The following letter was recently received by one of our members.  Hope you enjoy the nature of the content.

Dear NMBWCA ;

My 100 year old step-father recently gave me a framed collection of barb wire and I’m not sure  exactly what to do with it.  I don’t know if the  pieces are valuable and I should insure it or what.  On the back, each piece is labeled by name, patent date/ inventor (including location, sometimes).  I’d like to have it appraised, but don’t want to spend lots of money if the collection is just a nicely mounted set of common wire.  How do I begin?  Where do I begin?

My husband and I are both school teachers (he is the Ag teacher and FFA advisor at the local high school) and we run sheep and cattle on our 160 acre ranch.  We  are the third generation to live on the family ranch and sometimes I think the fences around HERE are the real antiques!!

Anyway,  I’m hoping that you or someone you know can direct me on what to do with this framed, 23 x 19 inch collection.  Each piece is at least 18 inches long, there are 13 different samples and the  identification information on the back includes:

A description of 9 of the 13 barbed wires were included here.

I can send a photo if that would help.  If you and your wife are not able to help me, could you forward this to someone in your society that could?

Thanks so  much for your help and expertise.

Sincerely,

DRG

Here is our member’s response.

Hi DRG,

Thanks for your note inquiring about several pieces of antique barbed wire you received from your stepfather.

The 9 wires listed in your email are very common wires and most all collectors already have these wires in their collections.  On the presumption that the remaining 4 wires in the display that were not listed in your mail are of comparable value, it would be fair to say the value of any one individual wire would be nominal at best, and certainly would not warrant having them insured.

There is no doubt that this collection would be worth more to you and members of your family as a memento of your stepfather than you could expect from a collector.  If your are truly interested in selling the collection, at best it could be worth $25.00 to $35.00 if you could find an interested buyer.  An antique dealer might be willing to pay you 25% of that amount.

My suggestion would be to proudly display the collection on your wall for others to see.  If not, then you might consider donating it to a local museum.

I hope this provides you with some idea as to the value of your collection.

If you would like additional information or have other questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.  If we don’t have the answers we certainly can refer you to other collectors that will be able to help you.

Sincerely,

NMBWCA