[Milsurplus] Milsurplus Digest, Vol 169, Issue 79 Museums!

Sat May 26 23:16:04 EDT 2018

I have a Type 97 sniper rifle that my father brought back from Japan at 
the end of WWII.
It is an unusual rifle as it has a mismatched part that was used to 
originally build the rifle. It was, by serial number, one of the last of 
these rifles produced in WWII.
All of the serial numbers match on the rifle.
The inspector was in a hurry and was right handed.
I tried to donate the rifle to the NRA museum and they will not take it 
under my terms.
My terms were the rifle is not to be sold, but, to be displayed or 
stored for later display.
The rifle is worth too much to be a 'wall hanger'  in a private home.
I tried to donate the rifle to a local museum under the same conditions.
They will not even talk about.
I find out it is written in the organization of museums that artifacts 
will be sold or traded to maintain the museum.
The rifle and scope (with a non matching serial number) was appraised at 
over $5000.00

What dies one do with a piece of history like this?

Glenn Little
WB4UIV

On 5/26/2018 10:04 PM, Jeff Kruth via Milsurplus wrote:
> Hi Guys!
>
> Sadly, I learned first hand that museums run out of money and space so 
> sell/trade your prized donations off for $5.00 or a 1/2 a cubic foot 
> of space, because no one values it like you do. I gave a LOT of stuff 
> to a (famous) museum near Baltimore MD that claimed they wanted it and 
> would treasure it.  I later saw some of my kit being flogged for $1 / 
> $2 at a fleamarket, so I bought it back because now I teach and use 
> historical stuff. I looked around for things that I and friends I had 
> solicited stuff from had donated. Almost all gone!!
>
> I really do not have an answer as to what to do with it, but my 
> approach right now is to nurture interest in some of my students who 
> really seem to like stuff, not just want it to sell on eBay (hell, I 
> can do that...). They get some stuff for carting it away. And if they 
> are foolish enough to come back, they get some more!
>
> My wife gets teary eyed when we talk of my inevitable "shrugging off 
> of this mortal coil" (not loading coil), and says "What will I do with 
> all this?" My reply? "Hell, I wont care, I will be dead! Think of it 
> as stacks of $5, $10, $20 etc bills and sell it off!"
>
> The only that makes me a little blue is when I see stuff go to trash. 
> Not sold cheap or given away, that's great if someone will treasure 
> it. No, I just hate waste.  Years ago, I was given a big pile of stuff 
> from an estate of a EE. In it where cigar boxes full of treasures, 
> many with carefully hand drawn schematics, or little notes, or the 
> specs from some now long lost data book meticulously written out long 
> hand (I guess he didnt have a copier handy).  I took the stuff, 
> treated it with respect and found homes for a lot of it. Maybe my 
> stuff will get lucky like that.
> My 2 cents, YMMV
>
> BTW, Hi Mike, N4FS!
> 73
> Jeff Kruth
>
>
> In a message dated 5/26/2018 9:09:27 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
> milsurplus-request at mailman.qth.net writes:
>
> I agree with you 100% Ronnie. 73- Mike
>
>
>
> Mike B. Feher, N4FS
>
> 89 Arnold Blvd.
>
> Howell NJ 07731
>
> 848-245-9115
>
>
>
> From: arc5-bounces at mailman.qth.net <mailto:bounces at mailman.qth.net> 
> <arc5-bounces at mailman.qth.net <mailto:bounces at mailman.qth.net>> On 
> Behalf Of Ronnie Hull
> Sent: Saturday, May 26, 2018 6:50 PM
> To: cfb at themuseums.org <mailto:cfb at themuseums.org>
> Cc: ARC-5 <arc5 at mailman.qth.net <mailto:arc5 at mailman.qth.net>>; List 
> Milsurplus <milsurplus at mailman.qth.net 
> <mailto:milsurplus at mailman.qth.net>>
> Subject: Re: [ARC5] New Homes for Old Warriors
>
>
>
> I would not trust ANY museum as far as I could spit a ten pound lead 
> weight
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>
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-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Glenn Little                ARRL Technical Specialist   QCWA  LM 28417
Amateur Callsign:  WB4UIV            wb4uiv at arrl.net    AMSAT LM 2178
QTH:  Goose Creek, SC USA (EM92xx)  USSVI LM   NRA LM   SBE ARRL TAPR
"It is not the class of license that the Amateur holds but the class
of the Amateur that holds the license"

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