", just some lucky guy(s) will get to buy them at a discounted price."
This, of course, assumes that fossil fuels stocks will continue to rise even as competition from alternative sources intensified, and as costs of production increase.
The problem for this scenario is that it is becoming less and less likely that this will happen, so if one gets out of old energy and into new energy, one's rate of return will be far greater over time, particular as the planetary global mean temperature moves from +2 deg C, at which we are nearly at to +4 deg C over the next 100-150 years. Coal is already declining as a percentage of the total energy mix, oil will be soon to follow. That light at the end of the tunnel the coal investor may see will be that of an oncoming electric train. Better to get out now and let the suckers hold the bag.
One has to keep in mind that rate of planetary warming is accelerating with increased CO2 accumulation and the rate is exponential (its already now 36 times faster than the warming that occurred during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, that brought palm trees to Northern Wyoming). Folks in place like Phoenix will soon (next 10-25 years) start to see more than 50 days out of the year with temperatures over 110 F. In 50 years time that will jump to 100 days out of the year.
The same driving forces also will soon profoundly affect the availability of another highly sought resource, freshwater.