those coins, no. But, I also don't think she was taken for thousands of dollars. She loved holding these old items in her hands and letting her mind wonder - Thinking about who held it when reading the write-ups that come with those items, speculating a little on what they might be worth for future generations, and picking items that she thought were beautiful.

Are those not feelings that every coin collector shares regardless of the level at which they collect?

edit note: $40 ticket to the Indy 500 probably makes-up for a few of the Littleton purchases

BryceM

My grandmother left a similar pile of stuff. It bothered me for a while, but a coworker told me that perhaps collecting it brought her joy. That's the same thing the rest of us are trying to get out of the hobby, so maybe for her it was mission accomplished. Maybe it isn't worth as much as she thought it might be, but It doesn't look like it was a big enough "collection" to negatively change the course of anyone's life.

Onastone

Sorry for the loss, keep her in your heart with happy Indy 500 memories!!!!

logger7

A collection I bought earlier in the week included a lot of 90% silver coins, including some dimes in Greenwich Trust bank money tree holders with slots for every dime. Just Roosevelts and a couple Mercury dimes. Some Whitman folders of Lincoln cents pulled from circulation many decades ago of low grade. An IHC in a commemorative ring for the Buffalo world convention; some Whitman folders of Jefferson nickels a pre-1960 proof set. Four silver dollars of marginal grade, including the counterfeit I posted on earlier. Also some foreign coins from the man's foreign travels but nothing of much value. I gave the guy top dollar and told him I would follow up if there was anything substantial additionally.

rsei0120

Sorry for your loss,
however take a look at the costume jewelry collection, get a couple of books on it, you would be surprised at the value

Jzyskowski1

Thanks. I’ll pass the information on to the family back in Wisconsin. We’re back home in Colorado again.
This thread was interesting and I appreciate those who responded. Looks like the collection has gone back to the Tupperware in the old garage and there it shall remain.
Thanks 🙏

BillJones

@logger7 said:
Probably had a bumper sticker, "We're spending our kid's inheritance". Unfortunately with less and less collections from the middle classes as the trend has been to a big shift to the top, we'll probably see less quality mid-range collections.

I am “spending the heirs’ inheritance.” The stuff I am buying is good, but I am not buying it at dealer’s wholesale prices either.

Many of the young people don’t want “stuff.” One of my nieces wanted her grandmother’s sterling silver tea service to keep, not sell, but she is the exception.