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Auction PR Publicity Announcements News and Information

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Auctioning Items From 6 Historic Sites

HARRISBURG, Pa – The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission will auction more than 300 items no longer needed as part of the collections at six museums and state historical sites.

“These are items that have no special significance to the history of Pennsylvania, or they duplicate what is already in the commission’s possession,” said Barbara Franco, PHMC’s executive director. “The commission’s collections committee reviews items and determines if they should be designated for public sale. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and many of these items may have value to private collectors.”

The auction will be held Tuesday, June 10, as part of the Department of General Service’s surplus property auction at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, 2300 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg. Interested persons can review the items beginning at 7 a.m. in the Northwest Hall. The sale starts at 10 a.m.

Prior to being designated for sale, the items were offered to other agency sites and museums, as well as historic museums across the state and nation.

Franco said a Victrola, carpet beater, butter churn, chopping block and straight razors will be available to the highest bidders. The diverse assemblage also includes agricultural tools, woodworking, coal mining and manufacturing items, an assortment of 19th century household and merchandising objects, and a 45-star American flag.

Auction items were formerly part of the collections at the Anthracite Heritage Museum, the Drake Well Museum, the Landis Valley Museum, the Conrad Weiser Homestead, the Ephrata Cloister and the Pennsylvania Military Museum.

Funds raised from the auction will be used only for the purchase or conservation of artifacts that contribute to PHMC’s mission of interpreting Pennsylvania history for the public.

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is the official history agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. For additional information, visit www.phmc.state.pa.us