U.S.: Museums forced to sell pricey items to keep the doors open
- Some of the items are super-expensive. Many museums are finding that they need extra cash, so they’ve been selling some of their items. It comes with caveats, though: The American Association of Museums says they can only use the proceeds to acquire more items or directly care for the items they already have. Even so, though, it’s not stopping fire sales like these:
- $3.2M the amount that Cleveland’s Western Reserve Historical Society has earned from selling collection items
- $81k the amount that the Beloit, Wis. Historical Society made by selling a page of an Abe Lincoln State of the Union draft
- $1M the amount an Oregon museum stands to make by selling a 1880s-era hotel; they’ve faced deep budget cuts source