In 1815, Thomas Jefferson sold his library — the largest in America at the time — to help re-establish the Library of Congress after the British burned it during the War of 1812. The man who drafted the Declaration of Independence did his own estate planning, and his collection is preserved and used in perpetuity to this day.
Keep a tight ship
Donating to a museum or selling your collection when the time comes can both be part of a plan. Keeping an accurate inventory matters — but keep a printed inventory, for your eyes only. Do not email your collection inventory or place it online in any way. Digital storage keeps changing; a hard copy is the safest record there is.
Paperwork is not the fun part of collecting. It is the part that protects your family.
What the chapter covers
- Selling versus donating when the time comes
- Keeping an accurate, private, printed inventory
- Why families who inherit a collection are the most exposed to scoundrels
- Planning that keeps a lifetime's collection intact