@Old collector wrote:
I find myself in a very similar situation, but have not yet sold any of the old coins.
However, two other possible considerations are:
1) Donate to a charity. They'll give you a receipt for the current value. Your cost becomes irrelevant.
2) Leave them in your estate. The heirs will get to use the present value as their cost basis.
2. OK.
1. No. If you donate tangible personal property to a charity, you only get fair market value if the charity intends to keep the items and use them for their intended purpose. If the charity is going to sell them to raise funds, your tax deduction is your cost basis. (For example, if you donate a painting to an art museum that intends to keep it in their collection, you can claim FMV. If you donate the painting to a charity fundraiser and they sell it to raise funds for their operations, you can only claim your cost basis.)
See publication 526, page 11-12.
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf
