Ask Ian: Donating Gun Collections to Museums...or Not

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Lots of people put together significant gun collections over a lifetime, and want to see those collections preserved after they pass. This often manifests as looking for a museum that will keep a collection intact and display it - which is unfortunately a nearly impossible goal.
First, it is very rare to find a museum whose mission matches the collection focus of a specific private collection. Firearms cover a vast amount of history even firearms-specific museums are usually fairly narrow in scope.
Second, museums already have all their display space filled. Promising to display a new collection means taking down something they already deemed worthy of display - and promising not to take it down in turn if something more suitable comes along.
Third, even if a museum has space and shares the theme of a collection, they will almost certainly already have examples of many of the items in the collection. If a museum is not allowed to break up and sell off parts of a collection, it simply ensures that many of the items will remain perpetually locked away in a reserve archive.
I would propose that we really need to rethink the idea that museums have a duty to keep everything they acquire. We know that virtually all museums have much more in storage than on display, and forcing duplicate items or pieces unrelated to the museum's focus to remain in museum property simply ensures that those pieces are kept away from the collecting community. It is the collecting community that does most of the research and publication on firearms history, and this practice undoubtedly hinders research and scholarship. That is not to say we should close museums; certainly not! Museums are extremely valuable for preserving artifacts and making them available to some degree to the public, but they are only one part of the historical community.
If you are a collector who really wants your collection to be displayed in full in a museum, you really only have one option: bequeath the museum enough money to build and maintain a new wing specifically for your collection.
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Forgotten Weapons
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Tucson, AZ 85740

[@HighCaliberHistoryLLC]

As a museum professional and a gun collector myself, it's really hard to get other collectors to understand that their collection will never be as important to anyone else (or any institution) as it is to them. That's just the cold, hard truth of the matter.

[@Redmenace96]

People are crazy (and vain). Think of all the houses you have been in which had collections of thimbles, or spoons, or matchbooks, or pro-sports cards, or Pogs, or Legos, or..... You like them, and you enjoy collecting them. Don't be delusional and think anyone else finds it valuable.

[@ricardokowalski1579]

Yep.

[@lyhuy7413]

You are born and will die empty handed😮

[@lyhuy7413]

@@Redmenace96 You are born and will die empty handed😮

[@lyhuy7413]

@@ricardokowalski1579 You are born and will die empty handed😮

[@KITDFOHS]

Many museums will deactivate the guns permanently too. Just something to think about.

[@michaelomalley4057]

The Springfield armory is famous for that

[@stigchristensen2597]

think that one through, if museums did not deactivate their guns they would be a good source for criminals to get all sorts of firearms from muskets to polymer wonders and anything in between including fully automatic machine guns, assault rifles anti tank weapons, fully functional armored vehicles just to mention a few.

[@KITDFOHS]

@@stigchristensen2597 so are national guard and reserve armories which are quite frankly far less secure and less guarded in the US.

[@phillycheesetake]

@@stigchristensen2597 Sure, in your imagination all that is possible. In reality half of what you describe might happen once. And since there are millions of criminals who want guns, museums will never be a reliable source of weapons.

[@stigchristensen2597]

@@KITDFOHS and how would the US military react if some criminals stole fully functional military weapons ? you know the answer as well as i do in that regard. some years ago my nations army lost about 200 C8 rifles (canadian M4a3) to theft it took about 14 days for 98% for those weapons to be returned to the army and it was done by the civilian police where i live. the US has only god knows how many alphabet-soup 3 letter investigive organisations who in the case of stolen military weapons would work together.

[@Will97675]

My dad loaned a Japanese Type 99 Arisaka to a local military museum. He made it clear that he was only loaning them the rifle to display for their WWII exhibit, he wasn’t donating it. He even signed paperwork with the museum saying that it was only on loan. Eventually he decided that he wanted the firearm back in his possession. When he told them he wanted the rifle back they refused to give it to him because he “donated” it. Long story short he got the firearm back.

[@FoxtrotFleet]

You skipped over the most interesting part of that story.

[@Will97675]

@@FoxtrotFleet you mean how he got it back? The curator said the signed loan agreement was “nowhere to be found” in their files even though my dad had a copy of it. When my dad told the curator that he wasn’t leaving without the rifle the curator finally gave in. He didn’t expect to experience such a hassle getting a loaned item back.

[@JanTuts]

​@@Will97675 I _always_ expect hassle with trying to get loaned items back...

[@JamesThomas-gg6il]

@@JanTuts ain't that the damn truth, no matter the item.

[@planescaped]

Yeah, don't expect the other party to keep records for you. Good on your dad.

[@christopherroan8728]

Plot twist: Ian is just saying this so museums start selling their rare French rifles

[@mfreund15448]

Someone has to buy them!!

[@andersjjensen]

Having seen Ian's gun vault... nope... If it's French and he wants it, he has it.

[@nobodynoone2500]

@@andersjjensen I bet there are more than a few that are still just a bit too hard to justify. It's the case with most collections.

[@TurningGuns]

LOL, that's good. Lol.

[@2009Berghof]

I get the joke.

[@ricardokowalski1579]

Solid content. My two cents: you had your fun. You can't take them with you. Scatter the collections so others can have the thrill of the hunt, as you did.

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

a bit blunt, but very on point too.

[@ricardokowalski1579]

@@Ugly_German_Truths 👍

[@JamesThomas-gg6il]

That's my thought on the subject.

[@planescaped]

If you don't have anyone to leave the collection to, then yeah, break it down and sell it off.

[@AsbestosMuffins]

these guys also have a lot of duplicates that could be split off too

[@ChipPrints]

I recently visited the ww1 museum in Kansas City. I asked about how much they receive in donations. They told me they receive request to donate all the time. They usually will only accept if it’s really rare or something they don’t already have. They told me they have a massive collection in stock and really only a small portion of it is ever displayed at one time.

[@jasper2814]

​@@erroneous6947 there is a large stone archway in New Orleans commemorating local black soldiers who fought in WW1.

[@AlpineBishop]

​@@erroneous6947 OP was talking about museums, but there's a WWI memorial in Nashville too. It's a statue of Perseus, but it's a Great War rememberance.

[@ericdeer5887]

@@GMdrivingMOPARguygo see it, it’s excellent.

[@aaronlastname7775]

Fantastic museum

[@metrazol]

My mom owned a significant piece of art. She wanted to divest it and reached out to the artist's hometown museum. They were very interested... in buying it. A donation has strings. Cash on the barrel head was easier for them.

[@SirKryntik]

I'm a curator at a museum, and I can almost guarantee that most museums will not take guns, or almost anything for that matter, as a permanent exhibit. Every museum I have ever worked/volunteered for has a finite amount of exhibit space and an extensive backlog of objects in storage. We have things that have been in our museum for 50 years that have never seen the light of day in an exhibit. People don't realize that while we do house and protect a lot, we don't have the ability to display these things in the public's view where the most impact can be made.

