We used to go to different people's houses, you know. In those days I mean they could hear music and - if somebody could play an instrument, man, they would get up at night, from one o'clock; and they'd fix food and they'd have drinks and they'd stay up till five, six o'clock in the morning and give you money. It wasn't a dance but a serenade; we'd go from house to house. In those days there wasn't too much things like juke boxes, high fidelity sound, wasn't nothing like that then; and whenever somebody could play and could play well, he was considered as somebody; he could go anywhere and he had it made, you know? - Baby Doo Caston, on playing music in Natchez in the 1920s, interview with Jeff Todd Titon
This is bound to be tedious, and not guaranteed to have all examples of the records in your particular collection, but you can try searching on popsike or discogs:
You can also search closed auctions on ebay (and this is basically what popsike does).
Like I said... tedious... but you also may be able to get a general idea based on a few searches and then generalize from there. For insurance purposes, maybe that's good enough...
Do you have the American Premium Record Guide by Les Docks? It's almost all 78's and very worth having for anyone who collects. The last printing was 2001 (that I'm aware of anyway). It is a good starting point, although there are records in the book that go for far more, or way less than what is listed.
I second Nobocaster's suggestion. Les Dock's is your best guide for values of 78 records. It gives you an idea of which ones are rarer or more collectible than others.
Thanks everybody, so it doesn't sound like you need a 3rd party to valuate it, you can do document your records and then insure them for that amount ... I was thinking there may be more to it than that. This is very helpful, all replies appreciated, thank you.
Shovel, You've got it right, I think. Whatever you and the insurance co. agree on IS the value. You do need a 3rd party (and a "qualified" one at that) to appraise your collection for the taxman---if you were to donate the collection to an archive and take a tax write-off, for example. Moral: The taxman is much tougher than the insurance man. best, bruce
Shovel, You've got it right, I think. Whatever you and the insurance co. agree on IS the value. You do need a 3rd party (and a "qualified" one at that) to appraise your collection for the taxman---if you were to donate the collection to an archive and take a tax write-off, for example. Moral: The taxman is much tougher than the insurance man. best, bruce