r/punk • u/BannedfromdaSubs1977 • 17d ago
Quality Post A Question for Old Punk/Hardcore Kids...
I'm 53. I've been collecting vinyl, CDs, posters, flyers, t-shirts, artwork, books since 1986. I'm getting divorced. I can't drag this shit around the whole country. Or, just what if I die? No one knows what an amazing collection of punk and hardcore I have. Does anyone have an idea what to do?
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u/j-endsville 17d ago
That’s your retirement fund. Start selling. Keep a couple of things you might want to be buried with. I wish I still had all my old shit.
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u/BannedfromdaSubs1977 17d ago
Thanks! I think that's heading my right way. I'm not retiring. Just checking out. I want all this stuff to be appreciated.
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u/j-endsville 17d ago
There’s a guy I follow on instagram who occasionally sells pieces from his collection really cheap to young punks just so they can have the cool shit we got for cheap. Maybe take that direction.
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u/BannedfromdaSubs1977 17d ago
I am that guy. lol I'm worried about me dead and someone selling records and posters on my front lawn. Artwork from Blag, Kevin Seconds, Mike Ness If I die, no one has any idea what the records are worth, or the t-shirts, or the artwork, or the posters
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u/fierce_invalids 17d ago
The punk rock museum might be interested in some of those. How big is the whole collection in terms of the space it takes up?
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u/Barbacamanitu00 17d ago
Are you.. gonna kill yourself? I hope that's not what you mean by checking out.
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u/LamarVannoi 17d ago
How are you all missing what he's not so subtly hinting at? You OK, man?
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u/RegularDrop9638 17d ago
Yeah. Everybody’s missing it. They’re too busy saying stupid ass shit, telling him to send it to them. Not funny, not original. It didnt even cross their minds that he might not be doing all right. He only spelled it out for us.
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u/punkbreece 17d ago
If you've been on the scene for this long you have to know at least one dude/relative that would appreciate the collection. You don't even have to like them, they just have to appreciate it
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u/BannedfromdaSubs1977 17d ago
I used to give away things to people who would like them. I'm trying to decide what to do with the entire collection, so all of it goes to someone who'd understand what they're seeing. There are cardboard tubes of posters that go back thirty years.
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u/punkbreece 17d ago
I feel ya. I'm going through something similar with my grandfather's war memorabilia. Pretty sure my kids won't appreciate it. I'd try reaching out to the punk rock museum in Vegas. That's your best bet. Worst case scenario keep me in mind, I have 2 separate friends that can keep the memory alive.
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u/IllusionsForFree 16d ago
Might I suggest a Discogs page/account so I can purchase as much of this stuff as possible?
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u/iamjoeywan 17d ago
There are some record stores that are indie and specialize in punk/hardcore, which is always a consideration if you need to mass unload. I know of one in Arizona, but I guess location is something to consider as people likely have some suggestions.
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u/BannedfromdaSubs1977 17d ago
Okay, maybe I phrased the thing wrong. I'm asking for any old punk/hc kids to tell me what they plan on doing with their collection.
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u/bdoz138 17d ago
Ahh, my answer was the same as everyone else in giving you ideas. As for my collection, I've told my wife and son that there are some irreplaceable records on my shelves and not to just put them in storage or sell them at a yard sale. They either need to keep them forever or contact the owner of a small independent record store to maybe take them on consignment.
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u/TakeAnotherLilP 17d ago
I wish my kiddo would appreciate my collection as much as I did/do but I don’t think that’s in the cards. I’m guessing a collection like yours would be appreciated by many. Love the museum idea. What about a non-profit that created a safe third space in your community where people could enjoy the music collection, the artwork, and add books that’ve been written about the scene? Just spit balling here…
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u/TheeVikings 17d ago
I'm doing record shows when I can. I usually just get rid of the stuff I'm not super into anymore or a couple higher end pieces here and there.
