In a message dated 4/20/2005 5:56:46 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, cbain44@twcny.rr.com writes: Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you. Best Always, Carol Carol, I am a Certified Gemologist Appraiser and member of the American Gem Society. What does this have to do with your artifacts? Actually a great deal as the appraisal process is much the same from one discipline to another. The first rule of thumb is that accept no appraisal service that offers to buy your pieces. I can virtually guarantee that such a service serves it's own purpose of buying deeply under market rather then providing you an accurate market value for your goods. Secondly, be prepared to pay on a per item basis with no discount for the number of items appraised. When people ask me for a discount on a per item bases I ask them "Do I get to spend less time on the other items?". You see, it's really a time and expertise issue, the same as any other profession. If you hired a physician or a lawyer they might need to consult with other experts and time is of course, money. Thirdly, pretend that you no longer have the items so what remains is the appraiser's documentation, and photographs as the only proof of your ownership, and the only remaining (legal) description of what you once had. This may come into play in a court in the event the items were lost through theft and you were asked to prove they were yours. It may also come into question if there is a loss and the insurance company questions the credentials of the person doing the work. You might want to contact Christies, Southabys, ( my spelling on the latter may not be correct.) or one of the other large auction houses for name of qualified people to look at your items. By the way, if you do contact these people you might ask them if they ever heard the name "William B. Lance" 1874 - 1962. The family tale of William is that after about 1921 he left Seattle and lived in California where he traveled the American South West extensively, and traded in Indian artifacts. It was said he wrote for National Geographic but so far I've not found proof of this nor anyone who is familiar with his California business. Please feel free to contact me if you have other questions. Laurence Lance