Estate Planning - Sell or Donate?

[drcy]

I did archive work for a museum and can advice two things about donating to a museum. One pick one where the material is relavant to to the museum. The one I worked for had a narrow historical focus and some of the stuff was not in alignment.

The other is see how the museum documents their stuff. While all stuff can't and won't be displayed, some museums these days record everything they receive in a library-like computer database, many that are accesable to the public online and picture the items. This means that anything that isn't displayed at the museum can be researched and viewed online, and used by students, historians etc in person-- and not just sitting in boxes in dusty back rooms. You want a museum that does this. The museum I worked for did this and part of my job description was assessing and documenting donations. Though all the non-displayed items were securely housed in a special room and a student or historian needed appointment/permission to access the material in person, the non-displayed items were documented and ordered in a library-like style with all the items searchable on the museum's computers. It was very much like a library-- which was a good thing for the donors.

I should add that that the historical museum I archived for was part of an educational center, and the financial value of the items donated was not important but the historical relevance. It was not like consigning to a big auction house where the donor had to wonder "Is it worth enough for them to want it?"

[Econteachert205]

I will sell at some point everything except what my kid directly wants if and when I have a kid.

[hawaiian bam bam]

Lately I've been thinking whats the point of collecting since we can't take it with us! As I get older, I prefer to have the cash than cards. Great topic!

[murphusa]

I sold it all and purchased a beach house

[clydepepper]

I recently sold (almost all of ) my Topps sets in order to finance a new body part. (hip)

But I'm still too addicted to 'the chase' to consider the final deposition / destination of the rest of my collection.
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[hawaiian bam bam]

The dilemma i face is this. after selling some of my collection, i was finally able to get my debt under control! not that. that is settled, i often think, should i sell EVERYTHING in my collection after over 40 years in the hobby and buy my dream car (a 1960's muscle car)/ part of me says sell everything, walk away from the hobby and purchase my dream car and enjoy it and enjoy life! another part of me says, i have put 40+ years into my collection and too just sell everything..i have attachment issues! another side of the coin is, i think i would get more enjoyment in a classic sports muscle car than cards/autographs sitting in a box collecting dust! but then baseball cards/autographs have been my passion for 40+ years, but then thoughts of driving that car are awesome..i would enjoy both equally but can only do one....see my dilemma! what to do? what to do?

[toyman55]

At one time I had over 150 baseball board and bagatelle games in addition to all my autographed balls. As I reached my 60's I didn't want to leave my wife or kids to have to get rid of them so I started selling them on eBay about 6 years ago. Letting things go was tough but I am now down to only about 40 games plus my autographs and I only but old Dodger memorabilia now.

Here is what I had before I started to sell;
http://keymancollectibles.com/showcase/showcase13.htm

[Leon]

I just sold off most all of my collection because I needed to fund college for my daughter AND it was time to take the proverbial chips off of the table. I had the piles of chips too high for my tastes.
I had only collected for around 20 yrs though. I am still collecting but in a different manner. And now, I will have college paid for, the house paid for and a lot more savings......and I am still doing the same thing I was. Every time I miss a card I scroll over to my bank account.

Originally Posted by hawaiian bam bam

The dilemma i face is this. after selling some of my collection, i was finally able to get my debt under control! not that. that is settled, i often think, should i sell EVERYTHING in my collection after over 40 years in the hobby and buy my dream car (a 1960's muscle car)/ part of me says sell everything, walk away from the hobby and purchase my dream car and enjoy it and enjoy life! another part of me says, i have put 40+ years into my collection and too just sell everything..i have attachment issues! another side of the coin is, i think i would get more enjoyment in a classic sports muscle car than cards/autographs sitting in a box collecting dust! but then baseball cards/autographs have been my passion for 40+ years, but then thoughts of driving that car are awesome..i would enjoy both equally but can only do one....see my dilemma! what to do? what to do?

[hawaiian bam bam]

ive also thought alot lately, that what if i could have back every single penny i spent on my hobby the past 40+ years! its mind blowing if you think about how much we spend on this hobby over the years.