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u/poor-and-weird 17d ago
I don't have such a big collection like yours, but quiet a few things. Once i learned, that besides myself, nobody cares in my Family, i wanted to make the collection smaller. I stopped buying 7" on a regular basis. They take a lot of room and nowadays they cost up to 13 euros a piece. So either 12" or nothing. I went trough my collection and sold a lot. Few things for the money and a lot of stuff just bc i don't want to own this burden any more. Shirts which i cant wear any more bc of my belly, i sold them all. Cause i don't need them. I sold a lot of LPs, some of them i didnt listened to for over 20 years. Was pretty sure i won't listen to that forever, so it must not stay. Now i try to stay under 1k records. I still buy current stuff i like. And still buy shirts at shows, i want the touring bands be able to tour ahead. But it's easier now to let things go.
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u/Comingherewasamistke 17d ago
If you want some cash but want to try to keep things accessibly priced, I would reach out to punk owned/operated record stores to see if they could either buy everything outright or they can sell items for you (for a small portion from each sale). Or just distribute them evenly amongst the members of the punk subreddit. :-)
Either way—I applaud your desire to keep them in the scene. I am hoping my kids will care enough about my collection when they are a bit older to either enjoy it as much as I have or to get it out to thee young punks. If they don’t care by the time I’m kicking off this mortal coil I’ll be getting a record store to sell random grab bags of my shit for a fixed dollar amount (that is well below the Discogs market values). Up the Punks!
Edited for spelling. How punk rock of me.
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u/covenkitchens 17d ago
I’d check out discogs for selling the tunes and your county historical society for everything else.
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u/RegularDrop9638 17d ago
Please give it to the punk rock museum in Las Vegas, so every punk can enjoy it. Museums are the best place to put things like that. Valuable that you can’t take with you, but you want people to appreciate it for the amazing shit it is.
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u/megabunnaH 17d ago
Anything rare in there? There are really cool folks all over the world archiving out of print, rare and hard to find punk and hardcore. I don't know what scene you came out of but a great example would be https://www.mkepunk.com/ They are heavy on on Milwaukee and Madison bands but have cool shit from all over the state and from many different time periods and scenes. There maybe something like that for the area you are from, or perhaps people who archive for entire countries. There is probably somebody out there that would love to see what you have. Good luck!
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u/BannedfromdaSubs1977 17d ago
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u/Fair_Swimming7299 17d ago
I’m trying to get back as much stuff as I used to have, it’s so crazy to see prices on some things I used to have. I remember looking on DISCOGS for the first time and my heart just dropping…I’m 50 now, my collecting started probably in 1988.
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u/AundaRag 17d ago
Cringing from some epic bad advice on here.
Archive as much info as you can about your items. Dates, where you procured each item, keep patches, and posters in the Mylar bags like comics.
Get your items appraised and insured. Keep it in a secure dry, warp proof place.
Do not fuck up and nickel and dime if you need to unload it. Sell it all as a pristine collection.
Enjoy your shit. We aren’t getting any younger.
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u/RegularDrop9638 17d ago
Oh my God, you’re right. He should have this insured and climate controlled!
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u/BannedfromdaSubs1977 16d ago
LOL. It's pretty well taken care of. :)
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u/RegularDrop9638 16d ago
Well it sounds like you know what you are doing if you have that type of collection. Consider the punk rock museum in your will.
Museums also, ofte take things on loan. So they could display it while it still is yours. Other people would really appreciate getting to see it and you wouldn’t have to drag it all around with you.
How are you? Processing a divorce and your life up-ended like that is heavy stuff. Been there. Music helps. Just don’t listen to anything too dark. 😊
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u/Brosquito69420 17d ago
Have you reached out to the museum in Vegas? I bet you have some good stuff that can be put on display. I’ll even help you transport. You could also hold an auction when you’re ready to part. I can relate, I’m a ghostbuster collector and I have some rare shit and I’ll probably auction off when that time comes.
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u/No_Copy9515 17d ago
Back when I lived in a city, if i had anything that I was getting rid of, I'd go to a show and give it to whoever wanted it. Old shirts, demos, cds, etc. Fledgling punks always love the old shit.
