Numismatics, bullion, and estate planning
bru
Posts: 3 ✭
Hello,
My father and I have been coin collectors for many years. We've also acquired a large amount of bullion, as happens, during that time. Record-keeping on his side has been rather sparse and I have no real receipts for any of his coins or metals.
Unfortunately, he has a rapid and serious decline in health and will likely not be with us in the coming weeks.
In terms of estate planning, I will likely not to acknowledge the presence of the precious metals which will just pass to me as only remained relative but I wondered if it might be worthwhile to get an appraisal and cost-basis for the numismatic items.
Is this necessary or advised?
I would estimate the the numismatic portion to be just into the low six figures. Bullion, due to recent upticks, would be double that.
Comments
Your better place to ask this would be a financial professional.
There are too many intracacies to rely on an internet site for proper advice
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Sorry to hear of your situation.
If the total estate is valued at less than about $14 million, there is no tax due on it when you inherit it.
The only thing that matters is the value of it when inherited. You would be required to pay taxes on any increase in value between the time you inherited it and the time you sold it.
So, yes, it would probably be a good idea to determine the value of the inheritance for future tax purposes.
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There are still a few states that have inheritance taxes.
Our state has no inheritance tax.
I think it would be good to determine a value of the numismatics based on what I have read.
I will definitely talk to a tax professional but I wanted to see if ppl here had experience as this is a niche discussion.
The bullion MAY get a “stepped up basis” upon his passing. If so that would greatly reduce your tax owed. Check with an tax professional.
This forum is not the place to look for legal or tax advice. Find professionals in the field.
You’ll absolutely get a stepped up cost basis, so, as stated, if you’re talking about an estate of less than $14mil (potentially double that, or zero, depending on if your dad was married and what happened in the past) your tax burden will come when you sell and be based in the difference between the value on the date of death and what you sell it for.
I don’t know if it would be worth paying for an appraisal or not, but it would absolutely be worth it to have an inventory, and potentially get a gift of $19k this year, and maybe in Jan 1, too.
Got a CPA/CFP you can talk to about your exact situation?
Not for me to say, I'm not a pro no way no how
I have a CPA and will discuss this with him in the coming weeks but they won't available until the new year for advice. There is not immediate hurry but I wanted to hear people's experiences.
Thanks for everyone's advice.
The time to value the the collection is the date of death for the purpose of selling the collection.. Having the better coins graded helps simplify the effort. Gifts don't get the stepped up cost basis.
Terrible situation.
Having recently gone through the estate planning process, in general most people should probably have a trust (with a will included), but everyone should at least have a will. You might not have time to do a full trust, but a will, power of attorney, and healthcare proxy are highly recommended.
Just my two cents...
People's experiences...if you broadcast it to the masses someone will want to put a hand in your pocket.
I've worked on 2 recent estates in 2025 with coins, bullion and numismatics.
Find out if there's a Will involved and/or if probate will handle the coins. Whoever is the executor is very important.
Our country is chock full of accounting professionals who can give you good advice in confidentiality. You could also try HR Block where there are many competent professionals and some that are less so.