For executors · The Irreversible Decisions
Five Things You Cannot Take Back
Almost everything in an estate can be reconsidered. These five cannot, so they deserve the extra minute.
Unhurried, itemized, and with a written record. Bring the co-executor, the attorney, or whoever else needs to see it.
2004
Buying precious metals in South Florida since
Itemized
Every item weighed and priced separately, in front of you
Written
A record the estate can put in the file
No pressure
Take the offer away. It will still be there
The cost is discovered afterwards
None of these five is obvious at the time and every one is discovered later, usually by a family member who researched something after the fact. That is the specific harm this page exists to prevent, and it costs us business to publish it.
What makes these different from other estate decisions is that everything else can be revisited. A house sold cheaply is a regret; a signed piece melted no longer exists in any form. That asymmetry is why the extra ten minutes of checking is worth insisting on even when everybody is tired of the process.
The five
- Melting a signed or period piece worth more than its metal.
- Cleaning coins, which is visible and reduces value.
- Selling a branded watch for its gold content.
- Selling something left to a named beneficiary in the will.
- Selling without photographs, so nothing can be reconstructed.
Getting a second opinion
Take anything you are unsure about to a second buyer before selling it. It costs an afternoon, reputable buyers expect it, and reluctance to encourage it is itself informative.
For a significant stone, a branded watch or anything that looks like it might be signed, a specialist rather than a second metals buyer is the right second opinion. They are looking for different things.
How we handle it
- 01Check for maker's marks and signatures before weighing.
- 02Sort coins before offering anything.
- 03Refuse to buy branded watches at metal value.
- 04Ask about specific bequests before transacting.
- 05Encourage photographs before anything is sold.
Spend the extra ten minutes photographing and checking for marks. It is the difference between a transaction the family accepts and one somebody discovers a problem with two years later.
Said plainly
Where we stop
We check for these and we can miss something. A second opinion on anything you are unsure about costs nothing and we will encourage it every time.
FAQ
Common questions
- What is the most common irreversible mistake?
- Melting a signed or period piece that was worth more than its metal.
- Why publish this?
- Because it costs us business and it prevents the harm this page exists to prevent.
- Should we get a second opinion?
- On anything you are unsure about. It costs nothing and we encourage it.
- Can you miss something?
- Yes. Which is why a second opinion is worth having.
What we buy
Gold Jewelry
Most inherited gold jewelry is worth its metal content. A meaningful minority is worth considerably more, and telling them apart is the whole job.
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Sterling Flatware & Hollowware
The canteen nobody wants and nobody wants to throw away. Usually worth real money as metal, occasionally worth more as a set.
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Coins & Bullion
An inherited coin box usually contains bullion, which is worth its metal, and collectible coins, which are worth whatever a collector will pay.
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Watches
A watch is worth what the watch market says, which usually has nothing to do with the gold in the case.
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Diamonds & Stones
Stones are valued on quality, not weight, and the resale market bears very little relation to what the piece cost when it was bought.
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Costume & the Rest
Most of what is in an estate jewelry box is not precious metal, and some of it is still worth something to somebody.
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More for executors
Authority to Sell
Being named in a will is not the same as being appointed, and selling before appointment can create a genuine problem.
Explore →
Records & Accounting
An executor accounts to beneficiaries and to the court. A receipt that says "assorted jewelry" is not an account.
Explore →
Beneficiaries
Most estate arguments about jewelry are not about money. They are about somebody finding out afterwards.
Explore →
Next step
Run it both ways before you decide.
No credit check and no obligation. Tell us what you hold and what the money is for, and if selling is the better answer for your situation you will be told that first.