Why do we collect??

[hoshua4710]

Just wanted to ask the simple question, Why do you collect? Sometimes I have to ask myself this because there are times when i wonder if it was really worth it to spend that much money on a piece of cardboard. I don't have many friends or family members who share the same interest in baseball cards that i do, so i sometimes feel like i have to justify my purchases to those around me.The fact is, is that really don't have to justify anything because its something that I love and have a passion for and have for years. That alone should be enough justification right? For me, collecting makes me feel like im 10 years old again. When I find that that one missing piece of my collection that i have been searching forever for and it finally comes in the mail, its like opening my first pack of baseball cards all over again. I feel like all the stresses of being an adult goes away for a brief moment and I am in my own little world with these pieces of American history. That might seem weird or dorky(I know my wife thinks it is haha), but that's why I collect! So I just wanted to ask you guys, why do you collect?

[kmac32]

Family history. My great great uncle Elmer Miller played in the 1921 World Series for the Yankees. He was literally the first Yankee to get a hit in a World Series and was the first Yankee to score a run in a World Series. My main collection are graded E121-80 and E121-120 Yankees and Giants from 1921 and 1922. Team mates of Uncle Elmer are my specialty.

[Peter_Spaeth]

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=169201&highlight=why+collect

[murcerfan]

It's all about the hunt for me.

[Leon]

I like everything about collecting baseball cards. I have met some (now) very good friends, have managed to flip a couple cards and make a few dollars and love the history of the game though I don't study it enough. Last but not least I like the artwork of the cards themselves. There are other things but those are some of them.... Actually, very good question. We all have our own reasons and none of them are wrong.

[xcgrammer]

I will always love baseball cards and they will always hold a special place in my heart. I was born in 1980 and have memories of my dad giving me the only part of his collection he still had a little stack of 1958 And 1961 Topps on a Saturday late afternoon in early summer of 1991 we went thru and looked them up in my Beckett. I will always cherish that memory as will I of taking my paper route money and walking to the card shop with 10-15 dollars and trying to get a Frank Thomas or Ken Griffey Jr. I always loved the history of the game and that is why I will always love vintage the most.

[KCRfan1]

Just wanted to ask the simple question, Why do you collect? Sometimes I have to ask myself this because there are times when i wonder if it was really worth it to spend that much money on a piece of cardboard. I don't have many friends or family members who share the same interest in baseball cards that i do, so i sometimes feel like i have to justify my purchases to those around me.The fact is, is that really don't have to justify anything because its something that I love and have a passion for and have for years. That alone should be enough justification right? For me, collecting makes me feel like im 10 years old again. When I find that that one missing piece of my collection that i have been searching forever for and it finally comes in the mail, its like opening my first pack of baseball cards all over again. I feel like all the stresses of being an adult goes away for a brief moment and I am in my own little world with these pieces of American history. That might seem weird or dorky(I know my wife thinks it is haha), but that's why I collect! So I just wanted to ask you guys, why do you collect?

That is exactly how I feel.

[KCRfan1]

Family history. My great great uncle Elmer Miller played in the 1921 World Series for the Yankees. He was literally the first Yankee to get a hit in a World Series and was the first Yankee to score a run in a World Series. My main collection are graded E121-80 and E121-120 Yankees and Giants from 1921 and 1922. Team mates of Uncle Elmer are my specialty.

That is so cool Ken!

[SetBuilder]

The happiest memories of my childhood were baseball related. If I had to make a top 10 list of my best memories before the age of 18, about 9 of them would be baseball memories. I grew up in a chaotic and troubled household and I would spend many hours alone with my cards; grouping them together, putting them in binders, looking them up on a price guide, and mailing off TTM auto requests. When my friends would come over, we would spend hours trading cards and talking about baseball.

Now that I've graduated from college and started my career, I still feel a certain attachment to the 10 year old version of myself.

[brianp-beme]

Of course I love baseball and things that speak of history, and come from a family of collectors, but over the years I have become convinced that another driving factor to my collecting is so that I have a reason to create and devise lists that intrique me...see my two recent E90-1 threads for examples of this compulsive behavior.

Brian

[ScottFandango]

I like the idea of discovering new things...I have a few modern discoveries now recognized by PSA and have helped joe O with weeding out some fakes also...

now working on some 100 year old discoveries ....that is why I collect!

[robw1959]

"When I find that that one missing piece of my collection that i have been searching forever for and it finally comes in the mail, its like opening my first pack of baseball cards all over again. I feel like all the stresses of being an adult goes away for a brief moment and I am in my own little world with these pieces of American history."

Good points. I especially like the part about losing stress. Life is so full of demands and responsibilities that it's nice to be able to unwind now and then. Collecting does that for me; it really opens up another world - a world of relief from those mundane stresses.

[johnmh71]

Part of it for me is the challenge involved. The other part is that I have always been interested in the history of baseball and collecting seems to connect me more with the players and teams that I read about.

[HOF Yankees]

I love baseball and sports history and collecting is the way that takes back to the times and players that I never saw but only herd of. I can learn about what baseball was like back in the day, what the uniforms, stadiums, and players looked like, the stats on the back and ads. I also agree with the members that were talking about it being a stress reliever. If I am having a bad day I can turn to the hobby and know the day has gotten better. I also to collect to enjoy!!!!

I remember back in high school in the early 2000s I would always go my local card shop and buy Beckett Vintage when the shop owner had it in stock and that was when I found the card that would change all. I saw a 1969 Topps Willie Mays sitting in the shop owners case and it was 35.00 and I thought it was the coolest card I ever saw, so I saved up as much as I could cause I wanted it. So the day came and I bought that Mays and that's when my love for Vintage Cards came about.

[rainier2004]

For me, collecting makes me feel like im 10 years old again. When I find that that one missing piece of my collection that i have been searching forever for and it finally comes in the mail, its like opening my first pack of baseball cards all over again. I feel like all the stresses of being an adult goes away for a brief moment and I am in my own little world with these pieces of American history.

That's my bottom line as well...

[Exhibitman]

Same reasons as many here. I've been collecting since I was a little boy 40+ years ago; it is in my DNA. It reminds me of the good parts of my childhood. I've made many friends, some of them very close, from collecting. I enjoy the chase and the acquisition of new knowledge, which is why I collect oddball and regional issues. It proved to be a better investment than many others. When my main business [law] is slow I turn to card dealing to make ends meet and I am hoping will furnish me with a nice part-time business when/if I retire from my main work. I can't afford to collect art nor do I have the space for it but I can sure collect little cardboard pieces that are works of art in and of themselves:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/rareboxingcards/websize/T218%20Johnson%201.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/rareboxingcards/websize/Rippled%20Wheat%20Dempsey.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/rareboxingcards/websize/1967%20Figuritas%20Sport%20Ali.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/miscellaneous4/websize/1954%20Bowman%20Minoso.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/rareboxingcards/websize/Newmar_1.jpg