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

[Hubert Miller]

While some collectors hoard stuff away, it is a kind of tradition among many, particularly among militaria collectors, that they present themed
displays, I stress not-for-sale displays, at interest group events. Even while having other items for sale at their event spot. So it's not automatically
doomed to hang on a wall like an animal head. I belong to a Japan militaria collector group whose members are really into serial number and production
count minutiae, and they do this kind of thing regularly, I mean event displays and even shooting events. It is the same intensity and focus many of the
members of this group or WSNo.19 group have. 
I don't pay a lot of attention to the actual trading prices of military rifles, but it seems to me....that your appraisal is somewhat optimistic.

A few decades back, I donated an SCR-178 set to the Fort Lewis museum, for a tax dodge as suggested by a past member, SK, of this group. 
In retrospect, that was crap advice I received and a REALLY dumb move on my part. How I regret that ! 
-Hue 

>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