So what is going to happen to your collection? (1 Viewer)

W T Allison II

W T Allison II

Command Sergeant Major
Joined
Dec 6, 2009
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If something happens to you, then what happens to your collection? Are you going to leave it to your family; donate it to a museum or historical association; have someone call Norm Joplin; or just enjoy it and let someone else worry about its future? Any ideas?
 
My nephews have already laid claim to it.
Hopefully, they will have a long time to wait before they can get it.
 
It will go to my son and daughter if they remain interested . . . if not, I will have it sold off through good friends in the hobby whom I can trust to do the right thing for my family.
 
My wife will sell them off and travel around the world using the proceeds.

Carlos
 
I'm going to sell it off bit by bit. As you get older you need less and less space.
 
Re: So what is going to happen to your collection? LISTEN UP!

W T Allison II said:
If something happens to you, then what happens to your collection? Are you going to leave it to your family; donate it to a museum or historical association; have someone call Norm Joplin; or just enjoy it and let someone else worry about its future? Any ideas?
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A picture book with your actual items. Also a pricing of your own collection next to each picture and an appreciation increase ratio of some sort would be more than helpful for the family who aquires it. Might want to make a note in the book as well on who, where, what and how to sell if needed. I know because I recently bought from an estate a collection worth $50K for $3K. I can not help but to wonder that the owner is hoovering around me...In one sense I think he helped me become a new collector on the other hand I wonder if he is mad at me for selling it and practically stealing it? It took selling most of the collection to actually become a collector myself.
 
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If I had a large and valuable collection, I would leave specific instructions in my last will as to I want done.

It would be sensible, taking into consideration the investment over the years.

This may sound daft to some, but it would be definitive and tidy end.

I would not like to leave loose ends when I move on to a better place (perhaps with even more toy soldiers and lots of play time).

IMHO, Raymond.
 
In the event I leave the show early so to speak I have asked my wife to sell it all and enjoy any money she can make from it.Its a fair old collection now and I do hope it will be enough to bring her a few Bob when I've gone to the place where there are dispatches every day and no retirements!;)

Rob
 
Louis Badolato said:
It will go to my son and daughter if they remain interested . . . if not, I will have it sold off through good friends in the hobby whom I can trust to do the right thing for my family.
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Ditto on that. I would hope that in the event of an unexpected shortening of life, there would be a few on here who could step up and help with making sure my family got a reasonable return.
 
Thanks for your comments. Lack of interest and display space is a concern for family taking over the collection. Mike Laeding of Trophy of Texas and I agreed to help each other's spouse sell the collection. By displaying your collection photos on this forum, you have a chance to expose other collectors to what you have. I am still curious as to anyone's experience as a seller on an auction.
 
This is a great question and informative to forum members! Thanks for asking it!

In my case, I intend to set-up my immense "Pickett's Charge" diorama in a place where people can view and learn from it. A university history department or library may be a good spot. Hopefully, they will be able receive enough funds to keep it secure and maintained.

The rest of my collection will be passed down to my nephew and niece to be kept, auctioned or sold in pieces at their discretion.
 
I tried two universities and they wanted an endowment to maintain the collection. Also, you would have to provide that if they want to sell your collection, it comes back to you or your heirs. This has happened several times to art collections when the bad economy affected the school's cash flow. Same problem with county historical museums.
 
I for one really don't care, there just material items that entertain my eyes and mind for awhile. I don't think anyone will enjoy them as much as the original Collector or enthusiast. Some will just say, oh look he played with little army men. But right now they are my troops, and I enjoy painting,converting and looking at them. I value my painted plastic, like most of you value your metals.So what happens to them when I'm gone, don't care.:)
 
In the event of my demise...if I have a collection left at that time...

I'm entrusting the sale of my collection by a good friend on Treefrog...

the only immediate family I have is a sister, a brother in law and two nephews...

currently I'm sure my collection is worth well over $10,000.00...maybe closer to $20,000.00...

my sister is not the type to shop for...or sell...to get a "good deal"...

she is impatient and has a busy personal life...

I could see them all in an estate sell going for pennies on the dollar ...

me and her have already discussed this a little bit...me explaining that in the event of my death...don't just throw all the soldiers in a box...they are very expensive...

I save all my boxes and have a complete inventory...

I have spoken to a fellow Treefrogger about disposing of my collection...

He is savvy...he is informed and most important...I trust him...

We have discussed him liquidating my collection and receiving a commission...

I have no formal terms with him yet...but perhaps it's time I wrote something up..

He is a good friend and has agreed to help if something ever happens to me...

I don't believe anyone in my immediate family would pursue my collection...so I'm sure selling them would be the best option...

the biggest problem is...my family has no idea what they are worth...

if they did...they might have me commited...:D
 
I think the best thing is to keep an inventory and make arrangements with a respectable auction house to dispose of the collection properly. They will keep a cut but Ithink in the end it is money well spent.
Trying to get your family to do it, unless they themselves are collectors is unfair and they will probably just sell up at the first offer to make what they think is a lot of money but which is probably not a fraction of what a true collection is worth.
If you have a local dealer then go through them. I am sure the Reuss's or Rick Berry would be happy to dispose of a collection for a commission or even offer a fair price for a collection and then break it up and sell it individually.
Leaving it to an alma mater always sounds like a good idea but most universities or high schools would need addittional money to mantain a collection.
 
damian said:
I think the best thing is to keep an inventory and make arrangements with a respectable auction house to dispose of the collection properly. They will keep a cut but Ithink in the end it is money well spent.
Trying to get your family to do it, unless they themselves are collectors is unfair and they will probably just sell up at the first offer to make what they think is a lot of money but which is probably not a fraction of what a true collection is worth.
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I also think keeping an inventory which includes a rough value estimate or at least classing the pieces as ordinary, premium and rare with a price range for each class is the minimum to do. Also instructions on how to dispose of them.

Terry
 
Along with an inventory of items the rough value and rarity etc my wife has the details of one or two people to contact,on top of this she knows quite a bit about my collection and some of the most likely high sellers,I'm confident she knows just what she's doing.......in fact if I suddenly disappear,call the Police!:eek:;)

Rob
 
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