NOTE: National Heritage Museum staff are prohibited from providing appraisals or an assessment of the value of an object by federal tax law, the NHM Collections Policy and the American Association of Museums Code of Ethics. NHM staff are also prohibited from recommending one appraiser over another. Click here to see our blog post about this. To find a qualified appraiser, check your local phone book or contact:

American Society of Appraisers, 800-272-8258, www.appraisers.org
Appraisers Association of America, 212-889-5404, www.appraisersassoc.org
International Society of Appraisers, 312.224.2567, www.isa-appraisers.org
National Institute of Appraisers, 800-676-2148, www.appraiseroffineart.com

1. Once a potential donation is deposited at the National Heritage Museum (NHM), the NHM staff examines it carefully.  We review the object(s) using the following criteria:
   
   
   1. The item relates to NHM's collection. This collection includes objects that are fraternal, representative of American culture, or relate to an individual/event important in American history.
      
      
   2. The object will help further NHM's programmatic and educational goals.
      
      
   3. The quality and physical condition of the item is good.
      
      
   4. The provenance is known and relevant.
      
      
   5. Some or all of the following information is known: the original purpose of the item; who the creator/author(s) was; where and when it was created/written; its relationship to contemporary events; original and subsequent ownership.
      
      
   6. The item is not a duplicate of an item(s) already in the collection.
      
      
2. The NHM Collections Committee meets regularly to determine if a potential donation is an appropriate addition to the collection.
   
   
3. Following the meeting, one of two things will happen:
   
   
   1. If part or all of the donation is accepted, two deeds of gift will be mailed to the donor.  The donor signs the deeds and returns them to NHM to be countersigned. An original copy of the deed is returned to the donor for his records.  NHM retains the second copy with the files on the object.
      
      or
      
   2. If part or all of the donation is not accepted, the donor will be notified.  The item(s) will then be returned to the donor.

        4.   Once the signed Deed of Gift is returned, the item(s) become the property of the 
              National  Heritage Museum.  It/they will then be catalogued, numbered and 
              stored for future generations to enjoy.