[Nhcoll-l] ΑΠ: Advice on estimating the value of donated collections?

Wed Mar 9 16:11:51 EST 2022

The Australian Council of Museum Directors valuation framework for financial reporting can be found here:

https://camd.org.au/files/2018/11/CAMD-Collections-Valuation-Framework-1-Nov-2018.pdf

Cheers,
Gavin Dally

> On 9 Mar 2022, at 9:19 pm, Battermann, Nora <battermann at snsb.de> wrote:
> 
> Dear Gavin,
> 
> thanks for your input! Would love to see the guidelines (tried to contact you off list but my email won't go through for some reason)!
> 
> Cheers,
> Nora
> 
> Am 2022-03-09 11:00, schrieb Gavin Dally:
>> Hi all,
>> In Australian museums, as there is no commercial value, we use a
>> recollection cost method to value collections. Theoretically how much
>> does it cost to go in the field, preserve, curate, document, store etc
>> a specimen. A premium is added for remote locations and types.
>> It has been very useful in showing administrators how valuable and
>> irreplaceable the collections actually are.
>> Let me know off-list if you would like the valuation guidelines.
>> Cheers,
>> Gavin
>> Gavin Dally
>> Senior Collections Manager, Natural Sciences
>> Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
>> magnt.net.au [1]
>> street address: 19 Conacher St, The Gardens, Darwin, NT 0820
>> Australia | postal address: GPO Box 4646, Darwin, NT 0801 Australia
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>> On 9 Mar 2022, at 6:20 pm, Battermann, Nora <battermann at snsb.de>
>>> wrote:
>>> Dear all,
>>> thanks for your replies so far. I fully agree with Maria - it would
>>> be incredibly useful to establish a method for estimating the value
>>> of natural history collections. Obviously, the value is
>>> infinite/impossible to measure but unfortunately there are instances
>>> in which we need to put a number on the value of a collection - be
>>> that insurance, posting/taxes, buying/selling or, at least in
>>> Germany for tax purposes, donation receipts.
>>> Best wishes,
>>> Nora
>>> ---
>>> Dr. Nora Battermann
>>> Koordination Sammlungsassessment
>>> ---------------------------
>>> Kaulbachstr. 37, III. Stock
>>> D-80539 München
>>> Telefon:
>>> +49 (0)174 2762445
>>> ---------------------------
>>> www.snsb.de
>>> Am 2022-03-09 08:11, schrieb Maria Dimaki:
>>>> Dear all,
>>>> indeed, it is a very interesting subject! The last years, I am
>>>> asked
>>>> about the economic value of specimens or collections. Usually from
>>>> donators, for insurance, or other administrative reasons. My
>>>> answer is
>>>> always that each specimen is priceless and that it is impossible
>>>> to
>>>> define the value of a natural history museum collection in euros.
>>>> If the person insists, I answer that is definitely not our job to
>>>> “tag” a prize on specimens or collection and he should address
>>>> to
>>>> the tax office (and I am sure that they know nothing on the
>>>> subject,
>>>> in Greece).
>>>> For some time know, I believe that, we should establish a method
>>>> to
>>>> estimate the value of Natural History Collections based on their
>>>> scientific, cultural and educational value, by using appropriate
>>>> criteria and a scoring system.
>>>> Best wishes
>>>> Maria
>>>> Dr. Maria Dimaki
>>>> Collections Manager
>>>> In Charge of the Department of Terrestrial Zoology
>>>> Goulandris Natural History Museum
>>>> 100, Othonos St. Kifissia, GR 145 62, Greece
>>>> Από: Dirk Neumann
>>>> Αποστολή: Τρίτη, 8 Μαρτίου 2022 7:39 μμ
>>>> Προς: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
>>>> Θέμα: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Advice on estimating the value of donated
>>>> collections?
>>>> Dear Hannu,
>>>> 1€ would be better; within the EU (and the single market) you
>>>> have
>>>> no customs borders anyway, and if you need to send materials to
>>>> Norway, Switzerland or Iceland, 1€ would be preferable to avoid
>>>> import taxes. Usually, the threshold for import tax is low (until
>>>> the
>>>> most recent amendment this year, the minor threshold value was
>>>> 22€).
>>>> Colleagues were charged recently few cent because the declared
>>>> value
>>>> was 5€ ...
>>>> With best wishes
>>>> Dirk
>>>>> Am 08.03.2022 um 12:48 schrieb Hannu Saarenmaa:
>>> The answer is "nil". In computer science terms that means it does
>>>> not exist.  Nil also means "infinite".
>>>> Museum objects are irreplaceable. So there is no commercial value.
>>>> Or something that can be insured. Natural science collections
>>>> cannot
>>>> be insured.
>>>> My company bioshare.com regularly sends collections over the
>>>> European Union border, for digitization, that is. While doing
>>>> that,
>>>> we have to put something in the customs forms. And to inform our
>>>> insurance company.   So we put there the value of the paper sheets
>>>> which carry the [invaluable] herbarium sheets, or other objects.
>>>> That currently is 28€ per specimen. Do not laugh.  This is how
>>>> it
>>>> works.
>>>> Anyway, I still prefer to report "nil" or zero value for the
>>>> irreplaceable.  If I can.
>>>> Hannu Saarenmaa  www.bioshare.com [1]
>>>> On 2022-03-08 11:42, Battermann, Nora wrote:
>>>> Dear all,
>>>> I thought this a very interesting discussion but understand that
>>>> it
>>>> mainly concerned US institutions. I'd be interested to hear from
>>>> European institutions too - how do you estimate the values of
>>>> donated collections? I am not aware of a list of appraisers who
>>>> specialize in natural history collections in Germany for example
>>>> and
>>>> wonder how other institutions handle acquisitions, especially
>>>> donations.
>>>> Greetings from sunny Munich,
>>>> Nora
>>>> ---
>>>> Dr. Nora Battermann
>>>> Koordination Sammlungsassessment
>>>> ---------------------------
>>>> Kaulbachstr. 37, III. Stock
>>>> D-80539 München
>>>> Telefon:
>>>> +49 (0)174 2762445
>>>> ---------------------------
>>>> www.snsb.de [2]
>>>> Am 2022-02-28 19:50, schrieb Tacker, Christopher:
>>>> Everyone has offered good advice here.
>>>> Apart from conflicts of interest, the one that does the appraisal
