Selling Physical Precious Metals: Records and Handoffs

What to take away

Authority comes before price

An individual owner, a joint owner, a trustee, an agent, and an executor hold different powers. Physical possession does not establish the right to dispose of an item. Read the deed, the trust, the power of attorney, or the letters of appointment first.

If two names sit on the account, confirm whether the holding is joint with right of survivorship or tenants in common. The two pass differently, and a dealer will not settle the difference for you.

Build one line per item

Create a proposed-sale list with a single line for each coin, bar, round, or sealed unit. Record the storage location, the refiner or issuer, the product name, and the metal. Also record the stated fineness and the fine weight.

Add the year, denomination, serial number, certification number, or assay-card number where one exists. Note the quantity, package state, visible condition, and any known defect.

Attach the acquisition method and date. Also attach the invoice, gift letter, trust schedule, estate document, or appraisal that supports it. Name the proposed seller and the document that gives that person authority.

Quarantine anything whose description does not match its record. Do not clean a coin, open a sealed assay card, or remove a label to make a listing photograph better.

Reconcile the count under controlled access

Run the count with two people. One reads the inventory line aloud; the other confirms the item and its package against it. Photograph complete lots and any distinguishing mark, without capturing the room, the safe, or the alarm panel.

Log every unexplained addition, shortage, substitution, broken seal, and mixed tube on its own line. A shortage found now is a conversation with your own record. A shortage found after the handoff is a dispute.

If no reconciled list exists, build one to the standard an insurer expects. The Kansas Insurance Department's personal home inventory asks for every item of value and the serial numbers of items that carry them.

It also asks for dated photographs or video of jewelry and collector's items. One document built that way answers a buyer's identity question and a tax-file question at the same time.

Separate metal value from product value

Do not force unlike objects into one price category. A commodity bar, a common bullion coin, a proof issue, and a scarce certified coin reach different buyers and need different evidence.

Treat metal value, product premium, and numismatic value as three working numbers. A single ounce price hides which of the three a buyer is actually paying for.

A bar sells on metal value plus a small premium. A certified key-date coin sells on grade and population, and its metal content is almost incidental. Mixing them in one lot invites the buyer to price the whole group at the weakest component.

Assemble the basis and ownership file

Missing evidence is a reason to research before you sell. It is never a reason to invent a number.

The current IRS Schedule D instructions for collectibles include gold, silver, and platinum bullion, and coins, in the federal collectibles discussion. They also connect covered long-term collectibles transactions to Form 8949 and the Schedule D worksheet.

Classification and reporting turn on your facts and the tax year. Keep the records and put the question to a CPA. Do not assume a universal rate.

Write down what the sale is for

An objective is not a price forecast. It fixes the time, the work, the custody exposure, and the uncertainty you are willing to accept.

Ask every bidder for the same output

Give each bidder an identical description and require an identical response. Ask for the unit or lot bid. Ask for the pricing reference and its timestamp. Ask for every deduction. Ask for the testing conditions. Ask for the payment method. Ask for the payment timing. Ask who insures the shipment.

Request the rejection procedure and the offer expiration date in writing. Then compute net proceeds:

gross sale price - commission - testing or grading - payment cost - packing and transport - insurance - other agreed deductions

Never compare one gross auction estimate against one immediate dealer net bid. An estimate is not guaranteed proceeds. A high headline number with an uncapped commission, a return window, or slow payment can lose to a quieter offer.

Control payment and custody

Write the handoff down before it happens. State who bears loss at each stage, what evidence proves delivery, when title passes, when funds are final, and what happens if the item fails the buyer's examination.

For an in-person sale, meet in a controlled setting. Keep the storage location out of the conversation. Verify the buyer's business. Count discreetly. Have the buyer sign a bill of sale that names the lot, the agreed price, the payment method, and the date title passes. For shipment, photograph the packed lot, keep the carrier acceptance record, and use a service whose declared-value limits fit the contents: USPS Registered Mail provides tracking, chain-of-custody documentation, and insurance up to the declared value; FedEx and UPS offer comparable declared-value coverage with signature confirmation. Do not describe the contents on the outer package.

Close every lot and keep the file

Reconcile the final statement against the offer and the bank receipt. Save the signed agreement, the itemized lot list, the date, and the parties. Save the gross amount, the deductions, the net amount, and the payment identifier. Save the transport evidence and any tax form you received.

Mark the inventory line sold, gifted, distributed, or otherwise transferred. Do not delete its history. Leave rejected items open as separate exceptions. If a lot is gifted rather than sold, note the annual gift-tax exclusion of $19,000 per recipient and file Form 709 if the transfer exceeds it.

A closed file should tell a later reader what left custody, who received it, why the net differs from the headline price, and where the supporting records sit.

Common questions

Quick answers on the records and handoff steps above.

Should every holding go through one channel?

No. A common bar suits a dealer, a key-date coin suits a specialist auction, and a family piece may suit a private transfer. Match the channel to the object and to the objective you wrote down.

Is possession enough authority to sell estate bullion?

Not necessarily. Title and the representative's powers come from the will, the trust, the court appointment, and the state probate code governing the decedent's domicile. The executor's letters testamentary or the trustee's certificate of trust are the documents a dealer will ask to see. Have a licensed attorney in the relevant jurisdiction confirm the authority before the lot moves.

Does the highest gross bid win?

No. Add the commission, testing, grading, and payment cost to each offer. Also add the packing, transport, and insurance to each offer. Then weigh payment timing, rejection terms, and custody exposure during the gap.

Can basis records be rebuilt after a sale?

Sometimes, from old invoices, bank statements, estate files, and transfer records. It is far cheaper to gather them before disposition than to argue about them afterward.