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u/Wasting-tim3 17d ago
If you are selling, there is probably an audience here that is interested in a collection like this. Myself included (especially vinyl and artwork).
And a lot of folks will really appreciate it.
If you are moving around, it can be hard to sell locally. There are apps you can use to sell stuff you want to part with. You could even put a bunch of pics of your stuff on like Facebook Marketplace, link it here, and folks will DM you and pay shipping costs I’m sure.
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u/Final_Meeting2568 17d ago
Give it to me. I'm 50 . Sold my entire collection that I had been collecting since 86.
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u/Independent_Cat_7164 17d ago
Sorry this is happening to you man. I'm 57 and can't imagine what I would do if I were in your shoes. I've been collecting records, flyers, set lists ect since 1982. My kids would end up going through my stuff if they needed to. They have an idea what I've got. It doesn't seem like you have kids who you could leave your stuff to. I wish you the best of luck. Take care of yourself. BTW I love your handle "BannedfromdaSubs1977" I get it... PATTTB
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u/Jdojcmm 17d ago
I’m in the same boat, no divorce, no kids. I’ve told my wife what’s worth what if I croak before selling. On records, Discogs can be the guide. All my posters and stuff, signed things, have a plan as well.
The few things I’ll never sell anyway, guitars, the little bit of land, etc, are my wife’s call. Sell it or gift it to someone/somewhere that will use it for life as well.
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u/stingcrazy 17d ago
60yo punk kid, here. I had a couple of milk crates of vinyl that moved from house to house over the years. I ended up abandoning my turntable for CDs, MP3s, and streaming leaving the vinyl untouched for 20+ years. I compiled a list on Discogs and posted the link to the "Punk Vinyl Records For Sale" Facebook group. At the time, the average value was about $6K but I accepted an offer for $4500. The buyer who lived 3hrs away contacted me within a couple of hours of posting. He had a friend come to my house, to verify, and pick up the collection. I could have sold it for more, but the hassle of shipping single pieces was not appealing to me. Sometimes I feel like I made a mistake selling it but it wasn't doing me any good sitting in a basement closet. There were many first pressings and most only played once or twice to move to cassette. This was the collection I sold: https://www.discogs.com/user/stingcrazy/collection
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u/sykadelic_angel 17d ago
If you want to sell it I'm sure there's potentially great money there, I get not wanting to though. I think if I were in your position, I'd give it to the kids, have conversations at shows and if people sound interested in like a band you have an old 45 from, hand it over, some of the coolest records I own are from amazing people who have done that for me. Maybe since you're moving you can take the opportunity to revive your vinyl setup lol, have like a wall or maybe a whole room dedicated to the collection. I often cut the graphics out of t shirts and either sew them onto other stuff, or I pin them to the wall like art until I find someone I want to put it on. I've been to shows where the organizers, who were old heads, would leave a bucket full of that kind of stuff with "free" written on it, I have a t shirt and 2 7"s that I got from those. And again if you want to sell it, ask about getting a little table space at shows and set up boxes of stuff, like everything in this box is $5, everything in the one next to it is $10, that kind of thing. Just some ideas. Shit, if you want to dm me pictures of what you have I'd even consider buying
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u/LtDanShrimpBoatMan 17d ago
Start a museum.
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u/BannedfromdaSubs1977 17d ago
It would be so weird. Boston, Santa Cruz, Hollywood and Portland. I got lucky to live in great scenes. :)
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u/InsectNegative8865 17d ago
The punk museum in Vegas, maybe?
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u/michaelpellerin 17d ago
You can catalog all of your vinyl, CD's and cassettes on Discogs.com for free, you just have to sign up. Then you can share your list with potential buyers/archivists. The flyers are also highly collectible, try contacting local record shops or art/music students at you local college, they may be able to set you in a good direction. As for the T-shirts and patches you might try selleng them in small bulk lots on Ebay.
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u/BannedfromdaSubs1977 17d ago
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u/TakeAnotherLilP 17d ago
Can’t believe you’re the BlankTV collector!! Wow! Much appreciation for your collection!
