I inherited a coin collection. Now what?
A calm order of work for coins you just inherited. Keep the box together, leave every surface alone, sort the obvious silver and gold, and get two or three offers.
A box of coins from a relative is an estate question before it is a price question. Keep the box together, leave every surface alone, write a short list, pull out the obvious silver and any gold, and then ask two or three local dealers what they will pay. The sale itself, including how to ask a shop to call you, is how to sell a coin collection.
Keep the box together
The first job is the container. Keep every coin in one place you can lock. Leave each envelope, flip, album, and cardboard holder with the coins that came in it. A label, even a doubtful one, is part of the record.
If more than one person inherited the coins, write the list before anyone divides the box. Work over a soft cloth, one handful at a time. Take a photo of the box before you move anything.
Do not clean anything
Water, polish, foil, and a jeweler's cloth used like sandpaper change the surface a dealer is pricing. Dirt can stay. Say so if someone already cleaned a piece. The longer note on that is how to sell a coin collection.
Make a simple inventory
You need a list, not a grade on every coin. Group the coins you can read, and leave the ones you cannot read in their holders.
For each group, write four things:
- The denomination
- The date, and the mint mark if you can see one
- How many
- Whether they are loose, in an album, or in a slab, plus any words already written on the holder
Photograph the list. That photo is the record you can show a sibling or a dealer without dumping the box again.
Pull out the obvious silver and any gold
Sort by the date on dimes, quarters, and half dollars. The year does more work than the portrait.
Dimes, quarters, and half dollars dated 1964 or earlier are the silver coins people usually mean. The pages for the ones that show up in a jar chart that metal as 90 percent silver:
- Pre-65 Roosevelt dimes, 1946 through 1964, and Mercury dimes, 1916 through 1945
- Pre-65 Washington quarters, 1932 through 1964
- Walking Liberty halves, Franklin halves, and the 1964 Kennedy half
Kennedy halves dated 1965 through 1970 are a different alloy, 40 percent silver, on the 40 percent Kennedy half page. A circulating Kennedy half from 1971 on is the clad coin on the Kennedy half page. That page keeps the 40 percent silver 1976-S off the clad rows, so a San Francisco Bicentennial half can stay with the silver until a dealer sees it.
War nickels are the silver Jeffersons. From 1942 through 1945, a large P, D, or S over Monticello marks the wartime alloy, 35 percent silver. The chart is the war nickel page. A 1942 nickel without that large mark is the earlier cupronickel coin.
Any gold coin goes with that silver pile. An older double eagle and a modern bullion coin are different coins. When you can read a date, the Saint-Gaudens double eagle page and the American Gold Eagle page are two of the gold series here.
Worn silver and gold are a metal conversation as well as a shop conversation. The melt calculator multiplies the fine metal by the spot it fetched. That figure is melt. The offer is the number a dealer writes down for the coins in hand.
Flag key dates and slabbed coins
A key date is a date the series page already names. The Morgan dollar page is the one people recognize first, and it names the dates this site prints. Flag those, and flag any coin you cannot place, with a question mark on the list. Leave the price blank until a dealer has seen the coin.
A coin in a PCGS or NGC holder already has a grade on the label. Leave the holder closed. A slab is one service's opinion in plastic. A common worn dime can go to the counter without a new one.
Get two or three offers
Open the coin dealer directory and choose your state. Ohio coin dealers is one of those state pages. Call before you drive. Ask whether they are buying the coins you have, and what time the counter is open.
Bring the list, the holders, and the coins. Ask what they want to buy and what they want you to keep. A local dealer will make you an offer. Write the shop's name, the date, and the number before you leave, then get a second look. Get a third when the box is large. You can take the box home.
A coin show is several tables in one afternoon. Bring the same list, and write each offer down before you move to the next table.
When an auction house fits
A local dealer is the first stop for a mixed album, a jar of silver, and a box you have sorted only as far as the obvious metal. You can watch someone look at the coins, and you can say no.
An auction house makes more sense when you already have certified rarities, or the collection is very large or high value, and you can wait for a sale. The steps for asking a shop to call you are in how to sell a coin collection.
Taxes on inherited coins
Publication 544 says the transfer of a decedent's property to an heir or beneficiary is not a sale or exchange, and that no taxable gain or deductible loss results from that transfer. The tax question starts if you later sell.
Topic no. 409, Capital gains and losses, says net capital gains from selling collectibles, such as coins or art, are taxed at a maximum 28 percent rate. The same topic sends inherited basis to Publication 551, Basis of Assets. The Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040) define a collectibles gain as long-term gain from a collectible that is a capital asset, and they include coins and metals such as gold, silver, and platinum bullion in collectibles.
Publication 551 says the basis of property inherited from a decedent is generally the fair market value of the property at the date of the individual's death. That is the stepped-up basis people mean when the value at death is higher than the basis the decedent had. The publication also lists the fair market value on the alternate valuation date if the personal representative for the estate chooses alternate valuation. In that publication, fair market value is the price at which the property would change hands between a buyer and a seller, neither having to buy or sell, and both having reasonable knowledge of the facts.
The melt calculator is the metal figure. A dealer's written offer is the number for the coins in hand. Publication 551 is the basis rule. A CPA or an estate attorney applies it to the estate you actually have.
This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Talk to a CPA or estate attorney about your situation.
People Also Ask
What should I do first with coins I inherited?
Keep the box in one place you can lock, with the holders and notes that came with it. Write a simple list before anyone divides the coins. The selling steps live in how to sell a coin collection.
Should I clean inherited coins before a dealer sees them?
No. Leave the dirt and the tone. Cleaning is the fastest way to make a decent coin look worse to a dealer. The longer note is how to sell a coin collection.
Which inherited coins are the obvious silver?
Dimes, quarters, and half dollars dated 1964 or earlier, Kennedy halves from 1965 through 1970, and wartime nickels from 1942 through 1945 with the large mint mark over Monticello. Start with the pre-65 Roosevelt dime, pre-65 Washington quarter, 40 percent Kennedy half, and war nickel pages. Set any gold coin aside with that silver.
Do I need every inherited coin graded?
No. A coin already in a PCGS or NGC holder can stay in that holder. A common worn coin can go to the counter without a new grade. The glossary calls a slab one service's opinion in plastic.
How many offers should I get on an inherited collection?
Get two or three. Write each number down before you leave. Open the coin dealer directory and your state page, such as Ohio coin dealers. A coin show puts several tables in one afternoon. A local dealer will make you an offer.
When should an inherited collection go to an auction house?
When you already have certified rarities, or the collection is very large or high value, and you can wait. A mixed album starts with a local dealer. The selling details are in how to sell a coin collection.
How does the IRS treat inherited coins?
Topic no. 409 says net capital gains from selling collectibles, such as coins, are taxed at a maximum 28 percent rate. The Instructions for Schedule D include coins and metals such as gold, silver, and platinum bullion in collectibles. Publication 551, Basis of Assets, generally sets the basis of inherited property at fair market value on the date of death. This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Talk to a CPA or estate attorney about your situation.