Re insurance and other values: has this been posted yet?
The Manchester Museum (UK) will sponsor an international conference on
the value and valuation of natural science collections, 19-21 April 1995.
For more information, contact C. W, Pettitt, The Manchester Museum,
Manchester, M13 9PL, UK, phone (061) 275 2634, FAX, (061) 275 2676. He
has an email address which I will uncover if anyone needs/wants it. This
was set up in response to exactly the sorts of issues that have surfaced
with regard to the discussion on insurance values. The scope is somewhat
limited because the valuation of natural history material is even MORE
problematic because few types of collections have price guides or auction
values....and, as was pointed out, catalogue prices can be very inflated.
It's also difficult to know how to factor in all the variables that
affect value, particularly when something is truly irreplaceable.
 
I have worked with some pros in the field. Richard Fullington at the
Dallas Museum of Natural History is one of the few people certified to
appraise natural history material values that the IRS will accept. Bill
Allen of Allen & Associates has been very helpful to colleagues of mine
in the past, as has Huntington Block. Rick Casagrande of Casagrande
Appraisals in San Antonio is also a pro and trained in England. And
that's just off the top of my head....I'm sure there are others who can
help people get pointed in the right direction as far as fair values,
good agencies, etc. I find that going to the pros in the first place
saves a lot of the grief caused by guesswork, and these guys have made
our specific concerns their business. AND they speak the language, which
I don't.
 
 
Sally Shelton
Collections Conservation Specialist
San Diego Natural History Museum