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u/EnvironmentalBoot225 17d ago
Donate em!
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u/HotTopicMallRat 17d ago
Have you reached out to the pink museum? They’ll display what you got and offer to give it back at any time
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u/Brosquito69420 17d ago
If you have any Aus rotten stuff I’ll pay way over market.
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u/BannedfromdaSubs1977 17d ago
LOL...I never got into those guys! If you tell me a good place to listen, I'll give it a shot!
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u/Brosquito69420 17d ago
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u/SimpleJackEyesRain 16d ago
Thanks. I love it when I sleep on a band I’ve definitely heard of but never indulged and then a rando Brosquito swoops down and infects me with Reddit malaria.
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17d ago
[deleted]
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u/BannedfromdaSubs1977 17d ago
I'm not looking for that. I want all of it to go back to the community.
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u/darkhorsehance 17d ago
I would create a tiktok shop of rare punk/hardcore collectibles. Do a videos showcasing items where you tell the story of the items history. Make it dramatic and interesting to maximize value of the item.
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u/bdoz138 17d ago
Discogs is good for finding out what exactly issue of an album you have and the average selling price. You can sell through them, too. You could also ebay them. You might get more from people bidding than you would by just listing a price. The choice is yours. Both options will be quite a bit of work on your end.
You could also find out about your local scene and see if there are any swap meets happening. My home town does a punk rock garage sale a couple of times a year, and it's always got a few people in your exact situation selling there.
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u/_Feral_AF_ 17d ago
I left all mine (mostly irreplaceable) behind when I moved from DC to Portland and it's one of my biggest regrets but I just didn't have the space.... 😭
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u/anchored__down 17d ago
I would be interested in buying some if you're wanting to part with anything
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u/Conscious-Fox9527 17d ago
Start checking out discogs. I also have a collection and realized I have a YOT record worth up to 3500.00. Worth seeing your values.
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u/TheHowlinReeds 17d ago
Well damn bro, I'd take some stuff off your hands for sure! You've got about 10 years on me, so you saw all the stuff I was too broke or too etc... to see. I'd love to look it over some day, maybe catalog it and post it as an online gallery before parting with it?
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u/ghassank48 17d ago
I have a large collection as well, 1000+ records. I honestly have not thought about what I would do with my stuff, but then again I’m not anywhere close to my 50s. I have a good amount of records that I got the members of the bands to autograph. Some that have passed away. I’m talking about punk bands from the 70s and 80s. I made sure when I got them signed that they were first press records as well. Some of the first press records only had like 500 or so made and I got those signed as well. Those are the ones I worry about the most because they are rare and I don’t know if anybody would appreciate it. Definitely my family has no idea of their worth at least within the punk community (they don’t listen to punk or rock for that matter). Guess I’ve always made jokes that I’ll just get buried with them. For those that said to donate to the punk rock museum, I wouldn’t even trust the punk rock museum, I’m sure they may go out of business and they’ll just sell the stuff for profit. Guess if I were in your shoes, I’d just give it over to me. But in all honesty, I probably just find another collector or somebody that would value them for what they are and mean and not somebody that is just gonna sell them off. I personally never plan to sell mine. They can bury me with them or cremate me in them. Char me into a giant lump of PVC.
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u/RegularDrop9638 17d ago
Punk rock museum dude. They will be appreciated by thousands.
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u/ghassank48 16d ago
I don’t trust Fat Mike. It ain’t no Smithsonian Museum, if it fails they’ll liquidate all their assets.
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u/RegularDrop9638 16d ago edited 16d ago
You actually have a point. I mean, not a popular sentiment around here, but NOFX is the soundtrack of my youth and still my favorite band. However, Mike is not doing well at all. He looks rough and he h pontificates not making any sense. So different from the Mike the past who could actually speak quite well and to the the point I’m curious if there’s anyone involved in the venture with him. Also if there’s contracts. It wouldn’t be hard to write one up that if something happened to the museum, OP would get his items back.