[@SirKryntik]

@@GenX-Grampa A lot of museums aren't interested in loans now, but you're absolutely correct. If a museum will take a loan then it is the best of both worlds, you get to share your things, and you get to make sure they go to someone who appreciates them.

[@harveywallbanger3123]

A big part of this issue is that collectors have too much sentimental value tied up in their collections. One is reminded of the "insult to the Pez community" guy from Pawn Stars. If there's no buyer, there's no value once you're dead (sentiment, like the soul, wafts away upon assuming room temperature). Guns are even worse because they're politically hot - you can expect a lot of museums to demand the weapons be permanently deactivated and accompanied with extensive paperwork even if they take them. If you genuinely care about your guns "going to a good home", spend a lot of time lining up those homes before you die. Because anything left over is probably going to be sold at clearance prices by court order.

[@SirKryntik]

@@harveywallbanger3123 I see it all the time when I handle donations. People handing over their precious family heirlooms just for me to put them in a box for the foreseeable future. They expect me to care as much as they do. And to a great extent, I really do care. It's my dream job and I'm passionate about it, but I see so many family heirlooms that I can't possibly keep any form of sentimentality to them.

[@sergeantbigmac]

@@harveywallbanger3123 "If you genuinely care about your guns "going to a good home", spend a lot of time lining up those homes before you die." Ooof this hits home. My Grandfather is a big gun guy, was/is a huge influence for my interest in guns, he was a founding member of Cowboy Action Shooting where I grew up ...He is still active for his age and very mentally sharp as ever, but out of the blue this last Christmas he started asking all the family members about which guns we wanted. The whole I want them to go to a good home spiel (while mostly looking at me, his grandson) It put a lump in my throat for sure because of the wider implications for a lifelong 'gun guy' to say that.

[@fathead8933]

@@harveywallbanger3123 this they (collectors) take the value of the hunt, and try to sell the carcass at the same price. I can collect all the rare bottlecaps in the world then I can set the price at I want. Doesn’t mean anybody else wants ALL of the bottlecaps of the world. A lot of these collectors fail to realize they lack the items that make their collections actually valuable. Take an M1 Garand. If it was carried by Dick Winters, Omar Bradley, or Audey Murphy, it’s priceless. Without the ownership prominence, it’s worth 1k-2k. The same as any other M1.

[@evenmoremax2540]

This is why it's better to thin your collection down when the end is drawing near. Then _you_ choose exactly what happens with each piece and go through the process yourself. If someone passes suddenly, then it is what it is, but most folks have a good decade of their lives to iron out this sort of closing of the books. What's really crazy to me is that most folks who would be this deep into a subject are pretty much museum curators already. Half of what they have to offer is research and provenance. That stuff is almost always lost to time when the physical collectable changes hands. If they can manage it while living, then those things may travel on as well.

[@harveywallbanger3123]

People get way too sentimental, and (honestly) being very old and close to death makes it worse, not better. I've watched multiple guys cling to their $100k+ gun and car collections out of hardcore sentiment until the dementia made them incapable of making the decision to sell and it had to be done by strangers, who quicky-liquidated about 20% of the true value.

[@lyhuy7413]

@@harveywallbanger3123you are born and will die empty handed😮

[@JamesThomas-gg6il]

That's a very good point. Most collectors are definitely more versed on their certain items. The knowledge of and not just the historical. Like Dillinger's Thompson's, they are just two Thompson's that he had, normal everyday 1921s , but together with their story. The new Al Capone collection of stuff is up for auction by his daughters. I think that's kinda neat, plus they are around to tell what they know about it.

[@evenmoremax2540]

@@harveywallbanger3123 As long as the collector goes into their choices knowing full well that is the most likely outcome, then so be it. But... I'm kind of hoping that trend ends with the boomers. The "my preciouses" attitude becomes gatekeeping at some point. If you really want people to appreciate the things you've curated, you have to be _willing_ to let new people carry the flame. That means that whatever thing you did to your taste, some decades ago, is perhaps no longer what it once was to the market in today's world. You do see this a lot with cars more so than guns. The vehicle build from 1990 with the purple window tint and "Corvette" motor is not the same car that just rolled across the stand at Barrett-Jackson or Mecum. If you want someone to carry the torch and preserve the car, you have to accept that it's going to be someone with tastes from another era and a budget less than that of someone with a lifetime of earnings behind them. Usually those guys also have to understand that the "couple of years" it's been sitting is more like 10 or 20 and the entire car is just a starting point once again. Anyhow... This is getting ranty and that wasn't really my intent. 😆

[@alexanderdumas870]

@@harveywallbanger3123 I think as any kind of collector, your own estate sale after your death is the biggest enemy because it's up to somebody else to sell your stuff for value

[@jimmumford4444]

Several years ago, a local gun shop purchased a large number of shotguns from a private collection. The shop was in a position to sell off the guns one at a time and their customers got the opportunity to pick up some guns that had been locked away for many years. I saw that as a win, win, win.

[@AirplaneDoctor_]

When Bob Tullius retired from the warbird circuit he decided to donate his P51 Mustang to any accredited aviation museum in the US with the provision that it not be sold or traded as long as the museum is operating. He could not find a single museum in North America that would agree to his term so it ended up in the possession of the RAF museum in England who didn't have any issues with his request. The P51 was in fully restored airworthy condition right down to functional armament system minus the six .50's. When a legendary aircraft worth millions is being given away for free and you can't find any takers, it shows how museum's don't wish to have their hands tied no matter the value of the donation.

[@sbreheny]

Just curious - what do you mean by " functional armament system minus the six .50's."? Other than the machine guns, the only armament system on a P51 would be the reflector sight and bomb release mechanisms, as far as I can see.

[@tgiskardify]

@@sbreheny There's a bunch of fire control mechanisms between the cockpit and the M2s. Relative to those systems, the M2s themselves are a dime a dozen.

[@AirplaneDoctor_]

Most P51's have very little of the guns systems left intact as they were removed for weight savings . Bob had every single part in working condition, from the sight to the feed from the ammo bays, all you had to do was mount the guns and it was 100% operational.

[@AirplaneDoctor_]

​@@steveanderson6523 Yes, it is indeed true, you can see it on display at Hendon in hanger 5.

[@wraithcadmus]

I've been meaning to head up to Hendon and I do have a day off soon. It's also a lot more accessible to visitors than Duxford, impressive though the IWM is.

[@mbaladon]

That last part of the collection breaking up and allowing other collections to be born was a beatiful parallel to what happens to us once we leave this Earth. Sometimes you have to let go and let the cycle start again.

[@lyhuy7413]

After all no one care because you are already dead You are born and will die empty handed😮

[@gunkid6368]

this is why people who are really serious about their collections being seen create their own museums while building up their collections like mel Bernstein

[@mahartma]

That's how you end up with a thousand tiny 'museums' in Bumdoodle, Texarkana like places that no one goes to.

[@gunkid6368]

@@mahartma so then it's the same as them being in a room being seen by no one

[@alexanderoddy4916]

I love finding and visiting these tiny museums in road trips……..yes I’m old and boring

[@shawnoandrew]

You mean DragonMan.

