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Branson MO Veterans Museum being auctioned off


mvmhm
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That's a weird auction catalog and accompanying preview pictures... they have very obviously photographed some items that are not listed in the "complete" listing of assets for sale. I wonder what is really for sale? Seeing how much is being auctioned, I guess the only way to know for sure is to show up on one of the preview days and view the items in person. I've seen auction companies make bigger mistakes in the catalog for much smaller auctions. They definitely have some neat stuff there... major bummer if you were a donor of some of those items. That would have to be a horrible feeling... watching your donated items get sold to the highest bidder...

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uniformcollector

That's a weird auction catalog and accompanying preview pictures... they have very obviously photographed some items that are not listed in the "complete" listing of assets for sale. I wonder what is really for sale? Seeing how much is being auctioned, I guess the only way to know for sure is to show up on one of the preview days and view the items in person. I've seen auction companies make bigger mistakes in the catalog for much smaller auctions. They definitely have some neat stuff there... major bummer if you were a donor of some of those items. That would have to be a horrible feeling... watching your donated items get sold to the highest bidder...

 

Also, all of the photos I have seen on the auction website were taken from the museum website.

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What a mess. Odd that there are so few high end US uniforms. You would think the place would be full of them.

Probably because those items aren't controlled by the bank portion. Trust me, there are a lot of high end uniforms in there.....or there was at one time.

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What WWII museum in Washington DC is he talking about????? And who in their right mind would say Hey, you're on the brink of going out of business..let me give you my stuff to put in there???????

 

 

Mark sends

Here's the newest scoop.....

 

http://www.bransontrilakesnews.com/news_free/article_321aef8c-f3d2-11e2-b2e3-0019bb2963f4.html

 

 

The owner of the Branson Veterans Memorial Museum is hoping to reopen after Cornerstone Bank auctions its part of the collection.

“I’ve had quite a few elderly collectors call me and they want to put their stuff in there on loan,” said museum owner Fred Hoppe. “The collections are immaculate. I would like to keep it open after this auction. We think it’s very good for Branson.”

Nebraska-based Cornerstone Bank took ownership over approximately 40 percent of the museum collection about 2-1/2 years ago and has been renting the museum from Hoppe, who still owns the building.

Hoppe said during the economic downturn, the museum experienced financial difficulty.

He said several banks backing the museum were shut down by the federal government, tourism slowed in Branson and one of his business partners went bankrupt.

“(After) the combination of all that, Cornerstone Bank approached me about taking ownership of (the collection) for payment of the loan,” Hoppe said. “I thought it was a great idea until they wanted to sell.”

The bank has been searching for a buyer for some time. The listing was recently withdrawn after 1-1/2 years from The Kingsley Group in Springfield and the collection is now set for auction in August.

Cornerstone Bank spokesperson Zac Holoch previously told the Branson Tri-Lakes News the bank was hoping to find a buyer for the whole collection so the museum could stay in Branson and remain open.

“It’s a nice museum,” Holoch said. “We feel like it’s important for the city of Branson to have a military museum like this.”

Hoppe was faced with a second financial obstacle when the Missouri Department of Revenue filed a lien against the property, claiming the museum slightly less than $17,500 in unpaid taxes and interest. Hoppe said he has settled that bill.

“Surprisingly, we got assessed with a use tax,” Hoppe said. “The state came in and said, ‘Anything you brought into the state, we want 7 percent for the use tax.’ I thought it was my responsibility to take care of that. When I turned (the collection) over to the bank, we didn’t know about the use tax and I thought that was the right thing to do. I took care of that.

“Right now, I just want to look forward and see if we can keep (the museum) open. As soon as people heard that stuff was being sold, I told them the story and they said, “Well, I have some stuff if you want to look at it. There has been a lot of people.”

Hoppe said several calls have come from elderly collectors who have acquired extensive collections over the years.

