Some comments from contributors to the ENTOMO-L listserver regarding natural history (entomological) collection appraisals, fyi. Peter - - - - - - - - Date: Fri, 2 Sep 1994 15:24:25 -0400 From: [log in to unmask] (Robert E Lewis) Subject: [[log in to unmask] (Robert E Lewis): Insect Appraisal] X-Comment: Entomology Discussion List ------- Forwarded Message Date: Fri, 02 Sep 94 10:35:46 +0200 From: [log in to unmask] (Robert E Lewis) To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Insect Appraisal Dear Mike; The IRS has made such a botch of things involving the donation of natural history specimens to museums and educational institutions that most are reluctant to get involved. As curator of the Iowa State Insect Collection I have had occasion to do a bit of this kind of work over the years, though I am not offering my services. If you are dealing with insects, the scale slides upward, depending upon the condition of the material, with mounted, unlabeled and unidentified specimens at the bottom, and spread or otherwise specially prepared (microscope slides, etc.) material that has been identified by a specialist at the top. Also, exotic material may be worth quite a bit more than local, common species, especially if taken on expeditions, by specialists. I work with fleas and these have to be specially prepared and mounted before they can be identified with certainty. This requires a lot of time by the time the labels are printed and the slides are ready for curation. Thus, a local, pinned, fly specimen with the minimum of collection data may be worth only a few cents, while a paratype of a new species of flea from Afghanistan, identified and labeled as well as mounted, is worth a few dollars. In any case, the IRS will not accept an appraisal from the recipient institution if the donation is very large. I suggest that you write them and ask for guidelines, not that they are likely to be very realistic if they respond at all. So be it. What with the Lacey Act, natural history specimens in general will soon be a thing of the past! Good luck. R. E. Lewis Entomology - Iowa State University Ames, IA 50011-3222 Voice: (515) 294 1815 Fax: As above or (515) 294 5957 E-mail: [log in to unmask] ------- End of Forwarded Message Date: Fri, 2 Sep 1994 16:23:22 -0400 From: "Charles V. Covell Jr." <[log in to unmask]> Subject: [[log in to unmask] (Robert E Lewis): Insect Appraisal] X-Comment: Entomology Discussion List Dept. of Biology, Univ. of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292 PHONE: (502) 852-6771 This subject is an important one, since much of the important field work in entomology is done by "advanced amateurs" and donations of specimens to museum and other research collections provides an other- wise unavailable source of material. I have never had any material appraised, as donations from my old private collection have always been under the $5K limit. I have used Howard Weems' "worksheet" and then used the percentage of the total value down at the bottom of the sheet to reduce that total some so it was not too generous. The American Museum of Nat. Hist. had a form once, and may still have. It tended to be less generous to the donor than the FSCA form, at least when I used to get the one Dr. Fred Rindge would use. How about others? Does the Florida form still get wide use? Charlie C. Date: Fri, 2 Sep 1994 16:44:22 -0400 From: "Richard L. Brown" <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Insect donation appraisals X-Comment: Entomology Discussion List I use a modified FSCA form for appaising donations, of which the larger are spread over several years to keep under the 5K limit. For citable (though conservative and pre-inflated) estimates for preparation costs for specimens, see "Guidelines for Acquisition and Management of Biological Specimens," edited by Welton L. Lee et al (1982), Assoc. Systematics Coll. Costs per specimen given in this reference include pinned insect ($1.20-1.50), slide ($2.50-4.50), vial with preservative ($1.50-2.50). Any appraisal should be defendable, and there should be no problem in defending an appraisal of $10.00 for a genitalia slide or $3.00 or more for a labeled specimen on a double mount.