Cash In Your Coins: Selling the Rare Coins You've Inherited

Have you inherited a numismatic collection? Cash In Your Coins tells you how rare your coins are, how to value them, and how to sell or donate if you decide to liquidate all or part of the estate. Author Beth Deisher, an award-winning journalist and retired editor of Coin World, says “I wrote Cash In Your Coins to inform and protect the millions of Americans who already collect coins, and those who will someday inherit their collections.”

Deisher draws on more than 35 years of experience helping people understand and collect coins, paper currency, medals, and tokens.

The revised fourth edition of Cash In Your Coins has 32 more pages than the third edition. New features include an in-depth illustrated chapter on increasingly deceptive counterfeit coins. This is an area of expertise for Deisher, who served as a director of the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation. The advice she shares is valuable for anyone unfamiliar with coins—and even for longtime hobbyists.

To help family members navigate the often-confusing world of inheritance, Deisher has updated the sections on state and federal taxes, trades, and exchanges. Current information is crucial in making wise decisions in declaring values, organizing tax-exempt charitable donations, figuring capital gains and losses, establishing trusts, reporting transactions, and similar activities. Many numismatists who have collected for decades are unfamiliar with the ins and outs of these topics. The chapters on appraisals and taxes should be read by hobbyists and their heirs alike.

Other guidance covers how to create an inventory, manage an independent appraisal, find a trustworthy coin dealer, communicate with potential buyers, and fairly divide a numismatic estate.

The book includes photographs and specifications of every U.S. coin type, including modern issues of the United States Mint; a bibliography for further research; and expanded bullion-value charts.

If you’re an active collector, Cash In Your Coins is a book that belongs in your safe or bank box, readily accessible when your collection goes to the next generation.