"Collect what you love"
That's absolutely what I've been doing for over 39 years.
BTW, with regards to sports collectibles, I've never been driven by what other people collect, only what I liked. Take baseball ticket collecting as an excellent example. When I began collecting tickets in 1972, very few people collected regular game day tickets. I always believed that the date on every ticket had a direct link to history tied to a specific game in baseball history, which I thought was cool. I basically began collecting what other people viewed as garbage- used ticket stubs had no value. Although ticket collecting is still much more fringe, than say collecting baseball cards, today many people collect tickets to memorable sporting events, milestones, etc.
How much something was worth was never part of the thought process, but admittedly I do think it's wise to think in terms of an exit plan as a collector. Most likely we won't be taking things to the grave with us. I know I won't. When I look at rare/scarce collectibles in my personal collection, I believe that as collectors we never truly "own" an item for eternity. We're merely caretakers of historical treasures that will eventually be passed on to the next caregiver.
Like almost all collectibles, sports memoribilia is an intrinsic hobby. At the end of the day an item's true value is only what another collector is willing to pay...
Good collecting!
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