Artifact Appraisals for Personal Collections

Unfortunately, due to state regulations and nationally-accepted ethical standards for museums, the staff of the Wyoming State Museum cannot authenticate or appraise artifacts for the public.

For authentications and appraisals of your personal collections, we recommend that you hire an appraiser who has been certified by the American Society of Appraisers (ASA), the Appraisers Association of America (AAA) or the International Society of Appraisers (ISA). Each accredited member has earned a professional designation in one or more specialized areas of appraisal.

Please visit the above websites for more information and for the most current and complete list of accredited appraisers throughout the United States.

Artifact Appraisals for Museum Donations

Donors seeking tax deductions for noncash charitable contributions to the Wyoming State Museum can find IRS forms and instructions at https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8283.

Museum staff will be happy to make donated collections available to professional appraisers, if the donor wishes to hire one for appraisal/tax purposes.

Artifact Conservation

If you own an object that needs to be cleaned or repaired, the best person to ask for advice is a professionally trained artifact conservator.  Unfortunately, the Wyoming State Museum does not have an artifact conservator on staff.  Advice about the proper care and preservation of historic objects can be requested from  museum collections staff, but questions relating to object cleaning or repair should be addressed by a trained conservator.

For more information about the field of artifact conservation and guidance on how to find a professional artifact conservator, please visit the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC) website.

Please be aware that conservators in private practice will charge a fee for conservation work, but may be able to provide you with some free advice.