Expert: Kenton Scott - 1/6/2011

Question
Hi
My late grandfather left me a 1912 Olds Slide Trombone with 5 mouthpieces, 1855 Theobald Berteling flute, Aurora Piccolo, alot of vaudeville traps, and alot of Carl Fischer, etc. sheet music books. He was the last of the Haller Boys from Reading, PA and his father was george Haller, Sr. All the 3 brothers were musicians like their father and could play almost any instruments but know most for the drums. I want to sell all of the items I have as my daughter has no interest in anything historical from the family, which breaks our hearts but seems to be typical for the kids nowadays unfortunately. All are in wonderful condition and in original cases, also have drum cases from the late 1800's. How do I find out their true value as here in NW Wyoming, noone knows anything about these items.....not many live here either. Thank you for your time

Answer
It seems to be generally the case that those that are interested in the history and artifacts are a minority.  

Since you are interested in selling your collection, knowing beforehand the value is immaterial.  If you photograph and document, including the provenance of the items and sell them on eBay, they will naturally rise to a fair value by the end of the auction.