I have made several personal donations of shells to museums and I have a
rather expensive tax accountant whom I rely on to make everything legal. My
accountant allows me to donate up to $5000 worth of shells per year. If you
have more than that split it up over two or more years.  I am also a shell
dealer so I value my own shells with the help of another dealer friend. I
think as long as you use a valid basis for your value you will be OK. If you
buy shells you probably have receipts for at least some of them and know
what you paid for the rest. Also, there are any number of dealer price lists
that are available online or through the mail which you can use to value
your shells. To avoid paying a dealer lots of money to appraise your
collection, do it yourself and ask a dealer to look at it and offer
suggestions.

Keep the name and address of the institution you donate to, for tax
purposes. Provide a list of the donated shells to the museum and ask them to
return a receipt to you. I would also take a few photos of the group of
shells you are donating for your own records. I do that with everything I
donate for tax purposes.  pete krull

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