I have worked with certified appraisers for books and furniture and when I was a student, worked at Sotheby’s in NYC.  They would hire me to appraise keyboards but I was anything but certified.  A real appraiser produces a report with the history of the instrument, a thorough description of it and its condition and a sales history that can place the instrument in context of recent sales, taking note of price fluctuations.  I know, for instance, that a good Kirckman got a much higher price 15 years ago than now.  This having to do with the general drop in value of all wood furniture and all furniture from the 18th and 19th century.

I dont know of any certified appraisers but my suggestion is to call Southby’s or Christies or what ever gallery you know deals with instruments.  The world of violins being completely different because they are considered investment objects and have a world market that is very conscious of each sale and maker.  This is not the case with harpsichords.  Tell us what you find.  

Andrew

> On Sep 10, 2016, at 6:20 PM, David Pickett <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Owen,
> 
> Not answering your question.  But I am wondering how there can be kosher certified harpsichord appraisers on the west coast that you yourself dont know.  Are there in fact any who are competent to give a sensible appraisal?  If the IRS were to ask me to suggest candidates for the job (fat chance), I would suggest you yourself!
> 
> It seems to me that the IRS has surely grown wise to the retired university profs who have off loaded their 1960s Neupert, etc, Serieninstrumente to the place where they worked in exchange for a letter entitling them to a whopping tax deduction!
> 
> David
> 
> At 23:48 10-09-16, Owen Daly wrote:
> >Hi all. Some information I hope I can glean from you all.
> >
> >Nowadays, thank God, IRS and most insurance companies require real
> >certified appraisers for such estimates, which gets builders like me
> >off the hook, when people want us to pull a figure out of a hat.
> >
> >A good friend and client recently died and I am going to be helping
> >her sister sort things out. Pretty soon I will be posting on our List
> >and elsewhere the availability of her two harpsichords for purchase,
> >but for now, dealing with tax issues and the like, her sister needs an
> >accepted certified harpsichord appraiser to give her formal numbers
> >for IRS (estate tax falls into the picture, I think, here) and I need
> >to know how to find the nearest good one here on the west coast.
> >
> >Any references?
> >
> >thanks in advance,
> >
> >Owen
> 
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Note:  opinions  expressed on HPSCHD-L are those of the  individual con-
tributors and not necessarily  those of the list owners  nor of the Uni-
versity of Iowa.  For a brief  summary of list  commands, send mail to
[log in to unmask]  saying  HELP .
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