Thanks Jeff and Sara for the insight into the dinosaur appraisals. I asked a person at a museum nearby which I respect for information on appraisers and she acted as if I were going to sell my own grandmother. Or the Declaration of Independence. I hadn't dealt with natural history collections before and was surprised at her reaction. So surprised, in fact, I just wanted to calm her down. I hung up before I could think of other questions. Its the reason I posted them here. I had worked with decorative arts collections before and we thought nothing about getting an appraisal for insurance or tax purposes (as long as we could fit it in the budget). I didn't realize the subject was so touchy when it came to antique natural history specimens. I did a little more web research and found several articles addressing the subject. Then I found a couple of websites that sell "real" dinosaur bones and they sounded pretty defensive in their explanations. It was definitely an interesting little project. So, thanks again for the clarification. Meredith Dunham Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them - every day begin the task anew. ~Saint Francis de Sales > Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:18:06 -0800> From: [log in to unmask]> Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Dinosaur bone appraiser> To: [log in to unmask]> > As a dinosaur bone appraiser I have to say, good question. I appraise many > things that are considered endangered or protected species, fossils, > shipwreck recovered artifacts etc. There are a lot of things that need to > be valued in the real world that we (remember my first and favorite > profession is Registrar-of-the-World) would rather hide under the bed and > avoid the whole "filthy lucre" aspect. Doing appraisals for the "gripper" > is my favorite: appraisals of stolen items so that the legal system can > decide between misdemeanor or felony and charitable donation so that the > item will land in a home where it will be preserved and available to all top > my list of good work. Market and Fair Market value so that divorcing > couples or heirs can divide the goods equitably is ok work since the items > aren't going directly into the market.> > I detest market value appraisals so that someone can sell dubious > material -- material that I feel belongs to "us" and shouldn't be sold. > Insurance work is alright. I am lucky in that I have never had to support > myself totally (thanks to my hubby) and could afford to have principles. > There are plenty of "appraisers" with no ethics that give the rest of us a > bad name. Since personal property appraisers (v. real estate) are not > licensed, we can run wild in the streets and that's why is it is critical to > hire or recommend a trained and tested appraiser. (See the International > Society of Appraisers or American Society of Appraisers).> > Appraising contraband (illegal to own) materials is a very interesting > delimma. My professional society teaches that if there is no legal market, > there is no value. The Fish and Wildlife Service, on the other hand, has > black market values for a lot of species they are charged to protect and use > those values in court work.> > I will get off the soap box now since you are all busy but want to add to > this discussion list when I can and do so in hopes that you learn something > about the appraisal world. As a Registrar, the word "appraiser" was to be > avoided at all costs (fingers in ears and saying la,la,la loudly)and so I > remained ignorant about even the basic concepts. I am old now and think it > is ok to try to sneak some concepts in on you all ocassionally. Sara > Conklin, ISA CAPP PH: 800-464-4208 [log in to unmask] > > =========================================================> Important Subscriber Information:> > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).> > If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).> _________________________________________________________________ Climb to the top of the charts! Play the word scramble challenge with star power. http://club.live.com/star_shuffle.aspx?icid=starshuffle_wlmailtextlink_jan ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).