[@codystell]

​@alexanderoddy4916 I too love finding those little museums too and I'm in my 30s, I have only recently in life realized I love military history and science.

[@JasperFromMS]

Two words: Littlefield Collection. Even if you build an outstanding collection, build a place to house it, establish and fund an organization to maintain it in perpetuity; it still is going to get broken up. All you can hope for is that it goes to a good home. If you want you collection to live forever; then you need to live forever.

[@lyhuy7413]

You are born and will die empty handed😮

[@tgiskardify]

It is in fact illegal to write a will that attempts to determine the disposition of an asset for all time. Courts will just throw it out. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_against_perpetuities

[@tombowers3681]

excellent example, you can also add the late Paul Allen's museum as well, recently sold to a Walton heir and ultimately to be moved to Arkansas and partially sold off

[@chuckschillingvideos]

@@tgiskardify "Illegal" is not the correct term. The correct term is "unenforceable" or "void/voidable".

[@IanMcCloghrie]

AIUI, the problem with the Littlefield Collection was that it was not funded properly in the will. They had the organization, facility, and vehicles, but not enough money to operate it. At least, that's what the tour guides said when I toured it a couple years before it was sold off.

[@tomshepherd4901]

Museums also have rotating collections as an incentive for people to come back. If you see everything on the first visit, you won't be likely to come back. Also, the WWII museum was wonderful. The gentleman who greeted us pointed to a light bomber plane hanging from the ceiling above us. He then explained to us that he jumped out of that very plane over Germany when he was a paratrooper in WWII. This was one of the best aspects of the museum, it gave you a personal connection to the people who served and their experiences and wasn't just a collection of stuff.

[@AlpineBishop]

Are you referring to the museum in New Orleans? If so, I am not surprised - that place is amazing.

[@tomshepherd4901]

@@AlpineBishop Yes, that's the one. It was a great experience.

[@robertwarner5963]

Albemarle bomber?

[@tomshepherd4901]

@@robertwarner5963 I think it might have been the B-25. They have a B-17 and a B-25 hanging in the gallery.

[@youtubesnamingpolicysucks]

The Smithsonian and the National Archives not only have vast storage areas in and under the buildings but dozens and dozens of warehouses full of material. Sadly most of it remains unseen, even today.

[@cammobunker]

The National Air and Space Museum collection is positively vast. They literally have aircraft from WW2 that have been in storage since the late 1940s that have never been displayed, either because they don't have space or because they need extensive restoration. They have the last complete HE-219 UHU night fighter in the world. It's finally on display (Put out in 2016) after being in storage or restoration since 1955.

[@johno1544]

Same with any museum that displays fossils. Ridiculous amount of material that will never be displayed

[@82726jsjsufhejsjshshdjso]

I don’t object to this fundamentally though. It’s safe and preserved by professionals in a stable environment with ongoing managed funding. If bubba has 400 guns and he dies and his kids take 200 each, they may not be as well looked after as the museum would. It’s not just about looking at them ‘now’, it’s making sure they’re preserved for the future.

[@PatrickKniesler]

And the conspiracy theories abound lol

[@majorbloodnok6659]

I worked in a museum; Ian is spot on.

[@MaraW1832]

The organization of my collections has never mattered to me more than their individual preservation. The collection-intact mindset genuinely baffles me when not applied to established sets (like pieces of a single uniform or armor set shouldn't be broken up obviously)

[@lyhuy7413]

After all no one care because you are already dead You are born and will die empty handed😮

[@eaglelord1780]

I think the collection-intact mindset is more due to people having spent a lot of time and effort making said collection, hence wishing to preserving them. Personally I am in the same boat as you, rather it gets split up into good homes, but I can appreciate the desire to see your work and effort maintained and appreciated

[@emergingloki]

Whilst I'm not a firearms collector, I do own a number of historic items, ranging from hundreds to thousands of years old. I am quite at peace with Ians comment that i am just a custodian; some of my pieces will have been through dozens of owners before me, and I hope dozens more after I'm gone, each one appreciating as much as I do.

[@lyhuy7413]

You are born and will die empty handed😮

[@alexsis1778]

I'm really curious what you have that is thousands of years old? Those aren't exactly easy to come by.

[@Carnophobe]

My curiosity has also been piqued ^^

[@douglaswicklund467]

I was senior curator for NRA's National Firearms Museum for 35 years, beginning when it was located in DC and was responsible for the move of the collection to Virginia. Thousands of guns. We went from a small, stagnant museum to a modern national level facility, showcasing guns from the 1300s to the present day. We strove to accept only those pieces that fit our mission statement and did not come with difficult to fulfill requirements. We could not promise to display it all, forever, and our donors knew this. We did display well over 70% of our holdings and did rotate exhibits regularly, We displayed guns and had a computer kiosk system to allow interested visitors to access details about each piece. Yes - we overestimated the average individual's ability to utilize even a simple computer. Older folks complained. Younger visitors wanted even more. We started putting printed labels in cases, which limited the number of pieces that could be shown. All well and good. Now, skip ahead to Covid. National Firearms Museum closed down for more than a year with only one designated staffer left. No collection maintenance was done. After a year and a half - the furloughed professional staff had to leave the museum as NRA showed no interest in re-opening, despite most other Virginia facilities coming back to life. I retired and wanted to retrieve my personal loans, arranged through the museum director and registrar. Boy - was I surprised when several pieces went missing from locked exhibits and our conservation laboratory - areas where only the designated staffer had keys and electronic access to. It took months to get reimbursed by NRA at even the low insurance values I had placed on these pieces. The registrar and I were not allowed to come in and look for these pieces. NRA this year changed the deaccessioning policy I had set up in the late 1980s to protect the collection. Now, the collection deaccessioning decisions and where the received funds wind up are under the control of just one person, NRA's Executive Vice President. I fear that the collections may be in real jeopardy as I received a call from an auction house while I was retiring asking about a shipment of museum guns. No such shipment had been scheduled while I was there. For those that have read all this - any museum is only as good as its staff. I strove to protect the collection and the wishes of the donors - but with the two museum professionals (me and our registrar) out of the way - the collection was wide open. Those that have read the the trial transcripts about NRA misdeeds - bear in mind the museum collection could now represent a source of funds for the lawyers. This museum had become a national treasure, thousands had walked through its galleries over two decades. NRA members and other collectors should be furious about what is going on now,

[@impulse_xs]

Stuff like this is why I’ve never been an NRA member and will never support the NRA. They’re a special interest group that exists to solely protect *American firearms manufacturers*. Go check their record on consistently lobbying for legislation AGAINST milsurp imports. They don’t give a damn about normal gun owners.

[@BTCAsia]

I was surprised when I saw Rock Island listing numerous guns from the "NRA collection" (maybe it said Whittington). I assumed those were duplicate or surplus from donations. What really surprised me was the condition in most cases was relatively poor. As I recall, there were a couple of Winchesters lever guns I looked, possibly pre-64, but definitely post-war, yet the condition was listed as fair or described extensive pitting and dark bores. I didn't understand that at all. As a life member from back in the 80's, I am furious at what has happened to the organization overall. We, the members, are the victims.