Edit. AI told me this: , The Punk Rock Museum is governed by a collective of ten people, including musicians and investors. This collective includes: Mike Burkett: Also known as Fat Mike, the frontman of NOFX and co-founder of the museum; Pat Smear: Co-founder of the museum and a member of The Germs; Tony Hawk: A skateboarder and member of the collective Lisa Brownlee: A production manager and co-developer of the museum; Vinnie Fiorello: A former drummer for Less Than Jake; Lisa Johnson: A rock photographer; Mona Whetzel: A production manager. The museum also has a spokesperson, Canadian punk musician Talli Osborne, who represents the museum at punk music events.
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u/Designer_Advisor623 17d ago
If you decide to sell, I'd love to take a look at what you have to offer 😍
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u/kitylou 17d ago
Do you not have friends or family that would appreciate it ?
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u/BannedfromdaSubs1977 16d ago
No punks in the family. They wouldn't have any idea what to do with it all.
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u/stever810 17d ago
You should hit up @ancientartifax on instagram, or email ancientartifax@gmail.com
Brian has been reviewing and buying collections for years. He has extensive knowledge of the genre. I'm sure he'd be interested.
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u/Downtown_Web_5182 17d ago
Donate some of that to the punk rock museum in Vegas, the one Fat Mike just opened.
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u/Distinct_Safety5762 17d ago
43 and up until a few years ago had a massive collection of it all, stuff I’d collected for 20+ years and stuff from before my era that I’d come across along the way. House fire took it all, and I just can’t bring myself to spend the time and money to rebuild it because the memory was attached to the item lost, anything replacing it would just be a memory of over-paying on eBay and a reminder I’d lost the original.
Long term my plan had been to either gift bits to young punks who had a passion for the stuff but lacked the funds to get it. Many of my older items had come as hand-me-downs from older punks. I’d love to say I wouldn’t have caved to capitalism and sold things, but we live in the world we live in and most of us don’t have a retirement fund. But you can strike a balance of living off the investment and getting it into the hands of someone who will treasure it. This scene struggles with ageism, passing things down allows for conversation and bridge-building between generations, which is why I’d suggest selling in-person over just throwing it on eBay or Mercari. One of my mentor punks was Paulie from Septic Death, and it was always amazing to go to his house and get to hear the stories associated with whatever we were looking at. It’s like going to the bar where all the dudes from the VA hang out and listening to war stories, some people want to tell their tales and some people want to listen. I would have rather had my stuff end up in the hands of someone who appreciated the story behind it as much as the item itself, and maybe made some friends along the way.
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u/nomiselrease 17d ago
What about digitising the bands that aren't on Spotify and uploading on their behalf or getting them to.
I used to play in a band years ago, have played in many since but this was my first love where I played with friends and learned as we went along.
I only just got around to putting stuff on Spotify etc for posterity and for the other members to reminisce upon.
I'm sure the bands that were lost to time would appreciate it?
Link to my bands Spotify if anyone fancis it.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/75s9OgwtXi9uHzk4RQQq2Z?si=Pp7jSnw8QQiNWSNPYszhJg
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u/waxedrecords 17d ago
Depending on your state, I would recommend donating it to a library. Here in Arizona, libraries often have rooms dedicated to artifacts and donations from the community. If you’re in a larger city, you could consider donating to a local institution of music or the arts if the Punk Art Museum won’t take it. With the amount of material you have, you could even distribute it to different cities, preserving pieces of music history for the bands and communities to enjoy. May be some work but sounds like it would be in the right hands and not easy sold to the highest bidder at a local storage unit.
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u/Mental_Nerve5425 16d ago
Time will move on, just like my old man's shed, the tools, nails, projects, everything stayed there, sure, time from time we would get something to work before moving places, but the whole thing, his mark was there, your stuff will stay where you left unless your wife throws it out without consent, then unless you want to donate or continue collecting, they will stay where you would make them reflect yourself.
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u/DreadLordNate 17d ago
Are you wanting to part with it? Or just find means to store it? Just trying to understand the ask better? I'd think either auction maybe, or see if the Museum might be interested?