Hoppe said he originally moved his collection to the Branson area because he felt the World War II museum in Washington, D.C., would not be completed fast enough for veterans to enjoy before passing away.

“We were correct,” he said. “By the time it was up in Washington, D.C., we had lost millions of veterans, but we’ve had a lot of them come to Branson and enjoy the museum here. It’s pretty moving for me to go in there and see a veteran find a name and he’ll just start crying.”

Hoppe said the museum is the only place in world that lists all of the names of the soldiers killed in WW II and the Korean War.

The museum’s last day of business will be Aug. 14 and the auction is scheduled for Aug. 21.

Cornerstone Bank’s $20 million collection is set to be auctioned by Heritage Global Partners, of San Francisco, Calif.

The open preview is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 19-20 at the museum on 76 Country Boulevard, said Heritage Global Partners spokesperson David Barkhoff.

The auction is set to start at 10 a.m. Aug. 21 at the Branson Convention Center.

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Just one more reason to never, ever donate stuff to a private museum. I've lost track of the number that close down, and sell off their stuff. A lot of vets have been quite disappointed to find a place closed down, and their material sold off.

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Just one more reason to never, ever donate stuff to a private museum. I've lost track of the number that close down, and sell off their stuff. A lot of vets have been quite disappointed to find a place closed down, and their material sold off.

 

My reccommendation has always been not to donate things to museums at all. If you want to lend something for a specific period of time, then fine....but then after that agreement expires it can either be renewed, modified, or cancelled.

 

Most all museums deacquisition items....it is a popular fallacy in the public mind that there is a permanence to donating items to a museum.

 

 

In this specific instance, I believe that the owners bought most items that were inside.....I wouldn't doubt that some things were donated over time though.

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What WWII museum in Washington DC is he talking about????? And who in their right mind would say Hey, you're on the brink of going out of business..let me give you my stuff to put in there???????

 

 

Mark sends

Not sure but think that the 50 man bronze would be a terrific display at the WWII Memorial on the Mall in D.C. Bobgee

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Garth Thompson

I just went through all the pictures. I am quite certain all of the Third Reich uniforms are reproductions. Some are obviously DDR modified. There are two USN uniforms ID'd As German Navy. Some of the american uniforms have the insignia applied in a rather slipshod fashion. I don't know about NVA material. at all so can't comment. There are some very nice Dietz prints. There seems to quite a bit that isn't correct.

IMHO,

Garth

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I just went through all the pictures. I am quite certain all of the Third Reich uniforms are reproductions. Some are obviously DDR modified. There are two USN uniforms ID'd As German Navy. Some of the american uniforms have the insignia applied in a rather slipshod fashion. I don't know about NVA material. at all so can't comment. There are some very nice Dietz prints. There seems to quite a bit that isn't correct.

IMHO,

Garth

Well, so much for a museum full of GOOD surprises!! :(

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Hi

 

I have had a quick flick throught the catologue, and to be honest i don't really get a warm fuzzy feeling about any of the WW2 stuff...

 

I think we are perhaps so used to autions houses like Herman's that identify the rare stuff and photograph the stuff well to create a hype..

 

The quality of the photo's for this sale are awefull.

 

I certainly won't be parting with any of my cash...

 

Regards

 

Tom

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Well, so much for a museum full of GOOD surprises!! :(

 

That's why I often laugh when i hear someone describe an item as "museum quality." I have seen a lot of really bad displays in smaller museums and it was clear that little or no research was done, nor was there any effort at authenticity.

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Aw man I loved that place. I've only been there once but I was hoping to go again.

Hurry before it's to later........OH, bring your checkbook!!

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I just went through all the pictures. I am quite certain all of the Third Reich uniforms are reproductions. Some are obviously DDR modified. There are two USN uniforms ID'd As German Navy. Some of the american uniforms have the insignia applied in a rather slipshod fashion. I don't know about NVA material. at all so can't comment. There are some very nice Dietz prints. There seems to quite a bit that isn't correct.