[@Reriiru]

I remember a situation like that. My grand-grandfather was a high ranking officer, who climbed from lieutenant to general through combat, essentially. Thus he had a bunch of awards, including interesting weaponry, orders and in general a whole lot of interesting military history of a nation. When he passed, my dad and I (only surviving relatives) wanted to donate the entire collection to a local museum. It was an interesting full collection with an inspiring story behind it. After talking with the curators (and I do need to point out that they were good people, and were very upfront with us) we decided against it. They told us that their facilities were very small, that while some parts of the collection might get displayed, most of it will be stored and a lot of it will be traded. They might be interested in some obscure medals from it, but that they won't be able to preserve the whole story and provenance of the collection. Thus all of the stuff just sits in our storage closet. I mean, at least it's with us, we can remember the man and get inspired. P.S. This video actually changed my mind on selling this stuff quite a bit. Before it, I was vehemently against selling that legacy, as well as being against anyone who does it.

[@lyhuy7413]

After all no one care because you are already dead You are born and will die empty handed😮

[@max-zv7sf]

Stories just get diluted and lost to time. Your grandfather's collection was the achievement of a lifetime for him, is a font of inspiration for you. And the details and significance of the whole assembly just gets fuzzier and less important over time. It's just the way it is. Objects turn into trash if they don't find new significance.

[@SootHead]

Yep, yep, yep! We collectors tend to get myopic about our collections, especially when we don't have the big picture like Ian obviously does. This video should be required watching for anyone with a big gun collection. If a collector does donate, and a museum accepts, them being able to sell most, or even all, of the donation is still a blessing. Most museums run on a shoestring so income from the sale can really add to what the rest of us may enjoy in that museum.

[@lyhuy7413]

After all no one care because you are already dead You are born and will die empty handed😮

[@janisber111]

Or your collection must be one of the kind that no item is in museum and all are extreamly rare and with huge historical value. But such collections are really rare and kept in family.

[@jamescherney5874]

Your comments were spot on. I went through the same thing trying to donate historical objects from WW1 Naval Aviation to a national museum. The best advice as you said is too sell or give your collection to other private collectors. They can display or show it to who they wish. It will rot in the basement of a museum if you donate it.

[@HuginMunin]

Well that isn't quite right either. Long term storage, properly done in a museum may be better than "passed around amongst various owners, stolen, modified incompetently, then literally rotting in someone's non climate controlled basement." There's no absolute right answer.

[@jamescherney5874]

What "isn't quite right " is trying to put conditions on the use and care of your earthly possessions after you die.

[@HuginMunin]

@@jamescherney5874 I think it's fine, you just have to be realistic and hopefully not selfish. I'm just saying, a museum isn't the worst place for a valuable artifact even if it's in storage. Lots of great guns have been ruined by uncaring or incompetent owners.

[@KayJay85]

Even at the aircraft museum I volunteer at we have to turn away tons of donations for the same reason. You can imagine how hard it is to store a bunch of aircraft in a reserve collection. Just isn't possible.

[@loetzcollector466]

I'm sorry, but I am not just a temporary custodian of my valuables. When I die I intend to have them buried with me, along with terracotta replicas of you and my other favorite KZbinrs.

[@SafetyProMalta]

Reminds me of the movie Ghost, where the dude chasing Swayze is dying for a cigarette because he had none on him when he died. I intend to have all mine strapped to me when I'm in the ER....🤣🤣🤣 That's a real "Ghost gun"

[@nobodynoone2500]

Don't forget the moats of mercury or your tomb is just a prepper stash.

[@loetzcollector466]

@Nobody Noone I'll have a chubby robot throw a heavy cowbell at any Intruders.

[@TheBananamonger]

​@@nobodynoone2500 hey, our descendants need fallout/D&D style dungeons to explore and loot in the fantastically-induced post-apocalypses of the immediate-to-relatively-near-future!

[@camberweller]

Tomhenry897 is VERY right. The Camp X private museum in Oshawa, Canada had quite a number of items that were (the families thought) loaned only. Problem: handshake loans between WW2 era people. Curator / owner died and his estate sold it all off. Quite a lot of families found themselves suddenly -- and without any recourse -- deprived of grandpa's heirlooms which had been proudly pointed out to them in the museum.

[@Will97675]

That’s a prime example of why it’s always important to have a signed loan agreement on file for both parties. That’s a legally binding document, it’s a much safer option than just a handshake agreement.

[@lyhuy7413]

You are born and will die empty handed😮

[@lyhuy7413]

@@Will97675 You are born and will die empty handed😮

[@camberweller]

@@Will97675 - Very agreed.

[@ablemagawitch]

@@Will97675 "That’s a prime example of why it’s always important to have a signed loan agreement on file for both parties. That’s a legally binding document, it’s a much safer option than just a handshake agreement." The world use to operate on handshake agreements before the rotten generation got involved and used every weasel hole they could to get themselves paid. Family heirlooms that passed down for generations, were for them to sell, not for them to take care of until their kids, grand kids or great grand kids were old enough to value and protect such items. That wouldn't dumbly sell it for some trendy widget.

[@SuperRootUser]

This video reminds me of stories about conflicts between gift givers and gift receivers. University gets a bequest of a large tract of land that housed a train museum with instructions to maintain the museum. Time goes on and the museum wants the land but not the museum.

[@Skorpychan]

Which is exactly why the donation came with the instructions. Like HELL are you going to sell my trains off and demolish my museum just to build more low-quality houses.

[@kylermcreynolds3146]

Ian, One of your best videos. I serve on the board of a military museum, and this problem goes much further than just guns. It can be applied to almost any type of a collection. To often, people are rigid in their rules & requirements for museums. It can also leave families in a difficult position. Some people get frustrated & throw and/or give away things. I literally was meeting with someone tonight about taking on their entire collection of memorabilia & guns. Thankfully much of their collection we currently are lacking in ours, so we can take most of it. The patron was also flexible enough to have us tell him what we did not want. A rare perfect situation for a museum. It also important to remember, what maybe special to you personally may not be for a museum. Our museum gets offers dozens of uniforms each year, but we already have many duplicates. We have to turn them away unless something is truly unique in that particular person’s story.

[@cheesenoodles8316]

A family member was the curater at a decent county museum....all the best stuff (my intrest) was in the basement. He loved to walk you through and show off these hidden treasures. He had a private collector that would volunteer to maintain (clean n oil) and ID weapon related items.

[@isaac6705]

I really feel bad for the executor of that will. They'll now have to deal with how to split the collection up among the heirs.

[@jimmumford4444]

I’ve had the privilege of going behind the scenes in four natural history museums and the same thing holds true in them as well. There is always much more in the collection than the general public realizes. Some museums make their collections available to accredited researchers so there is some value to having large reserve collections, but the public doesn’t really benefit. I agree that private collectors probably take better care and appreciate their collections more.