>>>> stands to get involved with the state or federal tax enforcement.
>>>> If
>>>> the appraisal is called into question, that represents a nearly
>>>> limitless time sink in hearings or in court.
>>>> We tell donors that we will work with whatever appraiser they
>>>> designate. We still get offers of "I'll donate this if you'll get
>>>> me
>>>> an appraisal for X amount of money." That's a big "no, thank you."
>>>> Chris Tacker
>>>> Chris Tacker, Ph.D., P.G.
>>>> Research Curator of Geology
>>>> North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
>>>> 11 West Jones St. | Raleigh, NC  27601
>>>> Emails to and from this address are subject to NC Public Records
>>>> Law
>>>> and may be disclosed to third parties.
>>>> -------------------------
>>>> From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of
>>>> Taylor, Sarah <sarah.taylor at uconn.edu>
>>>> Sent: Monday, February 28, 2022 9:32:38 AM
>>>> To: Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu <Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
>>>> Subject: [External] [Nhcoll-l] Advice on estimating the value of
>>>> donated collections?
>>>> CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments
>>>> unless you verify. Send all suspicious email as an attachment to
>>>> Report Spam.
>>>> Good morning all,
>>>> A colleague at a regional museum reached out to ask me for advice
>>>> on
>>>> how to estimate the value of a collection of donated birds (mostly
>>>> skins, some taxidermy mounts). He’s not interested in individual
>>>> values for each piece, but a big picture “lump sum.” I’m
>>>> sure
>>>> this has come up on the listserve before, but I haven’t been
>>>> able
>>>> to
>>>> locate it. If anyone has ideas or can point me in the direction of
>>>> a
>>>> resource to send to my colleague, I’d really appreciate it! I
>>>> have
>>>> no appraisal skills myself – and I’m a botanist – so I’m
>>>> at
>>>> a
>>>> total loss on my end.
>>>> Cheers,
>>>> Sarah
>>>> -----------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> Sarah Taylor, PhD
>>>> Collections Manager, CONN
>>>> George Safford Torrey Herbarium
>>>> Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
>>>> University of Connecticut
>>>> 75 North Eagleville Road, Unit 3043
>>>> Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3043
>>>> U.S.A.
>>>> P: 860.486.1889
>>>> F: 860.486.4320
>>>> http://bgbaseserver.eeb.uconn.edu/ [1]
>>>> Links:
>>>> ------
>>>> [1]
>> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://bgbaseserver.eeb.uconn.edu/__;!!HYmSToo!I6nElQUoJoUICzaKeTqJnoPt_kh_FM6_Vt5OyeMThersS_zBQNfJjvdk_pY74SVV0SJwqEKeLfNIOg$
>>>> [3]
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Nhcoll-l mailing list
>>>> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
>>>> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
>>>> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society
>>>> whose
>>>> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and
>>>> management
>>>> of
>>>> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
>>>> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
>>>> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Nhcoll-l mailing list
>>>> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
>>>> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
>>>> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society
>>>> whose
>>>> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and
>>>> management
>>>> of
>>>> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
>>>> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
>>>> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
>>> --
>>> Dirk Neumann
>>> Tel: 089 / 8107-111
>>> Fax: 089 / 8107-300
>>> neumann(a)snsb.de
>>> Postanschrift:
>>> Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns
>>> Zoologische Staatssammlung München
>>> Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Storage
>>> Münchhausenstr. 21
>>> 81247 München
>>> Besuchen Sie unsere Sammlung:
>>> http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/
>>> ---------
>>> Dirk Neumann
>>> Tel: +49-89-8107-111
>>> Fax: +49-89-8107-300
>>> neumann(a)snsb.de
>>> postal address:
>>> Bavarian Natural History Collections
>>> The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology
>>> Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Storage
>>> Muenchhausenstr. 21
>>> 81247 Munich (Germany)
>>> Visit our section at:
>>> http://www.zsm.mwn.de/sektion/ichthyologie-home/
>>> Links:
>>> ------
>>> [1] http://www.bioshare.com
>>> [2] http://www.snsb.de
>>> [3]
>> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/bgbaseserver.eeb.uconn.edu/__;!!HYmSToo!I6nElQUoJoUICzaKeTqJnoPt_kh_FM6_Vt5OyeMThersS_zBQNfJjvdk_pY74SVV0SJwqEKeLfNIOg$
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Nhcoll-l mailing list
>>> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
>>> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
>>> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
>>> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management
>>> of
>>> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
>>> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
>>> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
>> _______________________________________________
>> Nhcoll-l mailing list
>> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
>> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l
>> _______________________________________________
>> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
>> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
>> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
>> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
>> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
>> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
>> Links:
>> ------
>> [1] http://www.magnt.net.au/
> _______________________________________________
> Nhcoll-l mailing list
> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l
> 
> _______________________________________________
> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/nhcoll-l/attachments/20220310/e2dcb626/attachment.html>