Interesting question! Have been collecting sports cards and items for over 50 years, and have stuff I haven't seen since I got it, but for the most part, I know I have it and CAN look at it if I want to. Have a very small percentage of it out so I can see it, but I will say that strangely, a lot of the joy comes from ownership, even if I rarely see it. I do think of the cool things I have and that does give me happiness. Sometimes I pull out things I haven't seen in decades and it is a happy reunion, oftentimes with happy thoughts and memories of family members who helped me in my quests! A friend of mine who has had an incredible comic collection he completely sold and now has an equally impressive collection of vinyl, have discussed this, and we both agreed that the thrill of the quest and the acquisition is a huge part of all of this. I will admit to thumbing through my album of TTM autographs from the 70s every few years. Looking through them, I can still remember as if it was yesterday running to the mailbox and seeing one or two of those self addressed envelopes, and the excitement as I carefully opened them to see who responded. What a rush!
