Dear Steve;-
    I do work as a volunteer at the Cin. Museum of Nat. Hist.
(collections dept.). Your implication is correct: that is that
collections donated to museums are a bit like bodies covered with six
feet of earth. They are there to stay. We are currently trying to
integrate collections from the University of Cincinnati into our
(what?) collection. Most of it consists of shells picked up by
vacationing staff members on their summer holiday. The donation got
them something of a tax deduction. Completing my task will take till
about the time the sun becomes a Red Giant and all the atmosphere is
blown off the Earth. I'll be deep in the bowells of some underground
museum cataloging shells picked up along the Ohio River banks.
      If you got really good stuff, keep at least part of it in
circulation.
            Art