when is it too much?

[HexsHeroes]

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If/when decision comes to sell your collection, it will be both the most agonizing and liberating decision/action you undertake as a collector.

I made that decision twice. Once in 2017, but failed to follow through. But after losing a younger brother to pancreatic cancer in 2018, nearly losing my oldest brother to ulcerative colitis in 2020, and finally recognizing the hidden fear my wife kept from me about prospects of dealing with the volume of my vintage Detroit Tigers autograph collection should I die, I sold nearly the entire collection. I gave up substantial potential gain doing so but it liberated both my wife of her fear and allowed me to redirect attention usually devoted to collecting to other, more worthwhile endeavors. Do I miss it ? Sure, but I have had a great time doing other activities and placing people first since. And to be brutally honest, towards the end, the hunt was nowhere near as fun (or fruitful) as in my earlier years of collecting.

For what it is worth, I created a document for my wife to use to sell my collection had I died while still owning the collection. The document dealer names, addresses, phone numbers, list of items and descriptions, and several thumb drives of images and lists that could be sent to sent to prospective dealers. But in the end actually selling the collection myself while alive was priceless in my wife's eyes.