[@lyhuy7413]

After all no one care because you are already dead You are born and will die empty handed😮

[@Fortisfox]

It sounds like a lot of museums would benefit from an interconnection to each other to allow for rotation and joint funded storage for historical pieces/displays. I'm sure some do this.

[@jacknelson8601]

Very, very well said Sir! I have personally seen two large and historically important collections degraded, dispersed and negligently handled (one a magnificent collection of Civil War weapons, the other a wonderful collection of 112th Cavalry artifacts). Greed, theft, and a 'who gives a damn' attitude always plays a part in these situations. Good video Ian!

[@lyhuy7413]

After all no one care because you are already dead You are born and will die empty handed😮

[@johndavis9454]

Excellent information! My Grandpa served in combat in WW1 and had one souvenir gun he brought home. A German 10Gauge double-barrel sawed off shotgun! The State of Iowa Historical Museum did not want it but my Grandma also had a gun they did want! It was a Cutts Game Getter, .22LR/410 over/under. She still had the metal clip-on stock. They gratefully accepted it and within six weeks it was on permanent display with a neat little pictograph describing the gun and attributing it to my Grandpa including his Army service.

[@4t4mag7]

I own a company in North Dallas, TX called Estate Weapons Buyers and help out with those that want to pass their loved ones collections on to those who will also love them. It also is easier sometimes to split money rather than collections among those sharing the estate.

[@asianinvasian9022]

I was a volunteer (we all were) at a small military aviation museum and I've got to thank you for putting a rather common problem for us into such a well worded video for the public. It's always difficult when stuff like this happens, especially since we barely had any space to begin with for display or storage. One huge issue was the excess of uniforms. Whenever it came up that we couldn't possibly keep an item in storage we had a system in place that kept the info on who donated it and we did our best to return the item to the donor or their family, though quite often they either did not want it back or we were unable to reach them

[@codys5727]

Discuss your firearms with your relatives and inform them of the intent to gift them to the recipient upon your death. Your family/friends/guy 3 doors down that helps you as though he's your son all care about preserving your memories of and with the guns more than any museum. I made an audio recording with my grandfather before he passed which was like a gun podcast, just talking about each item and it's source or a good story. We tend to think we'll remember it all but 9 years later it takes a little to recall what he told me without listening to it

[@Will97675]

Depends on the family. My cousin inherited 60 guns after his fathers death and he wanted nothing to do with the collection. He sold off the entire collection. Granted I know they’re just material items that at the end of the day don’t really matter but most people will never appreciate your collection like you.

[@codys5727]

@@Will97675 reason why it is important to have those conversations about whether they'd be interested in them. If my kid doesn't want them i can give them money instead and find another home for them.

[@SafetyProMalta]

You are correct, I know of two friends who recently passed who had a large collection of eclectic arms. The family siblings broke them up before the guys were in the ground.

[@jasonweiss2773]

I would never give my collection to a museum for precisely this reason. I leave it in trust for a trusted family member to do as they see fit. After all, I'm dead, I'm incapable of giving a shit.

[@dillabetes]

This was a great explanation, and I specifically like when you mentioned the “ebbs and flows” of collections. Allowing pieces to return to circulation enables someone else to feel the same accomplishment you may have felt when you acquired the firearm.

[@nobodynoone2500]

To expand on this, I have some older family members who would thoroughly benefit from a "Masterclass on bequeathing weapons in the USA". IF you would team up with a lawyer for such a thing I think not just your audience, but future generations, would benefit. Thanks for all you do Ian!

[@Grey_Duck]

I am a firearms curator at an esteemed firearms collection known commonly as "my house." I would be happy to accept anyone's gun collection and display it proudly.

[@marcoflumino]

Well thought and well explained, finally a person that understand both parties and is willing to explain the reason and what to do. I raise my cap to you Ian!

[@graff324]

Bravo, a well thought-out and presented piece. Well done Sir

[@ElChris816]

Excellent video, Ian. I like the thought of being a temporary custodian. Knowing that your love of these weapons will go on to another that will love them as much as you did makes all the difference.

[@_D_P_]

This is why FW is my favorite gun channel. We get interludes to contemplate mortality and materialism.

[@1248dl]

Another well thought out presentation. I'm getting along and thinking about my collection. This is very helpful. Thanks, Ian.

[@drdelewded]

Someone needs to open an museum called "The Museum of private collections of firearms"

[@malkomalkavian]

Or even a general collection of collections, not in glass cases and lit and described, just a vast warehouse of dead people's weird stuff :)

[@jakesnakes5866]

​@malkomalkavian that's called a flea market haha

[@andersjjensen]

But the thing with museums is that they're kinda boring to everyone who hasn't gotten that specific interest. Which means they can't afford rent in an area that has a high population density... which means they won't get a lot of visitors.. which means they won't get a lot of income for rent/mortgage/real estate tax.

[@malkomalkavian]

@@jakesnakes5866 Yeah, aren't they great :)

[@pd4165]

The OP has identified the problem but not stepped up to the plate - 'someone'' is patently not themselves. If you want a problem solving then do it yourself and not pussyfoot around whining that nobody else is doing what you want them to. Do I practice what I preach? Damn right. I run a charity for a problem that interested me but nobody else was willing to put effort into. If I can't be bothered to find a solution then I don't expect anyone else to - if you care enough you'll do it.

[@purplepidgin]

My uncle was a huge collector and passed suddenly about 30 years ago. I kept all the modern shooters(shotguns, handguns, modern rifles post 1900, his only child(daughter) didn’t want(she kept a .380 pistol, a 9mm glock and the .22 she learned how to shoot on)And really the muskets and other really old collector firearms I didn’t want, luckily he had many friends at a shooting club which I gifted the collectors firearms to. They were happy to have his authentic and replica( shooters) match locks, wheel locks etc.

[@johndally7994]

I once had some historical items from early settlers in Montana and offered them to the Montana Historical Museum. Because the goods had nothing to do with Native Americans they weren’t interested. A museum in Scotland where the settlers were from was interested but said they would put them in the basement. So I gave them to a collector.

[@alvinyork5341]

As a military weapons collector I would not recommend putting anything in a museum because you will never get it back and only see it through glass , keep it in the family

[@nobodynoone2500]

Depends on the family tbh.

[@eakinde]

"And don't forget. That isn't your Martini you have. It belonged to others before you and will belong to others after you are gone. Look after it and pass it on with pride. It deserves it." - Malcolm Cobb

[@ShootAUT]

Thanks for sharing! Great bit of information I hadn't even thought about yet.

[@chronicmilitarycollector9232]

I've been a collector of Militaria for over 15 years. I've seen too many horror stories personally from different museums that I will never donate to a museum. I would much rather sell my collection for dirt cheap to a young collector, even if he just wants to flip some or most of it.

