What would you do if you stumbled across a never before discovered baseball "Find"

[slidekellyslide]

I would take pictures/scans and post them on Net54. What I did with it after that would be to determine if it's something I want to keep. If not then figure out the best way to sell it.

I would never give anything to the Hall of Fame. They make no efforts to recover stolen property even when they know where the item is.

[E93]

I voted to keep them, but it really depends on what it is. If it is not something I really collect, I would either keep it for trade bait or sell it.
JimB

[Zone91]

Keep it till I pass away then donate it to a museum. I would not sell it...history is worth more than money to me.

[wonkaticket]

Sell it at a garage sale.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by Zone91

Keep it till I pass away then donate it to a museum. I would not sell it...history is worth more than money to me.

My guess is your opinion on this will change the longer you stick around here. Museums are not always the best custodians of baseball memorabilia.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

I would take pictures/scans and post them on Net54. What I did with it after that would be to determine if it's something I want to keep. If not then figure out the best way to sell it.

I would never give anything to the Hall of Fame. They make no efforts to recover stolen property even when they know where the item is.

+1 All of mine have been posted on Net54

I've been lucky enough to come across three significant finds that I can think of. Each involved history, as opposed to locating a missing card from a set or a cache of supposedly rare cards.

I sold one (and regret it still), and still have the other two. One is a card that I will probably sell, as it's something I don't collect. The other is a collection of items that I will definitely never sell, two pieces going to two different museums, the remainder to be determined (but not sold while I'm alive).

[ruth-gehrig]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

I would take pictures/scans and post them on Net54. What I did with it after that would be to determine if it's something I want to keep. If not then figure out the best way to sell it.

I would never give anything to the Hall of Fame. They make no efforts to recover stolen property even when they know where the item is.

+1

[Zone91]

slidekellyslide

Maybe not but I prefer more people seen it and enjoying it than one person's own personal glory/pride in the dark where no one enjoys it....I am much more for the young kids seen stuff like that than some millionaire/rich owner who needs to keep it for himself.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by Zone91

slidekellyslide

Maybe not but I prefer more people seen it and enjoying it than one person's own personal glory/pride in the dark where no one enjoys it.

The museum you donate it to, might not put it on display, or only display it once...it will rot in eternity in the basement of the museum, or they'll sell it someday. I once purchased a bunch of old Nebraska football programs at the yearly local library sale...they were all stamped with the Nebraska State Historical society stamp on the inside cover.

[Zone91]

slidekellyslide

I would make sure in my will that it must be displayed at all times if they are to receive it and if they do not agree to those terms then I would have my family sell it and enjoy whatever they enjoy in life. If my family decides to keep it then so be it....once I am dead that will have no impact on me anymore I will be way to far away from human concerns to enjoy it any way it goes down.

If heaven has a ball field I am sure my soul will be there and what happens on earth will no longer be of issue to me.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

The museum you donate it to, might not put it on display, or only display it once...it will rot in eternity in the basement of the museum, or they'll sell it someday. I once purchased a bunch of old Nebraska football programs at the yearly local library sale...they were all stamped with the Nebraska State Historical society stamp on the inside cover.

+1 Some people here in the PacNW donated a pile of valuable, historically-significant (in their minds) items that had been passed down from their parents (stuff from China or Japan - I forget which), to the museum in Tacoma. The museum recently began selling it all off, and the family was kind of appalled. I don't blame them, but from the museum's point of view, they can sell whatever they want.

The above example might explain why it's better to put something on 'loan' to the museum. That way you can take it back if it's not displayed, and they can never sell it.

Thanks for getting me to thinking about this - I had been thinking about leaving something in my will to the Negro Baseball Hall of Fame, but given how few 'real' items they have displayed, and their constant financial issues, I don't know how good of an idea that would be. One of you guys would probably end up with it at some point

[Runscott]

But in all fairness, sometimes it makes sense for a museum (or university) to sell items. The University of Oregon had a set of Edward Curtis' 'North American Indian' for decades, but then when they had the opportunity to acquire Curtis' personally-owned set (I believe it was donated with the stipulation that it would not be relinquished) they sold their original set. I'm sure it brought a ton of money to the University, and why would they need two sets of the same thing?

[iwantitiwinit]

I'd offer it to the guy that bot the drum backs at the recent Goodwinn auction for 20 million