You ever consider that collecting might be a bad idea?

[CooperstownExpert]

Originally Posted by tazdmb

It brings me great joy, although I have come close to selling my collections several times. My son is 9 and I take him to all autograph experiences with me that I can. He loves meeting his idols and the thrill of the chase. I also tell him about the players so he has an understanding of the players so he can have an appreciation.

\

That all sounds good! Seems like you're teaching him the game.

[mighty bombjack]

What we do is pretty irrational, no doubt. You have to hold on to that whimsy, that adulation for a game and the players who play(ed) it, for if you stop, if you cut of the feelings in order to plainly THINK, you see very clearly how crazy it is to spend the kind of money that we do on cardboard squares and scribbled-on pieces of paper.

I think that's why I continue to do it. I haven't bought much recently, but I've held off on selling because of the tingle I get, my collection a regular reminder that life isn't all cold and rational, that childlike wonder remains.

[mighty bombjack]

I've also often wondered about the evolutionary component of collecting, because it is 99.99% percent men, we traditional hunter/gatherers, who tend towards compulsivity about "completing" things.

My wife and mom think my dad and I are crazy, but they see the joy it brings us (even if they can't understand it). And I've heard that same thing from many a member here.

[JohnnyFinance7]

Let me offer my two cents. I recently started collecting again (in January) after a 30 year hiatus. When I was a kid, I wrote letters to baseball HOFers and was able to get a few autographs through the mail. I always remember looking forward to coming back from school and finding one of my SASE in the mail. Some players such as Joe Sewell took the time to write me back. Back then, I always wanted to see how many HOF autographs I could collect and I've always enjoyed the history of the game as well. Fast forward 30 years, and I'm trying to re-live my childhood and pick up autographs and rookie cards that I have always wanted.

Cool website by the way and that's awesome that you were able to find a Ty Cobb check for $40!

[packs]

I take joy in preserving history and collecting autographs, so long as you aren't destroying something in your pursuit, is a great way to preserve the history of the game, it's players, and your own history because there will always be certain pieces in your collection that will be attached to a distant memory.

[CooperstownExpert]

Originally Posted by JohnnyFinance7

Let me offer my two cents. I recently started collecting again (in January) after a 30 year hiatus. When I was a kid, I wrote letters to baseball HOFers and was able to get a few autographs through the mail. I always remember looking forward to coming back from school and finding one of my SASE in the mail. Some players such as Joe Sewell took the time to write me back. Back then, I always wanted to see how many HOF autographs I could collect and I've always enjoyed the history of the game as well. Fast forward 30 years, and I'm trying to re-live my childhood and pick up autographs and rookie cards that I have always wanted.

Cool website by the way and that's awesome that you were able to find a Ty Cobb check for $40!

Back in the early to mid 1980s Cobb's granddaughter flooded the market with his checks. I think she sold them to dealers for $10!

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by CooperstownExpert

Back in the early to mid 1980s Cobb's granddaughter flooded the market with his checks. I think she sold them to dealers for $10!

A friend of the granddaughter brought 100 checks to NY. He found a local ad of mine.
I paid $20 apiece and got $60 each for them, selling them individually at shows and SCD.

[steve B]

I don't collect much in the way of autographs, but I do collect a lot of stuff, and not all of it sports.

It took me a long time to become a more "serious" collector. And I'm probably not entirely there yet.

I collect pretty much whatever I enjoy in some way. And I've finally escaped the need for "completeness". Collecting in a couple areas where completeness isn't really possible has helped a lot.

I enjoy stuff for a lot of reasons, Nostalgia, a sense of preserving something I find interesting, especially if it seems nobody else cares at all. And sometimes for a sense of discovery. (My wife says I like the hunt better than the catching, and she may be right)

I've seen a few hobbies get so the better things are out of reach (for me anyway) and the lesser ones are boring.

I do find that everyone who collects eventually takes a brief break to reassess their interests and goals.

Lately I've begun taking some of the stuff I've found and doing a little writeup about why it's special and putting it in a binder. It makes the item a bit more relateable, and more than just some old bit of paper in a box somewhere.

Here's a couple pages I did for a postcard I found in a postcard dealers stock and took a chance on. The hockey stic pic is from another member here, and added a lot to the overall page.