[@lyhuy7413]

After all no one care because you already dead You are born and will die empty handed😮

[@Troy_Built]

That is why we decided not to donate my grandfather's car collection. Once we talked to several people that had their consensus was don't do it. Send them to auction or individuals. You will get people you know will care about and take care of them. What you agree to even in writing cannot ensure what you want actually happens. A museum has a lot more on it's plate than seeing to your wishes. Even if they want to do exactly as specified and have the best intentions it often won't turn out that way.

[@ablemagawitch]

You are hero for caring about the young collectors. It's hard getting into firearms(enough people love to offload their lemons on new kids coming into the hobby ), especially when you were born too late to buy in the golden age. Growing up in anti-gun household is a hell only those that lived it will understand. The same parents that wouldn't hear any of the logic, nor look at any of the prices climbing , and would not buy you a gun with your money holding it until you were 18. Yet are looking back at the return of investment and admitting they were pretty stupid, but lot of good that does me 3 decades later. Now that they're old weak from arthritis, guess who now sees the value in owning a gun for protection.....

[@jpk9171jpk]

Excellent take on this! You could ask museums that are looking to take any of the guns you have ask if it’s something they will display and if so to just to note that it was donated by you on the display.

[@Acct1941]

Fascinating discourse that not many people talk about. Thanks Ian!

[@messmeister92]

I volunteer for a private WWII museum, that is to say a private collection that is on public display. All of our firearms are real, in working order, and the owner will take them out to shoot from time to time. The only exception are automatic weapons, which were purchased deactivated. We unfortunately have to turn down items all the time. Occasionally we get something rare, but a lot of times we get things in really bad shape and we have to turn people away. We’ve had people try to donate their family photo albums, because “so and so was a WWII vet,” but none of the photos have much to do with the war.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Ian's advice applied to all sort of collections. If you collect stamps, or coins, or paintings, or Hummel figurines, or cap snafflers or... You are very unlikely to find a single museum that needs all of your collection. You may not even find a private buyer who wants all of your collection. Heck, for some collections, you may not find anyone with interest in it at all. But if there is interest, you will very likely need to psychologically prepare yourself for the breaking up of your long-gathered collection to find everything a new home.

[@ablemagawitch]

You need then look at the younger collectors, not the ones at the big collecting events that make their collections on buying bartering other items to get the ones they want. Nor the people who are known in the scene, you have to accept you won't get each one best price if sold individually unless you do that over time yourself, and where is the giving back to the hobby you love that has given you so much? Look on the other forums you hang out on and ask if someone knows someone young interested in_____. There are lots of people that get free crap because they post a lot, but the people that post far less may be the better candidates as they are the ones interested but aren't living, breathing and stalking the "for sale" section to pounce on that great deal post before anyone else can. I saw this behavior when gun broker was pretty new, I was waiting for the FFL to finish up the transfer and in the time it took he had refreshed the listings several times complaining there wasn't anyone not a dealer listing guns for sale. I realized what hope did I have of winning a deal when their were plenty of people just like him sitting there all day , and every day, just hitting refresh at their job in the gun industry. Hardly seemed fair because when you have to work a job. How can you compete against someone that has a job that they can screw off and browse for deals online all the work day? Saw the same sad fact on Craiglist that no one could sell a used bike for cheap to help someone out because the people that owned bike shops were constantly hitting refresh while at their bike shop waiting to pounce on the good deals. Even when the add said no bike shops or dealers, so they would go buy acting like a regular person and then put the bike in their shop at full price. One would always use his cellphone so caller ID wouldn't show his Shop's name on caller ID display and bragged about doing it. Ironically he expected deal prices from private sellers on items and not to have pay another shop/dealer for something at full cost, because unlike his customers he was different/special.... I hear your advice and am trying to creatively structure giving away certain items, the problem is having someone trust worthy to do it when you're gone. Plus the people not getting it for free then having no value attached to it because they got it for free, it didn't cost them anything to earn it. That and if people would quit dying, I wouldn't have to keep changing and updating the will. Some I have to look at their age and health is like mine so I'm looking at who will inherit t from them type deal for if I trust them not to cash it out for DLC for some game that they won't pick up and play again after 6 months from when they get it.

[@BerndFelsche]

Record the collection digitally for posterity.... Find an auction house or dealer prepared to put in the time for the digital record, to allow them to subsequently disperse the collection to other collectors. If family and friends are sentimentally interested in specific items they can then bid/buy those.

[@Skorpychan]

That's what this channel does, is it not?

[@davidlamppert9093]

I agree that museums need to be able to sell items in their collections if needed, but sometimes questionable decisions are made. A man I knew owned an extremely rare Corsair aircraft from the 1940's Cleveland air races. The local auto and aircraft museum purchased it from him and promised to restore it and display it in their collection. They then changed their minds and sold it to a private collector and it was destroyed in a tragic flying accident. It was a unique item and really belonged in a protected museum.

[@Skorpychan]

Given that it was an air racer, it was lucky to have survived THAT.

[@stefanschutz5166]

Excellent as always. Thank you from a fan in Amsterdam.

[@andrewskaggs1025]

So what I'm hearing is that ian needs to buy some large store like costco and display (on multiple floors) entire gun collections with plaques dedicating the collections history to the individual who owned it. I think a 2-3 story costco or sam's club or some similar warehouse-type store would be a nirvana of gun collections.

[@Bhartrampf]

When i was in highschool, i worked at our local historical museum, we rotated our displays, but we had huge storage rooms that hadn't been open in several years, because of lack of display room. Another museum was opened several years later for aircraft and WW2 stuff, i would suggest a stop a both of them if your ever in Tillamook Oregon.

[@CallMeMrChainmail]

I believe The Wallace Collection is held in trust and goes on tour around Europe, the artefacts that can't be brought with the main body of the collection are loaned to different museums that don't have examples of those artefacts allowing everything to be displayed at least somewhere, at some point, throughout the year.

[@aceilingfan_420]

My mother experienced something similar with my grandfather's collection, it was a phonograph collection, appraised at $3.5 million, many of them working wax cylinder Victrola's and old Edison type, largest collection east of the Mississippi, and he personally restored some for different museums and collectors. My grandmother and my mother were, more or less, forced to sell off his entire collection (I believe my mother still has her wax cylinder stand up) just to pay for hospice care, and firearms are a lot less of a niche, then phonographs are

[@Joe___R]

Basically, if you have a nice collection and want it on display at a museum unless you have only items that are both extremely rare and historically important without duplicates. Most museums won't be willing to make room to display your collection. Your best options are to either open your own museum and pay for an addition to be added to a museum to display your collection with enough left over to pay for the upkeep of your collection and building addition for a decent amount of time. There are some great examples of European royals turning their palaces into museums that display their collections. This allows the public to not only see those beautiful buildings but also show off the collection. But that is not something most collectors can do.

[@Mini1124]

What a great and interesting video on a topic that had never once crossed my mind, thanks Ian!

