Interesting question, and one I had not thought about.

My main focus is getting it completed, and I'm only about 60% there.  Once that's done - talk to the children.  I expect my eldest daughter would love it, but haven't asked yet.  I hope that they (I have two daughters) don't both want it.  

Wouldn't know what to do then!

I'll slip you an extra Fighting Wheel if you double my collections value when appraising.

BADMIKE-
Yes, I can see it now, on Antiques Roadshow 2017...Badmike, Late 20th Century Paper and Pencil RPG Specialist from Sotheby's, standing there with some latex gloves and a magnifying glass telling a young couple about the old game stuff they found in their uncle's attic:
"What you have here is a great example of a Woodgrain Box.  These rulebooks are in great shape...no rust on those staples...these are almost impossible to find in this condition these days.  Do you know what this is worth...?"

In all seriousness, that's really unfair that they wouldn't insure you.
I would argue that there ARE experts in the field now.  I was only joking before, but now that I think on it I could see insurers and auction houses in the near future looking to a site like Acaeum and folks like Foulfoot and co. to accurately price this stuff.  Is anybody else keeping track of this info in so much detail?  Probably not except maybe some established, experienced dealers who have been trading in the materials for a long time.

Think about folks out there that have some really sizable collections worth a substantial amount of money.  Like the guys who have been involved in the industry since the very beginning.  Can you imagine the stuff some of these guys have stashed away?  When their estates are counted up and passed on, you can bet somebody who isn't knowledgable about the hobby will need some way to find out exactly how much it's all worth.

My basement flooded when the drainage ditch outside could not handle any more water.

So will you still keep the collection in the basement?  After water damage is done to the surroundings (ie wallboard, carpets, wood, etc) the chance of mold would be just too great for me to keep anything paper based down there.

-Len

Sir Kill Alot wrote:
So will you still keep the collection in the basement?  After water damage is done to the surroundings (ie wallboard, carpets, wood, etc) the chance of mold would be just too great for me to keep anything paper based down there.

-Len

Split-level house.  Finished basement....better term might be "ground floor."  Mold no greater risk there than upstairs...where main risk would be outraged wife with large collection staring her in the face.

So...tonight I let my regular gamers know that this week's meeting is not happening....

...and then I packed my collection into 18 Gallon Sterelite plastic storage bins that I bought at Target.  Nine (9) bins are stacked behind me and I assume that I will need to go get at least two (2) more for a total of 11!

Of course, that doesn't count my active 3.5 gaming books and all of my own written materials from 1978 to now.

Until the water is dealt with and the stormwater hordes are driven back beyond the warded gates of Cirith Ungolwater, my collection will be moved to storage, where it will be marginally safer.

Unfortunately, I am too well trained in history and the fate of game collections to be entirely sanguine about my collection's future.  I fear it will go the way of all those Dark Ages caches of silver and gold that turn up from time to time in Britain or the Low Countries.  

"It was probably buried by a monk or priest to prevent the sacred texts from falling into the hands of Techno Vikings.  Scholars speculate that the horde must date from the late 21st century, when Techno Viking incursions scourged the ill-fated Kingdom of An Tyr.  The monks themselves probably did not survive, for they were unable to return and claim their buried treasures."

(Or course, they will have confused the Society for Creative Anachronism for the actual local government...typical of the scanty records left to us from the chaotic 21st century. The only surviving government records will have been an SCA membership list from 2007...and everything will be extrapolated from there.)

The horde will be in bad shape by then.  Scholars will have to piece together each book over a generation of hard labor.  They will squabble over publication rights, textual unity, translations and the historical context of the 21st century.

Of course, after 1750 years, the language will have changed drastically.  A small dialectical quirk will have led to the translation of "GAME" as "ACTIVITY INVOLVING PERSONAL BELIEFS OR PREFERENCES."  Accordingly, future scholars will conclude that they have found a wonderful archeological prize....the sacred texts of the "Role Playing Believers,"  which will quickly become confused with a religion.

Here, then, is a horde of sacred texts, amazingly preserved, which are all that remains of the ancient "Tabletop Believers."

Naturally, they will conclude that I, the ancient warrior priest, placed these sacred texts in my storage unit in a specific way, for specific, symbolic reasons.

(On the Future Discovery Channel re-enactment of the hiding of the texts, I will have a long beard, ceremonial bathrobe and a pair of gym shorts upside down on my head.  Oh, and I'll be covered head-to-toe in re-creations of all of the temporary tatoos I picked up in booths at GenCon 2001.)

*Imagine the voice of a 39th century Leonard Nemoy*

"Why, for instance, did the Tabletop Believers choose to store Ironhoof Highlands between two different copies of Lejentia: Fort Bevits?...and is this confirmation of the ancient belief in the Great Flying Buffalo?"

Naturally, I plan to help out future scholars by printing out my Excel file detailing the 1000+ items (about 1/2 magazines) in my game collection.  Someone will make a doctoral thesis proving that the list is not actually related to the collection...but is, in fact, a treasure map indicating an even greater horde to be found in fabled "Excel," wherever that is.

Scholars will argue over why some items were boxed, some were bagged and some were boxed and bagged...and some were neither boxed nor bagged.

*Nemoy again*

"Could it be that some of the sacred texts were read aloud in a final ritual before they were hidden forever?  Was "Lizardmen" by the ancient scribe, "Mayfair,"  truly the most sacred of all texts?"

A brilliant young graduate student will make his career by his discovery of a sect of law-giver priests known as the "Judges Guild."

Smart-ass university professors will point out that the "Judges Guild" manuscripts were found side by side with the "Thieves Guild" manuscripts.

"Is it possible that the judges were thieves and all thieves were required to become judges?"

A future version of Brad Pitt will star in a movie opposite future Val Kilmer in a film revolving around a treasure map and the true meaning of "D20 3.0 3.5 2nd Edition OD&D AD&D."  It will be a code that shows the way to Atlantis, or something.

Of course, the Rosetta Stone that unlocks the "Tabletop Believers" mystery will be the translation of a copy of Jack Chick's pamphlet, Dark Dungeons.  Suddenly, all the mysteries will be unlocked....

I am just pleased that some of us are still educated broadly enough to include terms like 'Low Countries' in general use.

I remember that, more years ago than I care to admit, my store was still very young and I stocked my collection of games and magazines in the basement (now I use it as a gaming area and my paper toys are stocked in my house or in the store proper, but in very low aisles and in cardboard boxes with the writing NOT FOR SALE!). I left the store for getting back to my home city and I left my parents in charge of the store. Unfortunately, they left the basement 'window' open and rain, a lot of rain, started to fall on virtually the entire Northern Italy for two days. Did I say A LOT of rain? Wait: more. And more. I returned to the store, went down in the basement and AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!! Half meter of water!!!       Many magazines were damaged and some more destroyed. Luckily, the games were safe and quickly brought to the first floor but alas, some of the dead toys were not replaceable and I still miss them      Some were Italian RPG fanzines from the Heroic age of gaming (1986-1988), a part of my youth. Sigh... Since then no similar problem ever surfaced and, any way, my apartment is a second floor one, so if water ever reaches that level, well, I guess I could have some far bigger problem to face    (and my country too).