[kailes2872]

Count me among those in a big holding pattern. I tracked prices for so long that I have trouble pulling the trigger on anything now because it is so much more expensive than when it was when I started tracking it. In the past year, I have only bought a PSA 6 56 Minosa and a 55 PSA 6 Hodges to keep my HOF sets on the registry 100% complete. I kick myself on what I could have bought both of them for 4 years ago. I should have anticipated the hall and got them for a much less.

The prior year, I think that I only bought three or four cards. It is somewhat of a blessing that I got 90% through my collecting goals before the big spike. If I were a market timer, I would be giving myself a high five, but it makes it pretty crummy for a collector.

Somewhere along the way, a hobby became an asset class. I have thought about condensing my collection into a handful of true waterfront cards, but after sales tax and buyers premium, I would lose 30% of the value in the transaction. I would also have to make sure and keep those cards safe - so, at that point, I am just betting on those to appreciate faster than an investment and try to go visit them in a safe deposit box a few times a year.

At 50, with a junior in high school as my final one at home before the nest becomes empty, I am pretty sure that I am almost through with Pittsburgh winters. When that time comes, to Adam's point, I will have to decide if it is time to move on them or with them. We are still trying to figure out what that ultimate destination looks like. Is the house smaller than this one? Is it bigger? Do I want to deal with yard work and maintenance? If the place is smaller, do I have room for the collection? Yet, every time I get out a binder and look at a set, I remember why I love this hobby so much. I remember why I decided a decade or so ago to go get every set that I wanted so much as a kid but seemed so unaffordable at the time.

Also, (and maybe a Bob C. question), Do cards have a stepped up basis upon death? Said another way, if I keep them and then pass them on to the kids, is it like a house where their current market value is the stepped up value and they would not be subject to capital gains? Only subject to any federal inheritance tax above the maximum plus any state inheritance tax (PA is currently 4% but I don't plan on retiring here).

I get the occasional email from an auction house or two coming through the area and looking for consignments. I have thought about of it for some of the reasons above, but I can't yet part with them. It took a lot of work to build my collection. I am proud of it. I bought those cards, $10, $100, $1000 at a time. Some of them have increased exponentially. My only hope was to at least break even after fees but it will be some multiple of that when it is time to sell. But, until them, I'll make random trips to the basement and pull out a random binder and remember each card, where I bought it, how much I paid, and how much I enjoyed putting all of them together.