[@Schattenspieler1982]

What I, probably, liked most about this video, was that I pretty much knew, what Ian was going to say. Not because I'm "oh, so smart", no. But because of what I amalgemated out of all the other videos before, be it about private collections or from interviews with museum curators. (I especially enjoyed the videos with Ashley Hlebinsky, then with the Cody Firearms Museum!) - In a way I felt like a worthy desciple, that -at least in this one regard- had listened well and understood, what his master was talking about all the time (as in trying to teach him). - Thank you very much, Ian! Keep up the good work!

[@2009Berghof]

I can relate. A MG42 sat in the basement of the Santa Fe Trail Center in Larned, KS along with a lot of WWII militaria. "Oh, we cannot sell that because so and so donated it." This museum had a firearm display funded by a wealthy benefactor that was clearly "on loan." Apparently, years later this fine display of old Western firearms disappeared from the museum (my guess) when the loaner passed and the family decided to sell off the collection after discovering what it was worth. More recently, twice I visited the JM Davis Firearms Museum in Oklahoma. I mentioned the desirability to sell off the many duplicates, and sporterized models of the same arm. "We cannot do that as we have a 99 year lease from the founder, and most of the collection is in the basement." I thought the collection poorly displayed by modern standards and contained far too many non-firearms related items. I suggested contacting the heirs to the collection to see if they would agree to selling off some of the collection to finance improvements, perhaps sharing in the proceeds. If both subjects of a contract can agree to modify the contract there is no problem, forty years of which was still ticking. Otherwise, I could see the same thing happening to the JM Davis Museum that presently includes in entombed Mr. Davis and his wife, that happened to the excellent western firearm collection in Kansas... An empty room but with two bodies entombed. I have since seen that some of the firearms of this museum did in fact become available via an auction house.

[@ernov2426]

Ian, the Welrod story is from the Army Museum in Vienna. ;)

[@connect4419]

Great video Ian a lot of stuff I hadn't considered here.Thanks

[@davidnicholas7516]

As another commenter below noted, the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation, colloquially known as the Littlefield Collection, is a case in point. Littlefield was a billionaire, owned a mansion out in the country south of San Francisco in a very remote area (you turned off onto a dirt road, and then turned off that dirt road onto another to get there) and had built prefab warehouses in his backyard with all told some 350 armored vehicles in them, all the way from WW1 through the '70s. You can ask the Chieftan about the whole thing, he was a docent there the first time I visited. In any case, the guy died and the museum was hilariously inaccessible; eventually, once they sorted everything out, the family donated the whole collection to a museum in Stowe Mass. that already had a bunch of WW2 airplanes on display (it's called the Collings Foundation) and they sold more than half the tanks at auction, with the money they received financing a new facility next to their air museum displaying the premier tanks from the collection. Littlefield had one of the few working Panthers in the world, for instance...they fished it off the bottom of a river in Poland and restored it from the treads up, got the engine running and everything. From what I understand the resulting facility is quite impressive, but they had to break up the collection, and he was a billionaire. I doubt most of the collectors watching this have his resources... When I die, my heirs (such as they are) are free to use whatever I have in any way they see fit. I get it, but it's a bit much to try and control things after you die...

[@oceania2385]

My friends father was with the Rainbow division in WWII. After his death he wanted to donate his collection to a new museum that was opening. I was trying to tell him museums do basically whatever they want with donations, including selling and trading. I drove him to the museum a couple of years back. To my surprise not only did they have some of his donations in their display they had a plaque on the wall with his name on it. For now at least. Ian's right staff changes boards change.

[@Nickrioblanco1]

Excellent video. I wish all collectors could see this video. I wonder what to happens to impossible requests of wills.

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

in the end a court will probably have to decide when the money to pay the executor runs out and the will could not be fulfilled as written.

[@tedebear108]

Good morning to you. This is Ted from Texas. Been watching your show for a really long time and I enjoy the history that you pass on. I am coming to that point in my life with my collection of military stuff that belonged to my father from World War II. As well as my personal collection of military items from the Civil War to today. I have all types of items but some of them means so much to me because they belonged to my father from the war I don't want to see them destroyed when I pass. Still trying to figure it out who gets my stuff. Thanks for your input

[@tracker1265]

EXCELLENT video. Perhaps the collector can create a “digital picture archive” to alliw a museum website or video display in the future to show it. The firearms donated to the collection to a museum to be used to perpetuate the museum

[@johnmartlew]

The Rodmay Hotel pub in Powell River BC had biggest rifle collection I’d ever seen. All originals from flintlocks to Sharps, Winchesters, you name it. One night in the 1980’s it got “donated” to an unknown “private museum” who knows where. The cabinets ran the length of three walls. It was a large pub. Everything gone in one night. Never solved.

[@ecthelion83]

It sounds to me that if one is considering donating a firearms collection, it may be a good idea to have a target institution or handful of institutions in mind which would be capable of/willing to accepting such donations, and to give said institution(s) a little leeway to manage/break up the collection as applicable to its/their mission. This assumes that an accompanying donation to help expand institutional space to house the collection is not present.

[@dogsnads5634]

I think someone earlier made a valid point, for most collectors they know when they need to start talking about what happens to their collection but few actually do. If you hit 80 its probably time to actually reach out to some museums and get a plan together of what will happen, rather than just leaving the details in a Will that is impossible to actually carry out.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Interesting thoughts on the topic. As a side thought as a researcher I wish there were a way for private researchers to link up with private collections which have significant objects which are in need of research.

[@bcamp6088]

Jim Davis gun museum in Claremore,OK might be a place to look to. They have many such collections displayed

[@yourlocaltoad5102]

Another very important thing is that people should always make sure to have a list of every gun in their collection that includes a short description of the things that make these guns special or interesting and their estimated value. I frequently see interesting and pretty valuable guns being sold for next to nothing because the collector died and his family just doesn’t know the value of some of these guns. Also having such a list might be pretty useful for insurance purposes.

[@davidcox3076]

That's an excellent idea! You just reminded me to add my brother's newest acquisitions to our joint list. I keep all the information just for insurance. But I can see where having a detailed inventory would be extremely useful for a collector.

