1866 Baseball Cards

[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.

[Leon]

Personally I think donating them, with a written guarantee that they will be displayed (in some certain way), would be best. Short of that, the other suggestions already given should be considered. I concur with Barry in his thoughts on value.

[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.

[Golf History]

One suggestion I have not seen here and based on you initial post and subsequent ones might be of some importance to you. Make high resolution scans of the front and the back of them all. That way you can preserve the history if they get lock in the back of a museum or get squirreled away in a private collection.

A simple information and display web page is the easiest and best way to make information available to the masses these days. In a case like this it can be done for free or nearly free without any expertise needed. The historical value and significance would be preserved for any and all to see.