How much are your old letters worth?

Answer 1

Your own? Probably nothing in terms of money. An ancestor's letters could have monetary value if your ancestor is famous.

Items of family history could have historical value if they pertain to a famous person or a known historic event or if they shed light on aspects of daily life. But they may not be worth any money.

Until they are selected and edited, they are probably worth most to you and to your descendants. Why don't you write the booK?

If you just don't want to keep the material - and I'd hate to think of how much genealogical information is lost when family letters are disposed of - I can think of a couple of options. 1) Talk to other family members and give them the choice of taking it off your hands rather than giving/selling it to strangers. 2) You might be surprised at how much people *will* pay for old paper of this sort, even if the correspondents weren't famous. Get in touch with a local antiques auction and ask if they deal in ephemera/old paper. It may not bring in a lot, but it's greatly preferable (in my opinion) to throwing it out. 3) Check with your local historical society. They may be interested in preserving them.