Value of Scientific Specimens

[Barry M. OConnor]

At 2:25 PM -0400 7/25/01, Ron Gatrelle wrote:

... I donate specimens to the FSCA/DPI
>in Gainesville, Florida as they have a detailed standardized list of prices
>for all kinds of specimens - curated, non-curated, various types of types,
>etc.  At the end of each year they automatically send me a letter fully
>itemized with prices listed and totaled. They have done this for many many
>years. So don't tell us it can't be done. They only problem is that the
>prices are 20 years behind the time. We at the Museum of the Hemispheres /
>International Lepidoptera Survey use this same system for those who donate
>to us (we were formed in 1998)....

I am very surprised to hear this.  Can anyone at FSCA verify that the old
"value list" is still being used?  As Sally Shelton pointed out, the museum
cannot put a value on specimens donated to them - it's against the law.  We
were informed by an IRS agent some years back that the old FSCA value list
was meaningless to them - it's all "fair market value" even if the FMV is
zero. - Barry

Barry M. OConnor
Curator & Professor             phone: (734) 763-4354
Museum of Zoology               FAX: (734) 763-4080
University of Michigan          e-mail: bmoc at umich.edu
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1079  USA