So, someone left you a collection of stuff. Maybe it was your Dad’s coin collection, your Aunt’s Royal Doulton figurines, a basement full of comics, records, plates, tea cups… you get the idea. Whatever it is, you’re probably feeling two things at once: touched that it came to you and completely overwhelmedabout what to do with inherited collectibles.
This is more common than you think—and it’s where most people make expensive mistakes.
Whether you’ve inherited coins, antiques, collectibles, or a mixed estate, the first instinct is usually to start sorting, cleaning, or selling right away. That’s also where things tend to go wrong. Moving too quickly can mean damaging value, overlooking key items, or accepting far less than something is actually worth.
First Things First: Slow Down!
There’s usually no emergency here, even when estate matters are involved. The mistakes we’ve seen people make almost always come from moving too fast—cleaning something they shouldn’t have, pulling items out of original packaging, or selling to the first person who shows interest. One of those decisions can quietly cost you hundreds of dollars without you ever knowing it.
Bottom line: keep it together and give yourself some breathing room.
The Value Is Likely In The 1%
This is one of those things that sounds obvious once you hear it, but most people don’t think about it going in. You might have 400 comics, and four of them account for 90% of the value of the collection. You might have a big coin collection, and one specific date from one specific mint is the one that matters to an actual buyer. In vintage toys, whether the original box is still attached can swing the price dramatically. The same idea applies to trading cards, deciding whether to open or keep sports card packs sealed can have a major impact on value.
So before you do anything, try to get a rough lay of the land. What are you actually dealing with? Comics? Pottery? Sports cards? Furniture? Each category has its own rules, its own market… and its own landmines.
What Is It Actually Worth?
eBay is genuinely useful here, but only if you filter for completed sales. Listing prices are often moonshots. What someone actually paid? That’s the number you’re looking for. There’s a big difference, and it matters.
For anything that seems like it might be genuinely significant, auction house archives are worth digging into. A few good places to start digging into realized prices:
- Invaluable: searchable price archive, but the free account only gives you 12 months of history; older records require a paid subscription.
- Heritage Auctions: free to search, extensive records, particularly strong for coins, comics, and pop culture collectibles.
- LiveAuctioneers: free access to over 29 million results across thousands of auction houses, going back to 1999.
And a word of warning: the internet is full of listings calling things “extremely rare” or “investment-grade.” Take that with a grain of salt. Rare means something specific, and not everyone using the word knows what it means.
Talk To An Expert
If the collection has any real depth or value, it’s worth sitting down with a qualified appraiser or a dealer who specializes in what you’ve got. Not someone who dabbles, someone who lives and breathes that specific category.
Good appraisers or antique buyers will walk you through how they’re arriving at the number. They won’t confuse what something means to you emotionally with what it’s worth on the open market, and they’ll give you options rather than push you toward a quick decision. If the estate involves multiple people or legal distribution, you may also need a formal written appraisal, not just a verbal ballpark.
Your Call
There’s no right answer here. Some people will sell an entire collection and not look back. Some folks keep everything. Most folks end up somewhere in the middle; moving duplicates and lower-value pieces immediately, waiting for the right price on higher-value items, and holding onto anything that feels meaningful or memorable (or just plain cool).
Whatever you decide, the goal is the same: understand what you have before you make a move you can’t undo. Once you’ve got that foundation, the decision usually becomes a lot clearer, and a lot easier to deal with.
We buy things too over here at Inglewood Antique Market, drop us a line and we’d be happy to discuss anything you want more information on!