Archaeologists will tell you that artifacts in and of themselves have no
intristic value. These are the same people who get upset when salvors and
other pot-hunters attempt to sell these same things to the highest bidder.

No, really, I had the unenviable task of attempting to secure realistic
values for artifacts in an extensive government museum collection. I talked
to a number of individuals affiliated with some major maritime museums, and
the consensus I got was that they relied heavily on auction catalogs for
estimates of artifact value for insurance purposes. I realize not everyone
has the financial solvency to hire an appraiser for every artifact in a
collection, and the development of a collection of pertinent auction
catalogs will assist the curator or other interested individual in getting
at least an idea of what an artifact is worth.

I'll probably get flamed big-time for this - I realize that "an oil lamp"
listed in a catalog will have one price, but that "an oil lamp that sat at
the bedside of General George Washington as he died" will have a
significantly greater value. Still, to establish some kind of boundaries for
your collection as far as value is a pretty good idea.

Still, I did have one question about this ... In all my museum classes that
ran through Deed of Gift, loans, etc., my professor always told us that it
is unethical for an interested museum person to affix some kind of value to
an artifact in the collection or possible donation. Is that still true? In
the end, don't you really need some kind of appraiser certification to make
it all above board and legal?

Amy Marshall
At 12:42 PM 4/12/96 -0600, you wrote:
>
>          Dear Museum-L'ers,
>
>          Do any of you know of any rules or regulations (or have
>          practical advice to offer!) regarding establishing the value
>          of historical artifacts?  Just using the face value wouldn't
>          place them at much more than garage sale prices but I know
>          the historical significance is much more.
>
>          Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
>
>          Please reply off list as well as on list (if you think
>          people are interested) because my file server is somewhat
>          unpredictable, and I don't regularly get the museum-l
>          postings.
>
>          Thanks in advance!
>
>          Kathy Lear
>          CREHST
>