Donating your collection
If selling your collection is out of the question, you might want to donate it for the tax deduction and the pride in knowing you have created an important resource for other collectors. The inventory of Records Revisited, a Manhattan store, was given to Syracuse University by the estate of Morton Savada. The collection of 200,000 recordings made from 1895 to the 1950s, catalogs, and other materials was valued at $1 million. Now students can hear the real sound of a 78 rpm recording. If you have records that won't sell--and most won't--see if there issee if there is a local historical society, library, or museum with an interest in recordings that would accept your collection. You are then entitled to a tax deduction for the value of the collection, which is often more than the total sale value of your single records. But beware. Most old records, including the earliest ones, are worth very little or nothing. Look at sales online to see what we mean.
2 comments:
Your comments about record sales sound a bit disheartening. But on the contrary..I recently sold several 78 records at $20 each.... and continue to see record sales escalate in online sales.....also..as you say: the record collection donated to Syracuse University was valued at $1 million, so.....well, I rest my case.
I had an antique parlor organ made by Hinners & Albertson in the late 1800's. It was a beautiful piece with an Eastlake style cabinet. I tried for some time to sell it, but found no takers. I did a web search for Hinners & Albertson, found the Historical Society in the area where the original factory was located (Pekin, Ill) and offered the organ to them. They were most happy to have it and even paid for half the cost of shipping. The last I heard, it was being restored by experts in the field and was to be displayed at the historical society museum. This was a win-win situation for both of us!
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