What Will Happen To Your Collection When You Are Gone?

Hey everyone, during a long night of no sleep, this question occupied my brain for a while last night. I am wondering what others have done in terms of any legacy instructions for your collection if something were to happen to you. I have been collecting for 50 years and have an extensive WW collection of just over 100 albums/stockbooks/binders of Vario pages, along with FDC albums, annual collections and lots of catalogs. I'm not deluding myself that the value of the collection is anything major, in fact the value of the books, pages and albums is likely going to rival the value of the stamps. I don't have anyone in my family that would take this on and especially due to the space required. I hate to think of it being a burden to my family to try to figure out what or how to divest themselves of all of this and I hate even more the thought of it being given away. This has been a labour of love for almost all of my life and I feel like a mom, I need to take care that it goes somewhere where it will be loved. Anyone else have these thoughts or is it just my insomnia brain making me crazy(ier)?

Mine will just have to go up in flames along with all the rest of my worldly possessions loaded on a Viking ship sent off in sacrifice to Odin.

Odin had better be a stamp collector.

I made this album disposition form that can be used to provide instructions. You can downlaod the PDF, complete it, and slip it inside each album of stock book to assist others.
https://stampsmarter.org/learning/F...osition.html

I also have posted this Disposition Guide
https://stampsmarter.org/learning/F...osition.html
Don

Wow 51studebaker that is amazing. Thank you for sharing!

That is a easy question to answer ---- I have pleasant relationships with a few of the big buyers who attend the larger public auctions . Basicly know who is buying larger collections or lots and who have a large base of customers . These are people who can write a check the same day they pick up the stamps .

My children have the list who to call for bids , it is clear it is all or nothing for sale . Don't run a extended loan or financial business with my stamp collection . You get Check in hand when their truck pulls up to the front door .

There is a whole list of both things that need to be done to get it ready for sale and also you need a list of all the song and dance acts your family is going to hear from the people who are trying to buy your collection .

Floortrader you're one post away from 6666! What will it be what will you say?

Regarding the question at hand I'm still a youngun but I know nobody knows the value of my collection/accumulation. I've gotten my hands on some pretty interesting pieces that aren't worth nothing. I write little pieces of paper that say "do not sell this album for less than x number" in front of most albums as I go on. Better than nothing. I would just hate my treasures photos and stamps to be thrown away. Better they be sold for cheap than my inheritor not know they're worth anything

... or cherry pick it.

My executors have my instructions on what to do after I die.

If I get fair warning I'll take matters into my own hands.

My cat Georgia will have lot of stamps to play with.

The easy solution would be to leave the collection with a brick and mortar auction company on consignment. This can be done at any time, no need to wait for the final call. No need to miss out on sleep.

One auction company provides a "trustee" service - I presume that others do too

https://www.warwickandwarwick.com/s...e-department

My collection is of the BB category (Big Blue website owner focuses on the "less than 1US$ CV" stamps) so Sotheby won't hold their breath when I die, so no will or testament or sound mind.
Having several dozen stock-books it will stand out enough not to go to the trash. While each stamp by itself isn't worth much, an educated collector will be pleased to find different variations arranged together, like Hungary's Parliament building series with different currencies, country names, perf and WM, and river with several boats or one or none. If the buyer will be less knowledgeable, he will probably wonder why this idiot arranged so many duplicates in different rows. Other than that, my collection and I will compete on who gets forgotten first.

There are auction houses in all shapes and sizes out there, perhaps not in Israel, I don't know, but here it's quite normal for an established auction house to sell "accumulations" beginning at around $100.

If you had a number of "accumulations", a smaller GB stamp auction house would probably sell them for you, especially if you were an existing customer. Otherwise, you're probably looking at a local, general auction.

Recently updated our will & put a couple lines in there that the collection goes to my eldest son. He's fairly knowledgeable & interested (22 yrs old) so expect he'll keep the parts he likes and sell the rest. Well inventoried so shouldn't be much guess work as to what is where.

Most importantly, his sibling is relieved they won't have to deal with it!

Once I am gone I guess my family well sell it at auction and or on ebay.