Collecting

Collecting is not

just about value!

Any football programmes featuring the legendary ‘Busby Babes’ bring huge amounts

By Mike Kelly

Many of the collectors I meet in my journeys around the country nearly always ask “well, what is its value?” My standard answer is usually “it’s only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it” but that’s not the true answer.

When you become a collector, whether it is coins, stamps, banknotes, model toys, military or sports medals, comics, vinyl records whatever, you enter the wonderful world of pursuit and chase! Collectors begin with a subject that is really of interest to themselves. If you are an athlete you have probably won a few medals and have become interested in who-has-won-what at local, national and even Olympic events. You may work in an office or job where post arrives stamped with colourful stamps in amazing designs from countries all over the world. It’s the same story with banknotes and even the Euro coins in our pockets. plete the set. You constantly have an ‘eye out’ for these items; you visit car boot sales; coin or stamp fairs and, as you get more serious, even attend an auction or two. All the time you are researching and learning more and more about your chosen collecting subject.

‘Knowledge is power’ and to a large extent that is very true in the collecting world. If you collect football programmes you will know when the unusual matches were played and why so few programmes were issued. A postcard or stamp postmark collector will be seeking the unusual views or the mark from the long closed post office. Early issued banknotes were large and nearly always got folded and creased with use, so finding a near perfect one is a bonus. Most collectors are very willing to pass on their knowledge to younger collectors and encourage the next generation to learn about the things around them old and mod

The famous Liberty Head nickel recently brought over 5m million US dollars

Rather than the massive price increases you would expect over three decades, some of the rarest and most popular stamps have actually gone down in value over the past 30 years.

The United States 1930 release of the Graf Zeppelin is a notorious example. This popular and scarce set of stamps was more valuable in 1980 than it is today.

ern. Somewhere along the line you start to buy the items you no longer find common to hand.

So value and cost enter the equation. The world’s rarest coins and stamps have changed hands for millions of Euros. The collectors who purchase them have the resources to finally complete their collections.

What advice is there for the modern collector? Well you have to be interested in your subject and find out all you can about it. Collecting doesn’t have to be expensive. You can collect banana labels or beer mats for little or no cost! Always get the best possible copy of your item, damaged or torn items do not look great and if you are really interested in the re-sale value of a collection, only complete or undamaged specimens can increase in value.

Don’t start spending money on items until you find out about the scarce or rare items in your chosen field of collecting. Get the best advice from more knowledgeable collectors or, if you don’t know any, join a club or society related to your interests. Don’t be afraid to get a second opinion and when you ask an expert in your collecting theme, listen to what they have to say.

If your intention is to sell your collection and profit from it, there are a few principals worth knowing. At least three factors affect the saleability of your collection: only person in the country collecting the subject, the chances of resale are very much diminished. Try to choose a popular theme and get to know it inside out.

Scarcity: getting scarce items for your collection is directly related to your budget. Always buy the best possible copy within your budget, but if your budget is only a few Euro, you may have to make do with common items. Consider availability and cost when determining which area to collect.

Condition: when accepting a collection for auction, an auctioneer one told me “it’s easy to sell top quality, lower grade items are much more difficult.” Over the years the price ‘spread’ between poor quality and finest quality has increased almost beyond recognition. Only buy the best quality that you can afford.

Collecting is a very pleasurable experience. It can keep the mind astute and the senses alert. There is a certain amount of companionship in belonging to a club or organization and meeting, talking and listening to other collectors. Yes, if you collect the right items at the right time, they become valuable or rise in price in certain market circumstances. Remember though, collecting is not just about value.