Showing your collections/room off to others
 

Hi all, I have been wondering about this for a while. I have a larger room in my house dedicated to my collection, walls lined with signed baseballs and also have some older sets there. I finally have the room close to where I want it visually, but I am always reluctant to post pics or show people in person unless I really know them.

I guess now that I have all of this stuff, I'd like to show if off more, but worry about theft and other issues. Anyone else think like this? I feel like in todays age you can not be too careful, but then I feel like what's the point of having this cool stuff if people can't see it.

Aside from showing my collection to Hobby friends if they happen to be in my house... the most frequent way I enjoy my collection is via scans on one of my devices and every now and then I get the urge to hold the genuine article in my hand.

If I know the person or people, fine. But I don't mention or discuss my collection with anyone I don't know. And if someone comes in the house to perform work, they don't come into the man cave.

Decades ago, when I moved out of the house and got my own apartment, I was freely showing off and bragging about my stereo...Yamaha receiver, Techniqs turntable, Paradox speakers. Sure enough, one day while I gone, some jackass(es) broke in and stole it. Ever since, if I don't know you very well, you don't need to see or even know about my stuff.

I'm also very careful about letting anyone know about my collections for security reasons. Generally there's no point in showing my stuff off to the uninitiated anyway. Unless a house guest also has the collecting gene, the conversations would typically go something like this:

GUEST - So how much is all of this stuff worth?

BALTICFOX - What does it matter? It's not for sale. And it's never been about the money for me anyway.

GUEST - But what are you going to do with this stuff when you die?

BALTICFOX - Nothing. I'll be dead. I won't be doing much of anything then.

GUEST - I mean have you ever thought of selling your collections now to buy something you can enjoy?

BALTICFOX - That's actually why I have these items. I enjoy having them! They bring me satisfaction and delight.

Oh, and by the way, what would you propose that I do with the money I get for my collectibles? Spend it on beer, wine and pot like you do leaving nothing other than a few more dead brain cells?


To please yourself!

;)

Good motto to live by
 

“Loose lips sink ships”

I know a guy with a KILLER collection that he keeps in a giant safe. I just can't do that -- I want to see these things daily. For peace of mind, I got my collection added to my home/auto insurance -- at a very nice rate -- just in case the worst happens.

That said, I'd never let anyone near that room who could ever be a threat, and that includes service providers.

I think it’s a good idea to take reasonable precautions. And when talking to others, it’s rare that my collection comes up, even with really close friends. For a collection worth good money, getting insurance is probably a smart idea.

But I’m not afraid to share it with others around here or through various YouTube videos and interviews, etc.

Beyond that, life is too short to be worrying about it beyond those reasonable precautions. It’s just stuff, and most of it can probably even be replaced in the event of catastrophe. And in that event, you can use the insurance proceeds to get newer and better stuff.

I keep my stuff in a safe in a coat closet. Even if you find it, good luck getting it out. Does make it annoying to put my new cards into it though. I get lazy and always have a card sitting around. Right now I've got a Satchel Paige signed RPPC sitting on my book shelf.

Whatever the hell you do, don't let this happen to you. :(

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/20/us/ne...rnd/index.html

That truckload pic is amazing -- along with his $5 million Ruth, he still had loads of junk wax.

I am pretty much the same. I always say I couldn't care less if it is thrown in a dumpster or lit on fire when I die. The best part is the cheap stuff from the junk wax era is my favorite stuff. I can look at several Ruth cards and say yea I guess that is cool and thanks for repeatedly telling me what they are worth. Now hand me a handful of 80s-90s cards and you can't slap the smile off my face while looking at them.

I agree on the beer and wine but Weed always puts a smile on my face.

I enjoy looking at my stuff, day and night. It brings me immeasurable joy - but then again nothing in my collection has much great monetary value beyond how it makes me feel.

display
 

interesting topic,

I find very very few people/ friends/ family are even remotely interested in looking at baseball cards and such

Ha,..there they sit, alone..in plastic and cardboard boxes ! what joy they bring LOL

Any non-collector would have a hard time knowing what valuable stuff I have.
That's why I have a section of my collection that I call the "uninformed cool" stuff. That's what I'll show them.
It's a type collection of cards from prior to World War 1. About 200 or so total cards. Mostly baseball, but some non-sports 1870-1880's They tell a really good story about how baseball card collecting started (everything from N342, trade cards, etc. through Old Judge, T206 up to Cracker Jack). But they're all commons and the entire thing looks better than it costs.
Anyone who knows nothing about cards would think it's cooooooool. Those of us here on the board would just say.."that's cool"
Non-sport are in a binder

I show mine every now and then. I have a loud mouth dog, security system, neighbors around and a handy snub nose .38 and 1911 Colt 45 among other fire arms so if one want's to chance it so be it.

