Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation Owes Big $$$

[David Lockmiller]

(05-18-2018 09:47 AM)davg2000 Wrote:  Those interested in ALPLM's woes regarding the sale of Lincoln artifacts should read the article "Selling Lincoln" in the current Illinois Times.

I think most people did believe that items from the Taper purchase would be transferred to ALPLM ownership (and Illinois ownership) as the debt was paid down. But, as the article points out, this hasn't happened. So now the Foundation--which doesn't "own" anything-- is selling off some of the stuff to keep the rest of the stuff. The only things which can be sold are items from the Taper purchase. But don't look for any of the really big items--Marilyn's dress notwithstanding--to go on the auction block.

Despite all of this, ALPLM itself is healthy, and it consistently attracts many patrons, most of whom have no idea of the above.

I agree that those interested in ALPLM's woes regarding the sale of Lincoln artifacts should read the article "Selling Lincoln."

Illinois Times: http://illinoistimes.com/article-11177-b...eware.html [Thank you, Roger!]


Assuming that you have finished reading the referenced article, you may wonder how much the sale of the entire Louise Taper collection would fetch in a Lincoln memorabilia "fire sale," if need be in the near future (2019). It is my understanding that someone, presumably the citizens of Springfield who approved and financed the bond issuance, must pay back to the bondholders $19 million in 2019. Let us assume, for the sake of argument, that such a sale would result in the full price recovery for each of the items purchased at the time of the entire collection purchase in 2007, but with two major exceptions.

An item was left out of the exchange of money for Lincoln memorabilia from Louise Taper collection; it was a copy of the emancipation proclamation. It was supposed to have been transferred and its market rate valuation was included in the $23 million 2007 appraiser valuation. In the Illinois Times article, it is noted that Julie Cellini, former Illinois Historic Preservation Agency board chairwoman and current secretary of the agency, had questioned, but to no avail, why it was not included in the transferred ownership items. The article does not present an individual 2007 appraisal valuation for the copy of the emancipation proclamation; so, the 2007 appraisal valuation is unknown at this time.

However, there is a separate 2007 appraisal valuation for the Lincoln hat at the time of the collection purchase - $6.5 million.

The problem is that according to many of the posts made on this thread regarding the authenticity of the hat, I would predict that the actual current market valuation for the Lincoln hat is much closer to $0.00 than it is $6.5 million.

In addition to the information posts on this thread regarding the provenance of this particular "Lincoln hat," there is also an April 15, 2012 article from the Chicago Sun Times that discussed the provenance of the hat in this fashion:

"[The hat] remained in the possession of the family of farmer William Waller until 1958. That’s when James Hickey, then head of the Illinois State Historical Library and overseer of the state’s Lincoln artifacts, bought it for himself in a move that today would almost assuredly spark conflict-of-interest questions.

The hat changed hands again in 1990, when Lincoln collector Louise Taper bought it from Hickey for an undisclosed price. She, in turn, parted with it in 2007, selling it to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation as part of a $23 million haul of Lincoln memorabilia in 2007.

The museum won’t say how much the hat cost but, for the first time, it has produced a 2007 appraisal valuing it at $6.5 million."

The purchase in 2007 of the Louise Taper "Lincoln memorabilia" collection was for a total of $23 million. The remaining debt due on the bonds in 2019 stands at $19 million. [I do not know anything about the apparent pay-down of $4 million of principal debt.]

If the Lincoln hat is not now worth $6.5 million on the free market, the difference in this value reduces the amount available to pay back the $19 million debt on a million dollar for million dollar basis. And, there is no copy of the Emancipation Proclamation available for sale because it was excluded from the Lincoln memorabilia transfers from the Louise Taper collection in 2007.

In the 2013 Illinois Times article, it was disclosed that an appraiser by the name of Seth Kaller raised the alarm about the value of the Lincoln hat and other items. He had been asked to provide an appraisal of the Louise Taper collection as the items were "genuinely" described, but he was not asked to verify authenticity of the items. Mr. Kaller raised provenance issues on various items, specifically including the Lincoln hat, in a March 15, 2007 email to Tom Schwartz, then state historian, and Louise Taper, the seller of the collection.
According to the article, this communication was made "before the deal went through."