Old Vinyl Valuation and Care

Value? Best to take a sampling of the records to e-Bay and see if any surface with value. I have seen single 78's go for as much as $1000, with sometimes over 20 bidders. Yes, rare of the rare can get those prices but only if the condition is mint/mint.

If you have a VPI cleaning machine, then you are educated enough to know that there are special fluids for cleaning 78's. Disc Doctor claims to be safe for 78's and they pretty much know what they're doing. You will need to rinse with distilled or purified water. As far as value, like anything else, you have to track the websites and see what these discs are actually selling for, not just the asking prices. This takes time and patience. I did a quick search on Ebay and saw some Louis Armstrong 78's in the $5-10 asking range with no takers. So I would start with Ebay, just for the purpose of finding the jewels. Another option might be to find a collector to come and take the entire collection off your hands. Most record collections have a few gems that are worth money and the rest are of very low market value, regardless of the perceived value of the music. It all depends on how much time you're willing to spend researching. It's very time-consuming if you have a lot of records. Best of luck.

I am sorry about your father passing. Perhaps you should consider keeping as many albums as possible that you also like since they might carry a special significance to you? I of course have no clue what your relationship with your father was like, but I'd want to keep as much as possible that was my father's. I could not put a value on it.

As always thanks for the input. I do not plan on getting rid of any of the albums. Although I now have original releases of the many 180 gram re-issues I own. I will look into the disc dr 78 cleaning solution and see how it compares with the miracle version I already use. Most of the albums are not in the best shape so I don't plan to play them on my LP-12/Shelter, but on an old Yamaha table I have.
Thanks for your feedback and kind words.