I've shown friends some stuff, usually when they ask after a casual mention like saying I was at the card show (or other show)

I usually show them a card from each decade and talk about how it represents that time period by it's technology and art.

I rarely talk value except as a social artifact.

But my family knows what the few valuable items are, or the ones that are special to me for some reason despite not having much value.

My card room has a separate alarm on it in addition to the main house one. I go in there almost daily.

I don't have a collection room, per se, but I do have a wall which prominently displays my most prized possession, and I love showing it off to everyone...


Attachment 651284

My father told me years ago to never ever tell anyone what you have..

Throw some duct tape across that bad boy and it might fetch $6MM?!

The finest way to protect ones collection is with a classic of the same vintage as the pre-war cards.

Damn Joe those cases are amazing! One of the best looking displays I've ever seen. The lights make the stuff pop.

I have a 13x20 room dedicated to my Cubs, Bears etc. If fact, this room is the reason we bought the house. My wife said she saw the look on my face when we saw this room while touring the house. Anyway it is filled to the brim with pennants on the ceiling, an 8 ft showcase and a 4 ft showcase filled. The walls are full and I have spilt over into another room. My wife has no idea the value of my collection. My son does as does my daughter. Fortunately no one has to go in there to do anything. When I have service people come to the basement, while the door has been taken off, you can't really see much. I used to share on sites like these, pictures, when asked, but now I do not. I do not talk about my collection and those friends that have seen it just say "Boy, you have a lot of stuff"" and I just agree. I see no value in talking about the value as it would just bring unwanted attention.

Joe,

So I'm assuming you went to Ohio State? ;):D

In all seriousness, you have one of the best focused collections I've seen, and it's displayed beautifully. Your website is fantastic as well.

Thanks for sharing that.

Joe, as a Cornell alum, thanks for posting the pictures of your collection. An amazing collection of early Big Red memorabilia.

Nor should the "value" matter to you anyway so there's no reason why you should mention it.

;)

Same reason as why you mentioned this 1-23-25:
"But I have found fault with my collecting! I've admitted that it's a ruinous (financially) addiction, have I not? What more do you want?"

Collection? I can not confirm nor deny the existence of any collection.

But I'm still pursuing it despite the ruinous financial element!

;)

Excellent setup to protect your collection, but as the perps get more sophisticated and sometimes wear body armor, perhaps you need a slightly higher caliber to make sure the job gets done when you are defending your T206 Plank. How about a 50 cal Barrett?

Lots of great insight here! Since I started the thread, here is an older pic of my baseball room pre-furniture (the opposite wall is also full of balls).

Like I said, I am weary of telling adults I don't know about it, but my sons love to look at 'their' collection from time-to-time, and I did let the travel ball team I coach in for a look (they really only enjoyed the 2000-up section).

A friend of mine who is also a member here, but does not post much does not have a card / memorabilia room.......he has a memorabilia HOUSE! Every room in his home has collectibles from floor to ceiling. Just an unbelievable collection.
Hopefully he will see this thread and chime in with his collection. I think he should start charging admission to anyone who enters is house.
Bob

Just think about this, if someone can get $6M for a banana duct taped to a wall, just think how much you could get for a Jeffries rookie stapled to a wall. Call it a piece of art and give it a snazzy name.

Do you have a Bob Uecker autographed ball to go with the Major League movie poster?

How about "Adoration of the Magi Greggi"??

I know a locomotive engineer who also owns the house next door to his own which he uses to store his monster items collection!

:cool:

Well I also have a pistol grip Mossberg shotgun so I think when they hear the cocking sound it's a nice let me think about this moment smart guy.

It is more of a think about it moment when you have a gun pointed at their head and they say "MFer please" and you can see in their eyes they actually mean it. Trust me it is a whole different story from talking a big game and having it happen at 3:08 on a Saturday morning.

