I was appointed executor of an estate that includes a set of the following coins...

https://www.apmex.com/product/...-eagle-set-w-box-coa

https://www.apmex.com/product/...-proof-set-w-box-coa

The decedent passed in August of 2021. I'm now working on the estate's inventory and the Commissioner of Accounts wants the value of the coin sets on his date of death...not their current value. How do I go about doing that?

A review on the site for the first set , said they were purchased for just over spot.

So perhaps use the gold price on the date in question which ignores how rare or collectible they are , but is a verifiable minimum price on the date

Those links show the weight and purity of each.
I suspect they don't have much, if any, collector value but that should also be available online.

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I'm now working on the estate's inventory and the Commissioner of Accounts wants the value of the coin sets on his date of death...not their current value

Which value? What a dealer would pay? What a dealer would sell for? Value based on metal alone (and same previous questions would apply here)?


Either which way will be based off of the bullion price. So once you determine which one of those values you need, you can compare today's price as it relates to the spot metal price and adjust it to what the metal price was on your target date. Should get you close enough.

Those are proof sets, and sold as collectibles, but not always worth a huge premium over spot.

As a quick example, a regular 1 oz gold eagle would be valued at $1852.78, $1854.78, $1906.78, $1903.78, or $1898.78 depending upon what your definition of "value" is. Based on gold spot price of $1817.78. Due to physical metals being a bit harder to come by today, even dealers are paying above spot. That however isn't usually the case.

a1abdj, for inventory purposes, they're asking for "fair market value".

I would think that you can find a local "Coin Gallery" to give you an appraisal.

If not, try these guys. They have a good reputation here.

Heartland Coin Gallery

Here's the easy part. Gold was within a few dollars then of what it is today, and not much difference in demand.

I'd put a retail value on the Eagle set of around $4,200 (range of $3,600 to $4,900 based on above options).

$925 on the Olympic set.

When my dad passed we had an auction house come in an give us a dollar value on all the estates contents. Including 4 gold coins. The coins were valued at the spot price on the day of the evaluation. Which was $1,800.

The value of the coins will be tied to the value of the spot market as of the date of death.

Here's a link to daily gold values for August 2021:
Kitco - London gold fix prices, Aug 2021

Eyeballing the chart, the London gold fix swung between $1830 and $1720 depending on the day.

Kitco - London Silver Fix, Aug 2021

The London silver fix ranged from $25.50-$23.50.

Those are not Roman coins dating back millennia. I'd just value them at spot value of bullion as of the day of death and move on to the rest of the challenges of being an executor/personal representative.

If the 'commissioner of accounts' says they're worth more than spot, offer to sell them to him/her at more than spot right then and there.

joel, when you say spot value of bullion, does that mean valuing the coins each instead of a set?

The difference between then and now is not going to be very great. I'd use the current value unless it has changed by a significant amount, like 15% or more.

The 2022 Red Book of US coin values shows $4900 retail value on the gold bullion proof set. Dealers will offer less of course, more along the lines of blue book wholesale prices. Checking eBay completed sales, not just listings will give the best indication of pricing relative to spot prices and actual demand. American gold eagles buy and sell with a premium as opposed to non-governmental currency, and proof coins also carry a premium over uncirculated or mint state coins.

The set is a total of 1.85 ounces of gold, so you can see that even at $1800/0z. This set has a higher value.

Red book value on the Olympics Commemorative Gold and Silver Proof set is $1100 retail. Numismatic value on top of bullion value.

The red book is an annual publication, you can find a 2021 book and use those values . I would also look at the 2021 blue book and compare, use an average or The Wholesale value in the blue books.

quote:

Originally posted by P229 357SIG Man:
joel, when you say spot value of bullion, does that mean valuing the coins each instead of a set?

That's what I'd do. Get the number of troy ounces of silver and gold involved, and multiply that by the bullion value as of the day the decedent passed.

quote:

Get the number of troy ounces of silver and gold involved, and multiply that by the bullion value as of the day the decedent passed.

Other than the bullion price is not the "fair market value" which he was asked to determine. Fair market value should be low end retail pricing.

quote:

If the 'commissioner of accounts' says they're worth more than spot, offer to sell them to him/her at more than spot right then and there. Wink

If you have US government issued metals for sale I'll pay you spot price for them all day long. I wouldn't even need to retail them to make money, as every reputable dealer out there is offering more than spot.

One of the better known dealers in my area is paying $35 over spot for 1 oz eagles. I could make a quick $700 per tube buying them at spot.

Ya precious metal coins change value greatly depending on how/if/when it's being sold.

For instance, gold spot $1,826.50 as of right now. If I went into my very decent local coin shop and wanted to buy a 1oz gold or silver coin, I'd pay as much as 10% premium, but maybe as little as 5% for something generic.

American Gold Eagles have higher numismatic value, and go for higher premiums. But the premiums change based on supply & demand, and the numismatic value can change based on the coin, mint, condition, and even year.

Last year, with spot at 1845, I snagged a AE 1oz for around $2000. However, if I wanted to sell that coin back to the dealer, they'd only pay me $1800. I also snagged a 1oz Kruggerand for $1950, but it's not quite as desirable.

With the crazy premium prices, silver was selling and buying for well over spot. With spot at $28/oz, I could sell a ASE for $30-31, but it cost me $39-40 to buy one.

For my dealer to make money, they have to adjust their prices, otherwise they'd go out of business.

My point is, many people over value their silver and gold horde, looking at what it costs to buy it, rather than what they could get if they sold it.

But for your purposes, spot price is probably a good number to use.

PghPI metioned blue book values, do any of you have access to the blue book value of these two sets?

Gold set is worth $4,360 today. https://www.bullionbypost.com/...le-proof-4-coin-set/

Value at Death is used to calculate estate taxes, and to determine cost basis (depending on asset type) when an asset is eventually sold, either by the estate or by the heirs.

I spoke with a rep at APMEX this morning. She said the current "metal" price for the AE set is $3,380 and their retail price for the set is $4,351. I guess the fair market value is somewhere in between.

On the private seller market, what would you sell it for?

quote:

Originally posted by P229 357SIG Man:
I spoke with a rep at APMEX this morning. She said the current "metal" price for the AE set is $3,380 and their retail price for the set is $4,351. I guess the fair market value is somewhere in between.

On the private seller market, what would you sell it for?

If these were not (1) American Gold Eagles and (2) proof strikes, then yeah, the metal value is fair. If you go onto APMEX's page and just look to buy (1) of each of these AGE's in BU (Brilliant Uncirculated) condition, the price would be :
1oz.: 1923
1/2 oz.: 1082
1/4 oz.:636
1/10 oz.: 297
Total: $3937

The proof may or may not add much to this set, but I would not sell it for less than 4k to anyone. If dealers offered me much less than that I would risk trying to sell it in a private sale unless I had zero interest in dealing with the public or had concerns of safety in completing such a transaction. Selling to a dealer in that case does have a measurable value. I did sell a 1987 Bill of Rights commemorative set this past summer, BV was 575 and I got 550 from a dealer that I buy and sell with.