[@yourlocaltoad5102]

@@davidcox3076 I‘m happy that my comment was helpful to you. Having such detailed information (and pictures as well) can also be useful if they get stolen and the cops have issues identifying the guns if the serial number was ground off or if the guns never had a serial number to begin with. I know a guy whose revolver got stolen and later it showed up in the hands of a robber. The serial number had been filed away, but the guy had documented everything he did to this gun and gave some photos to the police when he reported it stolen. And these photos helped them to identify it as his gun and so it found his way back into his hands. (He also had to have a new serial number stamped, but he could choose what he wanted the # to be and now it’s registered as boomerang357, which he considers to be the funniest thing he ever did in his life)

[@matthewmudgett7413]

My family has a great many copies of a transcription of my greatx3 grandfather’s civil war diary. One line in particular from that diary, “traded my pocket watch for a revolver today”, is probably the single thing most responsible for my fascination with both history and firearms. My family no longer owns the original. It was donated to a museum. It is not a piece of history that will ever be displayed, but I’m really glad that I get to have my cake and eat it too. My family’s historical artifact is preserved in a museum collection, and there are dozens of copies of it floating around among family and friends. This video reminds me that I need to make sure I have the digital copy of it

[@matthewspencer972]

My own experience is that it can be _much more fun_ to donate one specific item to a well-chosen place where it will create the maximum of interest and/or embarrassment. When I had to move to a small flat, I reluctantly went through all the personal electronic devices that I had retained over the years, and I discovered that most of them still did something useful that the modern stuff either didn't do, or was expressly designed not to do under any circumstances. But I did decide that the only electronic personal organiser I have ever owned was a bit limited in its usefulness in 2014 and I contacted the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park to see if they might take it, rather than throw a still-working instrument in a recycling bin. When they realised what they _thought_ I meant (the oldest Psion Organiser model that their resident ex-Psion engineer knew of) and in working order, they admitted to a mild interest, so I posted it to them, once I convinced the post office that lithium batteries weren't actually a thing when it was designed. At which point they realised that it really was the first-ever model (and it still worked) because their own expert hadn't seen one like it before! They put it on display. (Stay with me, it gets better soon.) A few months latter, my brother took my somewhat overly "cutting edge" nephews to Bletchley, to try and arouse some interest in the sort of computer gear we had used when we were their age. (One of them now works for a leading chip-maker and the other helped win a competition to build a Mars Rover.) They expressed polite interest in all the really old, really primitive WWII stuff, and then they came to the oldest, clunkiest, most thoroughly uncool "modern" personal electronic device which either nephew had ever seen or heard of and expressed their scorn and horror at it. Whereupon their father took quiet pleasure in telling them (in a public place!) that their beloved Uncle had not only kept, but actually _used_ the aforementioned item in front of them for slightly over thirty years! I am so glad that I didn't wait till I was dead before I donated that particular item to a museum where it belonged. I suppose I should avoid posting this comment under my own name, in order to spare my nephews further embarrassment, but I'm afraid that I'm simply not tech-savvy enough to know how to do this...

[@anonymousm9113]

Years ago I did a scripted reenactment at the Patton Museum on Fort Knox. We got a "behind the ropes tour" put on soft shoes and had at it. An Iraqi T72 and a recently recovered StuG III were the only displays off-limits to us. A staff member offered to show a few of us the motor pools if we wanted to wake up early the following morning. A couple of other guys and I took him up on the offer and got to walk through their warehouses full of armor. XM1s, flamethrower tanks, even a German halftrack that had its engine torn apart. The story behind that was a volunteer with knowledge of the engine was rebuilding it but had a fallout with administrators. He never came back and they hadn't found anyone who could put it back together. Anyway, armor, guns, you name it, they take up valuable space and not every museum will be interested in your jewel. The Patton Museum had little good to say about Aberdeen since the former prided itself in maintaining its pieces while the latter left theirs out to the elements and vandals. Now, a lot of the collection sits neglected on Sand Hill waiting for the Armor and Cavalry Museum to get built.

[@VSO_Gun_Channel]

I have a thought on this- I get what they are putting down. Logistically and financially it makes sense. Instead of trying to compel a museum to display an entire collection set a small minimum of displayable items. Let’s say 5 for the sake of argument. The museum can then choose to liquidate the rest of the collection to other institutions under the understanding that these pieces will be displayed in chunks giving credit to the original collector. You now have “A sample from the Fuddy Fuxk 1804 Collection” in multiple locations. Thus making it available to multiple populations. The personal arrogance of the idea that a public works institution should cater to the desires of deceased Shmuckatelli just because he spent a lot of time at the flea market is astounding to me.

[@marko4496]

I work in the general antiques trade - this advise carries over to all areas of collecting imo. Museums don't want the newspapers or humdrum collectables your great uncle had put away.

[@practicalshooter6517]

Extremely enlightening. Thank you

[@bulukacarlos4751]

I agree with Ian's thought. Thinking back, if the weapons in my collection had been in a museum, I would never have been able to put together that collection. Therefore I must not be selfish with the collectors of the future. Greetings from Argentine Patagonia.

[@elricm13]

Great video! Great points and I have seen this as well, for me deactivation is the worst scenario

[@williamwarning-kf2ym]

Call the Lousiana National guard Jackson Barracks museum in New Orleans. They lost a lot if their collection in Hurricane Katrina. They display arms from 1776 to today.

[@spankthatdonkey]

Virginia Military Institute took an alums collection of machine guns plus five air rifles which to me are the coolest. One is displayed and says we can not absolutely prove it, but the manufacturer, date of production, and its characteristics suggest it could have been in the Lewis & Clarke expedition and fascinated the Indians as big medicine when it was used to drop a buffalo with no explosion as per muskets of the time. Connection VMI alum. Highly suggest the trip to Lexington VA to see the collection.

[@MatthewCochrane9622]

It’s almost like the best solution would be to start an auction house that will display whole collections for a reasonable amount of time, as well as an agreement in terms of covering expenses, both for storing, displaying, and selling the collection. Once the collection is sold, a donation can be made to organizations of your choosing, or the proceeds can go to heirs. This would give people a place to have a collection be seen as a whole, while also, giving the public access to see these items which may otherwise be simply sold into other private collections, and locked away in private individuals basements. I would think there would be a reasonable amount of interest in a museum that is frequently changing, and frequently displaying unique collections from different perspectives, rotating out on a routine basis, along with the effective advertising potential of "wow that’s a really neat piece. I’ll have to put a bid in next month when the collection goes up for sale." if this was in a highly trafficked tourist location such as Las Vegas, Nashville, Miami, etc. it would have a recurring visitation potential.

[@NefariousEnough]

Great information. Thank you, again!!

[@robertoservadei4766]

You warned us about this situation a few years back, in one of your Q&A videos.

[@stevejones9062]

In Australia the abandoned goods laws are used to sell off un-needed items ie once the museum has done their due diligence to find the family of the original donor the museum can do what ever they need to do. It really annoys some people but spending 90% of your budget on storage is just not feasible.

[@bookyle21]

I feel like on the other hand if it's in a private collection it's also only ever going to be seen by a handful of people. So it's kind of a lose lose situation if the goal is to have other people admire the collection. And another point to that is the general audience of a museum really going to care that your rifle has this special marking and the receiver has an extra cut here compared to this other one right next to it made 3 years before

[@tomp538]

Great video Ian. Collectors have interesting minds and ideas.

[@jeffprice6421]

My first thought was, no museum can display your entire collection... Unless the collector is endowing a trust to house and maintain for perpetuity, there is no way to do this...

[@loganblanton843]

A u.s military vehicle museum closed down a lot of the vehicles got sent off, one problem was they had a prototype (mild steel prototype I believe) MBT-70 turret from what I heard they couldn't sell it or remove because some law or government reasoning about prototype military equipment, so ultimately it has to be destroyed instead of being taken to another museum or private collection

[@AndyCoulter]

Great advice. Hard for some people to hear about a life’s passion but you said it well.