1866 Baseball Cards

[Kudbegud]

Originally Posted by scooter729

CDV = carte de visite. The photography method for such pictures of the 1860s era. Amazing!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carte_de_visite

Thanks scooter. Interesting.

[GaryPassamonte]

What you have are baseball carte de visites. 10 players in uniform, 3 in street clothes, and one unusual image that appears to show trophy balls.
The 10 player in uniform cards would sell for about $400-$500 each with the street clothes players less. The " trophy ball " card would be difficult to evaluate, but I would guess maybe a couple hundred dollars. The entire collection would be in the $4000. - $5000. range. If you change your mind about donating, I'd love to have them.

[Kudbegud]

I appreciate your comments Gary. I'm pretty set on donating them, but who knows, the museum may not be interested. That could happen.

[GaryPassamonte]

It is very honorable to keep this collection together because of its historical significance. Please don't hesitate to contact me through this board with any questions, as baseball CdVs are exactly what I collect.

[rhettyeakley]

I'm sure I'm in the minority on this issue but I strongly advise against donating items to museums/historical societies/etc. UNLESS there is strong indication that they will actually be on display (permanently). There are so many great treasures that have been donated that never see the light of day and languish in a box or a back vault forever, and also keep in mind that the museum can and will sell things whenever it wants or needs to. Thinking of the Burdick collection (for example) always gets me upset as nobody really gets to appreciate it in its present location and they have a lame display of a few cards and that is all. Honestly, I think the collectors of the world appreciate this stuff much more than any historical society/museum ever could.

Obviously, if the item being donated is of MAJOR historical significance and will always be on display then I have no problem donating those types of items. A large or small baseball card collection rarely ever fits into that situation wheras a T206 Wagner probably would.

Just my 2 cents,
-Rhett

[Kudbegud]

gary:
Thank you very much. I am rethinking my donation plan. You will certainly be consulted. I appreciate your expertise.

rhett:
I didn't think of this. You are right though. Unless the curator has an interest or there is community awareness and a desire to view these, they could, and probably would, end up in a box in the back room, or sold. I wanted to share a part of the history of the county that is fading away so quickly.

barry:
I posted a photo of the back of that trophy ball card on the Photobucket page. In the photo you can almost make out the date of the union game. It was mentioned in the article but I couldn't find it in the paper when I had the microfilm archive sent here through the Maui library from the Rock Island library back in the mid 80's. Now wouldn't having that actual display board be a collectable? Great minds think alike Barry...you and Rhett, brothers from different mothers.

Rob:
That's an excellent thought. Thanks.

[Kudbegud]

Leon:
This is why I posted here. To get thoughts, ideas and honest evaluation of what I have and what my plan was. My head is being opened and good stuff poured in.

[barrysloate]

Kudbegud- that's a very nice collection of CdV's. It is not unusual to find an image of a baseball player from the 1860's- there are hundreds of them extant. But having a whole team together is very unusual, and therefore the group is special. Gary's assessment of their value is pretty right-on, and I can tell you he is an expert on these. I would probably add a little value based on the completeness of the group; and the one with the five trophy balls is really cool. Those were baseballs that were kept in a trophy case in the team's clubhouse. Although you may not be able to read them, the teams, scores, and game dates have been added in black paint.

It is always a generous gift to give something like that to a library or museum, but it is worth reconsidering. Unless they can promise you they will be displayed, they may end up locked away in a drawer somewhere. And because they are small, they are subject to theft. So it may not be the best thing to give them away, but that's your call. Whatever you decide, that's an historically interesting group.

[barrysloate]

Rhett and I were typing the same thing at the same time. We both feel donating them to a museum has its drawbacks.

[Rob D.]

To follow up on what Rhett and Barry accurately said, maybe an alternative to donating the cards to the museum would be to sell them (if you're so inclined), then make a monetary donation.

[M's_Fan]

There has been a lot of great advice given so far. My advice will be about one area that has not been considered: Taxes.

If you sell the photos for cash, you will owe capital gains taxes on your gain from the sale. If you donate the proceeds to the museum you will get a tax deduction.

However, if instead of selling you donate the photos to the museum, you will be able to take a tax deduction for their full value. You will not owe any capital gains taxes.

For example, let's assume a value of $5,000. If you sell the photos for $5,000 and then make a $5,000 donation, you will owe capital gains taxes on the $5,000 but also qualify for a tax deduction of $5,000. A wash.

If you donate the cards to the museum, you owe no taxes and likely qualify for a $5,000 tax deduction.

So if you don't think the museum is appropriate to hold these photos, and are considering making a large donation to the museum, the best thing would be to donate the cards and have them guarantee they will sell the cards. The museum is likely a non-profit and won't owe any taxes on the sale either.

For these tax reasons many wealthy individuals make charitable donations of appreciated stock rather than cash.

However, if you wanted to donate only a part of the proceeds to the museum and pocket the rest, then it would make sense to sell them yourself and make a cash donation.

Obligatory disclaimer: This is not tax advice or form any relationship, see your own tax advisor.