My Stuff is Just Not Worth the Effort
The following actually was in the news recently:
"A family in the American south that wishes to remain anonymous told the Associated Press that it found seven Ty Cobb cards from the early 1900’s that belonged to a deceased grandfather and are reportedly worth $1 million collectively.
“Clearing out their great grandfather’s house in California earlier this week, they found a crumpled brown paper bag and opened it up. Inside they found seven authentic Ty Cobb baseball cards that were printed sometime between 1909 to 1911. Considering there were only believed to be about 15 of them in existence before this find, they’ll command a large sum at auction.”
Collector Joe Orlando said the total worth of the whole cache should exceed $1 million. It’s not yet clear what the family who found them intends to do with them."
Chances are that you don't have a million dollars hiding somewhere but if you haven't looked at your collection recently, it may surprise you to learn what you do have. One client was reviewing and conserving material and came across an appraisal of their Sheraton sofa done about 50 years ago. The appraiser identified the sofa as having been made in the early 19th century. Fast forward to today and a quick look on the internet showed that the value of the sofa had increased significantly since the 1965 appraisal. And checking with the insurance company they learned that an antique of that value needed to be singly insured since its value was not fully covered under the contents section of the policy.
No, you probably don't have a $1 million baseball card collection (you might), but it is worth knowing what you do have and taking steps to conserve and index it for future generations. Email me if you would like some suggestions as to how to get started. Take a look at HeirShare to learn more and see the blog section for other topics.
It’s Spring! Enjoy America's Pastime!
Adair Watters
