Posted By:
dstudebaI am assuming that Skydash inherited these cards from his Father in Law's estate. That being the case the only problem he has is that I think his Father in Law passed a while ago. He will owe takes on the increase in value since the death. His cost basis is the value at the date of death, since as Joann mentioned he will get the stepped up basis and it is more than likely that the whole Estate came under the exemption (currently 2MM). (even if the estate was larger, it would be the Estate's responsibility to pay the taxes, not skydash's) When/if he does sell the cards, he will be on the hook for collectibles tax which is a higher rate then normal capital gains.
Skydash - If I were you I would spend some time getting 2-3 appraisals of what the cards were at the time of your father in law's death. These should be from reputable people in the industry. You will take the highest valuation, and make sure that you are comfortable with that person in case the IRS comes knocking.
disclaimer : I am not an attorney and this should not be taken as professional legal advice, please check with your attorney before doing anything.