IMHO,

Garth

The quality of the photos is so poor that the NVA items are also difficult, especially the helmets. The uniforms look ok from afar. Thus far the auction photos do not lend themselves to an online auction.

 

Mel

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I just went through all the pictures. I am quite certain all of the Third Reich uniforms are reproductions. Some are obviously DDR modified. There are two USN uniforms ID'd As German Navy. Some of the american uniforms have the insignia applied in a rather slipshod fashion. I don't know about NVA material. at all so can't comment. There are some very nice Dietz prints. There seems to quite a bit that isn't correct.

IMHO,

Garth

 

I agree, the SS uniform in lot #196 is a one look joke and where there is one there's gotta be more!! I read someplace where the museum items was estimated at 20 million?? Whoever appraised that needs to find another job. Taking all those life size bronze stautes out of the picture then they will be lucky to get a tiny fraction of that appraised value. Whoever is holding the note on that place is going to take a beating!!

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Whoever is holding the note on that place is going to take a beating!!

 

Yep, whomever approved that collateral did not do due diligence. It's reported they are owed $9 million, but even with the bronze, it's hard to see a million dollars in what's being offered. The bank has assets over $1 billion, so this shouldn't affect their bottom line, but the guy who brought the loan in probably shouldn't expect a bonus this year.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hmmm... all of the big ticket items (bronze sculptures) didn't sell. WW2 US helmet lot sold for $9000, which I found interesting, as that averages to about $500 per helmet. From looking at the online catalog and final selling prices, looks like they didn't even net $250,000 for the entire auction. No worries... just $19,750,000 short of the estimated value...

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Hmmm... all of the big ticket items (bronze sculptures) didn't sell. WW2 US helmet lot sold for $9000, which I found interesting, as that averages to about $500 per helmet. From looking at the online catalog and final selling prices, looks like they didn't even net $250,000 for the entire auction. No worries... just $19,750,000 short of the estimated value...

 

 

Next step - the swap meet :)

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Hmmm... all of the big ticket items (bronze sculptures) didn't sell. WW2 US helmet lot sold for $9000, which I found interesting, as that averages to about $500 per helmet. From looking at the online catalog and final selling prices, looks like they didn't even net $250,000 for the entire auction. No worries... just $19,750,000 short of the estimated value...

 

I would bet the helmet buyer isnt going to be impressed if he was an internet bidder.To me the M1 helmets dont look like original painted examples.Plus with out knowing what liners or if any are there why drop that kinda cash.Im sure the buyer is taking a bath on this one.

 

One thing that gets people to drop cash is ,,,,,MUSEUM + Auction + internet = fools and their money being wasted.

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I would bet the helmet buyer isnt going to be impressed if he was an internet bidder.To me the M1 helmets dont look like original painted examples.Plus with out knowing what liners or if any are there why drop that kinda cash.Im sure the buyer is taking a bath on this one.

 

One thing that gets people to drop cash is ,,,,,MUSEUM + Auction + internet = fools and their money being wasted.

I agree...

 

they are in for one helluva surprise when they open that package.

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My guess is that it's a non-militaria dealer. They figure these are "museum quality" and must be the real thing.

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Its funny I just sold some Iraqi items to Mr. Hoppe a few weeks ago. He has bought many items from me on e-Bay over the past ten years. He always pays promptly and generally leaves the type of feedback that is personalized and not just sent by a secretary. I also remember the museum in Pigeon Forge TN, it was loaded with repro stuff but did have some good items as well. I wondered what happened to the collection when it closed, but I guess it just moved to Branson. Kind of a mobile, one step ahead of the bill collector type thing. Scott

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I saw someone bought a blue star window banner with two stars for $400?????? I've got a factory flag with 24 stars listed here I can't sell for $150! Some of the prices they show are crazy...I don't think those reflect the guyers premium either, which is something like 10 - 18%...

 

 

 

Mark sends

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