It's all well and good to have weapons. Odds are, though, no one is coming to get your stuff while you're sitting back locked and loaded. They're coming when you're gone, and the neighbors aren't looking. What then?

That’s why my collection is stored in quality safes (well, except the bulk junk!). It can happen though, I’ve had a home invasion while I was there and it’s no fun. Better to be prepared for the unlikelihood, and never need it than the opposite.

Here are a couple of early Cornell athletes for you to view:

Attachment 651410

John Paul Jones - competed in several track events at the 1912 Olympics. He also played in the baseball demonstration game. His time in the mile in 1913 was the first world record recognized by the IAAF.

Attachment 651411

Alma Richards - gold medalist in the high jump at the 1912 Olympics. This shows him with Avery Brundage, probably after they competed in the 1916 AAU decathlon championships.

Attachment 651409

Joseph Lazarus - competed in boxing at the 1924 Olympics. This is a part of a collection of 25+ personal photos taken in the Olympic village of the U.S. boxing team.

Rog that!! Keep hunting for those sets. They can be fun but frustrating at times.:)

Yea, but it sounds so much more macho the other way LOL

I must be an outlier here as I display my collection broadly and bring friends and guests in all the time (insured, camera, smart locks on the house)

It’s a personal thing but I love telling the backstories to King Kelly, how cards were used to sell cigarettes, why the high number 52 Topps are crazy expensive, etc.

I find the biggest kick people get is when I show them the “Gross” section of my PC (my last name, and an easy to use pun at the same time). That has my son and daughter’s little league photos and batting helmets, my nieces and nephews with their cards and the 6 major league players with last name “Gross” who have Topps cards - all on one “Gross shelf” (last photo below)

As many have said here, the whole thing is just fun for me especially to be able to share it.

You do you, as the kids say… and for me, this is to fun to keep locked away.

I once showed my cousins some T206 cards and Old Judge cards during a family dinner about 15 years ago and one of them said "Do you have any Babe Ruth cards?". I do not, which led to everyone looking disappointed and not caring anymore about the old cards.

My cousin married a former baseball player and before the next family dinner I bought all six of his cards. Total spent was about $50 because I had to buy team sets for all of them. Those cards was significantly more popular than any pre-war card I owned at the time.

No one has asked to see any cards since.

My neighbor from about ten years ago knew Rey Palacios when he was young. He went to the fire station my neighbor worked at a lot. A 1989 card of Palacios was more popular than anything else I had to him.

Basically, unless people collect old cards or just love old baseball history, they don't care.

Is that really any different from any other type of collection people have? If you have no knowledge or interest in something, how much time would you really want to spend looking at it or hearing someone else talk about it? There was a thread about what else people collect, and while many of the pictures shown were impressive collections, there weren't too many that personally would have interested me enough to want to spend a lot of time hearing about them.

Belfast1933 " must be an outlier here as I display my collection broadly and bring friends and guests in all the time (insured, camera, smart locks on the house)

It’s a personal thing but I love telling the backstories to King Kelly, how cards were used to sell cigarettes, why the high number 52 Topps are crazy expensive, etc.

I find the biggest kick people get is when I show them the “Gross” section of my PC (my last name, and an easy to use pun at the same time). That has my son and daughter’s little league photos and batting helmets, my nieces and nephews with their cards and the 6 major league players with last name “Gross” who have Topps cards - all on one “Gross shelf” (last photo below)

As many have said here, the whole thing is just fun for me especially to be able to share it.

You do you, as the kids say… and for me, this is to fun to keep locked away."

Wow, very nicely organized. Is that an original 1951 Mantle? I am a Cub guy and my room is chock full of mainly Cubs/Bears stuff and, while organized and everything on an Excel file so I can find it, not as neatly as yours's.

I once had to " pretend " intertest in a relative's stamp collection ( eeh)

and when I commented about " do you that the upside-down Jenny plane stamp "...had to politely listen to a 10 minute story !

LOL, we have all been there and we are that person every time we talk about our collection of pictures of young athletic men in uniforms or their personal items/old worn clothes we now own.:D

Thanks Michael for sharing those great photos of Jones, Richards and Lazarus. Here is a Paul Thompson Photo of Alma Richards, c1916, and the same sweater he is wearing. It’s not his exact sweater (although it possibly could be, but no evidence of who owned it).