I have a collection of silver coins (Quarters and Dimes, "junk silver"). I know I purchased them within days of my birthday in 1983, but I have no documentation.
How do I determine and report the Basis of Asset for the IRS?=========>I am not pretty sure however, You may perhaps visit your local library where you would find a database of the historical prices of old coin dealers for advice I guess.since in my opinion, the IRS do not care too much about historical bases of the old coins that you have. I'm guessing that most of the items are going to be worth a few bucks and the real value comes from just a few pieces. For anything worth just a few bucks, I would just make up a basis that seemed reasonable.
I have been able to find the average annual sale prices here:
https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/p...ver/880798.pdf
It's states the average price in 1983 was $11.44.
Second, a couple of basic questions:
I know this sounds simple,but:
Am I correct in thinking that my asset is not income and is not taxable? =====>correct unless you dispose of them at a gain.i mean as you can see,until Sale Of Old Coins Generates Tax On Capital Gain Income; CG income means it is an increase in the value of a capital asset (investment or real estate) that gives it a higher worth than the purchase price. The gain is not realized until the asset is sold.
Only the Capital Gain is "income" and taxable?===========> agreed; you must report the income from the sale of your coins on your tax return'The income is the difference between what you paid for the coins, as you said bases of the coins, and the price for which you sell them'Although the IRS wants a part of the profit, figuring out the profit is your job'Somehow you will have to determine how much you paid for the coins