Today I changed my trust regarding the sale of my collection - anyone have ideas?

seateddime · January 13, 2009 7:18AM

The day will come when I will sell my dime collection if neither of my sons show an interest, while it may be far off every collector has to deal with the sale of their collection at some point in time. You need to be very careful regarding this.

I had a plan in place for the sale should something happen to me unexpectedly. My coin collection has grown over the years and has become an asset that requires attention in the event I am not here to deal with it.

While I had a detailed plan in place I have since revised it but now I do not have any specific plan in place, just a general one. I need to revise it. Any ideas?

IrishMike · January 13, 2009 7:22AM

I told my wife to get one of them big water bottles and put the coins in them after she cracks out whats in plastic and set in on the shelf next to my ashes. I disgorge any expensive coins I owned just for that reason as I had some serious surgery 13 years ago. The next couple of years everything was consigned. Damn doctors made the wrong call I am still here

Edited to add: consigned through a dealer friend not auction.

CarlWohlforth · January 13, 2009 7:34AM

The big question is who is the executor of your estate. If you do have someone you trust then you are set. It would be very helpful to them if you had instructions on how to sell the collection. This goes for everything, not just coins.

When it became clear our only child had no interest in coins my wife sold off everything she was saving for her. I will have some items with family history and sentimental value. I will write up the reason why these were saved out.

RYK · January 13, 2009 7:37AM

I think that your collection should be sold in a no reserve auction at Heritage (preferably on the eve of an economic collapse).

PerryHall · January 13, 2009 7:53AM

I suggest the mother of all forum give aways. You would become a legend and your name would be honored for many years to come.

pennyannie · January 13, 2009 8:02AM

I have a short letter in my safety deposit box with a list of my coins. I have the curret values listed. I have left reference to price guides and instructions to NOT take to any coin shop and sell in bulk. Knowing that my heirs are most likely not interested in coins i have marked a few that i wish would be passed down thru the family. I have enought life insurance and assets that the wife and adult son should fair rather well and NOT have to sell the coins to make ends meet. They are free to do what they feel needs to be done with my stuff. I marked the ones that mean something to me and if they feel the urge to keep them fine.

I have a ton of other collectibles that my family would probably show no intrest in. I believe that i have drilled it into them that even a small political badge could be worth 100's of dollars and to NOT TOTALLY trust anyone. Research is the key.

Most of my collectibles could be contained in a few boxes.

I started looking at my collection 18 months ago and realised that i have WAY TO MUCH and a lot of money involved. I sold off the bulk and i am collecting with a different approach this time.

COALPORTER · January 13, 2009 8:02AM

You mean you're NOT EVER NO WAY going to consign with Heritage ? LOL

Southcounty · January 13, 2009 8:03AM

I preface this by saying that my collection is 95% bust and seated material, but I told my wife that if anything happened to me she should contact Dick Osburn and let him know what happened. I actually trust Dick enough to know that he would not attempt to take advantage of the situation and that he would have the best advice after previewing the collection as to the best method of liquidating the collection either through auction, consignment, or direct sale. Not really meant to be a plug for Dick but those are my actual instructions. I sure don't want her taking them to the local auction house or the brick and mortar coin dealer.

Russ · January 13, 2009 8:32AM

If I had anything worth a crap, I'd designate Mark Feld to handle the sale in the event of my croakage.

Russ, NCNE

Barry · January 13, 2009 8:46AM

Just send the dimes to me. A lot of them used to belong to me anyway

Seriously, you should find a trusted dealer (not an oxymoron, I hope) to handle the sale on commission. Personally, I'd go with a guy like HL or Julian.

notwilight · January 13, 2009 8:51AM

<< <i>If I had anything worth a crap, I'd designate Mark Feld to handle the sale in the event of my croakage. Russ, NCNE >>

Russ,
IIRC, my ebay feedback and yours were about the same last year. Now yours is double mine. I'd say you're about ready for a luxury vacation to Costa Rica.

Pennyannie,
If I were you I would sell some of the unappreciated stuff and live it up a little. You've made other provisions for your family. Costa Rica with Russ? Nah.

Seatedime,
Russ' advice sounds wise.

--Jerry

lathmach · January 13, 2009 10:22AM

If I check out and still have a collection, my daughter will consign the Seated coins with a dealer like Dick Osburn.

Ray

BBN · January 13, 2009 10:28AM

I'll let my wife ebay them. I'll write up specifically how the auction should be written up and keep pics on a jumpdrive.

seateddime · January 13, 2009 10:58AM

I would say there are a different dealers for different coins. For the coins I bought from Legend I would say they are best to sell them. Keep the CAC coin on one place.

I would say the best guys to sell the rest are Dick Osburn, Brian Greer and Rich Uhrich. All guys I know and trust.

Because of the large amount of Seated Coins in my collection breaking up the collection would take time.

If I could have my cake and eat it too I would sell my registry dime set as a collection. I had planned to auction off the set, now I am wondering if there is better way.

The good news for my family is without ever touching my coins other assets will more than cover them.

I guess a give away of the dime set here would keep my name in coin circles for years to come.

tmcsr69 · January 13, 2009 11:08AM

I say take it with you.

JrGMan2004 · January 13, 2009 11:21AM

With your kind of collection, I would think that you should talk to a dealer (Dick Osburn?) about liquidating your collection in that event, and arrange that before hand. So that when the time comes, your heirs won't just walk into a local coin shop and sell them for scrap...

Bochiman · January 13, 2009 2:10PM

<< <i>If I had anything worth a crap, I'd designate Mark Feld to handle the sale in the event of my croakage.

Russ, NCNE >>

Since you don't, can I have your dot-heads?

RYK · January 13, 2009 2:18PM

One thing that has never been mentioned in one of these threads is the possibility (or probability, in many cases) that the dealer you might choose now may be inactive at the time of your untimely demise. Most dealers I work with now are older than me, and even those who are about my age could very well be retired before I kick the bucket.

If you put your collection on ice for several years, you might find that the instruction to have Abe Kosoff auction your collection or Jay Parrino buy it upon your death may not be meaningful to those who end up reading your letter of instruction. It is probably wise to include multiple names and options and continually update the document.

Ultimately, although I was being somewhat facetious in my initial reply, Heritage is probably a pretty good option for many sizes and shapes of collections. You can count on them to handle these collections in a professional and honest manner, and I expect that they will be around for quite a while.

Bayard1908 · January 13, 2009 2:27PM

What exactly do you mean by your "trust?"

Coinosaurus · January 13, 2009 2:53PM

Have your wife call a trusted numismatic bud who can counsel as to the best course of action. Sending it all to a bona fide dealer is fine, but you may leave a few points on the table that way.

PutTogether · January 13, 2009 6:59PM

<< <i>I'll let my wife ebay them. I'll write up specifically how the auction should be written up and keep pics on a jumpdrive. >>

If you had a even a moderately computer/tech savvy wife, that is actually not a bad idea. Sure there are the ebay hassles, but no need to rely on a third parties opinion of price. (other than the eventual winning bidder that is)

Today I changed my trust regarding the sale of my collection - anyone have ideas?

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