When I got back into collecting last year it was six months before I got back to my mom's house to dig out my old childhood collection. I already knew they'd be virtually worthless since I collected during the 80s and early 90s, but when I realized the condition of them my heart sunk even further. Since then I have been tempted to auction off selected lots of them just to get them out but I can't bring myself to do it because they are the actual physical cards I invested so much of my time, energy, and money into. I probably won't ever get rid of them even though they will never have any market value.
Not quite the same thing, but cards mean different things to different people, and some cards mean something different than other cards to the same collector. Some of what I have I keep because of my history with them, some I collect because of the person on the card, some I collect because of the deal. And sometimes the various motivations come together in sweet harmony.
