Does your spouse know anything about your collection ?

[Leon]

That's freaking awesome. It was her idea all of the time!! All of us guys should remember that.

And as for me, my wife doesn't know much about my collections, past or present, except she gets half their value if we ever divorce.

Originally Posted by Sean

My girlfriend knows little about cards or baseball, but she is interested in my spending. She will support me when I get a high grade Cobb or Johnson, but not a Street/ Piedmont 42 and definitely not a brown/ yellow scrap.

Sometimes I end up passing on cards that I would like to have. Other times I end up getting them secretly (luckily she doesn't read this forum).

And once I actually told her that if it came to it, I would choose a card over her. She gave in that one time. At the time (2006) we had been together less than a year and the card was the Plank. She resented the card for a while, but when she realized how much it has increased in value she acts like it was her idea to get it all along.

[h2oya311]

Originally Posted by Leon

That's freaking awesome. It was her idea all of the time!! All of us guys should remember that.

And as for me, my wife doesn't know much about my collections, past or present, except she gets half their value if we ever divorce.

Leon - How did you explain the ridiculous sum of money coming in from Heritage Auctions??

As for me, I was once pretty secretive about everything, but I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders ever since I "came out of the closet", so to speak. I too used to open packages at work or in the basement (or in a closet). How sad!

It's hard to keep a big secret like this when you are buying a house and so I just came out and told her how much the collection is worth (or at least how much I paid over the years). She knows I love the hobby, so she wouldn't fight me over it. She also knows I've had a few big scores over the past few years, so that helps dampen the blow. She still doesn't consider it part of our total net assets, but to me, it's a long-term investment and a decent liquidity back-stop (aka the "oh $hit" fund). As others have mentioned, this money could have been blown on so many other endeavors.

Great idea for a post, by the way.

[Republicaninmass]

My wife knows everything about my collection that she wishes to know. If she ever asks a question, I answer it honestly. The simple fact is that she has little interest, perhaps because we've never combined our finances so the collection has little impact upon her.

Genius! Mine will get a nice little surprise when I'm gone.

[ejharrington]

I always show my wife my "watch list" before the auctions and have her pick out the items she thinks has "eye appeal". I use her input for validation to either spend lots of money for a baseball card or to pass.

She is supportive of my spending but I think she thinks I'm nuts.

[edjs]

I am still alive, so, no, not really. She sees the cards come in the mail, but doesn't ask a lot about them unless I get too many packages at once.

[Leon]

Ridiculous sum is a relative term. My wife knew I spent a lot on cards (relative to our other things) and it was part of our assets and a bigger part than it really should have been, as I so often have said. But that is fixed for the moment.
She encourages my collecting otherwise and knows I love it. We have even talked of traveling and setting up at shows in the future. I think it could be fun (as long as some shows survive). It even funded a college education and a little more!!

ps...Rich, gotcha covered....

Originally Posted by h2oya311

Leon - How did you explain the ridiculous sum of money coming in from Heritage Auctions??

As for me, I was once pretty secretive about everything, but I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders ever since I "came out of the closet", so to speak. I too used to open packages at work or in the basement (or in a closet). How sad!

It's hard to keep a big secret like this when you are buying a house and so I just came out and told her how much the collection is worth (or at least how much I paid over the years). She knows I love the hobby, so she wouldn't fight me over it. She also knows I've had a few big scores over the past few years, so that helps dampen the blow. She still doesn't consider it part of our total net assets, but to me, it's a long-term investment and a decent liquidity back-stop (aka the "oh $hit" fund). As others have mentioned, this money could have been blown on so many other endeavors.

Great idea for a post, by the way.

[Yoda]

Originally Posted by Leon

Ridiculous sum is a relative term. My wife knew I spent a lot on cards (relative to our other things) and it was part of our assets and a bigger part than it really should have been, as I so often have said. But that is fixed for the moment.
She encourages my collecting otherwise and knows I love it. We have even talked of traveling and setting up at shows in the future. I think it could be fun (as long as some shows survive). It even funded a college education and a little more!!

ps...Rich, gotcha covered....

Leon, the thought of setting up at shows with my ex wife makes me shudder. Your marriage must be rock solid.

[pokerplyr80]

My wife didn't pay much attention at first. But she started to notice when those notes were left on the door saying the package had to be picked up in person. I've heard "how much did that one cost" quite a few times.

She wasn't happy but tolerated my collecting. I tried to explain that I wasn't just throwing money away, that the cards had value and could be sold later if need be. I don't think she really believed me. The first time I sold a card for substantially more than I paid I told her the exact amount and her attitude completely changed.

Now if I decide to sell a card she asks why. I hear things like "are you sure you want to sell that one" and "we don't need cash, our money in the bank isn't doing anything for us."

[mark evans]

My wife couldn't care less about my collection. She has the business card of an auction house with instructions, upon my demise, to walk in with my Tip-Top Dreyfuss and suggest they send a truck to my house.

[whitey19thcentury]

My wife knows everything that I own since 80% if my collection is framed and matted. Photos, supplements, autographs etc.. The rest of my collection is comprised of Forbes Field artifacts and game used jerseys and bats.
As for value of the items, she hasn't the slightest idea. A couple years ago, I bought a cornerstone from the facade of Forbes. She knew it was relatively expensive, but didn't say anything. Both of my parents are big collectors (non sports items), so my wife knows it runs in the family.
What I spend on my collection and for resale comes out of a separate bank account that I have had since i started dealing in sports memorabilia in high school.

[joshuanip]

I have a directory of the auction houses, in a folder with my life insurance policy.

[ejharrington]

Not only does my wife support my hobby, she encourages me to go "an extra bid" on the things she knows I really want. Of course, we keep our finances separate so she has no skin in the game!

[OLDBILL]

Hopefully none of the cautious respondents' wives are members of net54. Ha!

[steve B]

My wife knows a lot about my collections, to the point of helping make most of the bigger decisions on purchases.
Since I started trying to get a little focus on my collecting that's usually along the lines of "how does it fit the collection, and if it doesn't fit, why is it cool/important enough to buy.

[C-mack]

Very much so! Shes a huge baseball fan and we go to about 6 to 15 games a year including on our anniversary lol

Once I showed her Ken burns: baseball she fell in love with the prewar like I did! It's really become our hobby which adds to my enjoyment!

She been overcoming the fact she has epilepsy and that drew her to like Grover Alexander, it's been fun watching her discover her own favorites!

[tonyo]

Originally Posted by C-mack

Very much so! Shes a huge baseball fan and we go to about 6 to 15 games a year including on our anniversary lol

Once I showed her Ken burns: baseball she fell in love with the prewar like I did! It's really become our hobby which adds to my enjoyment!

She been overcoming the fact she has epilepsy and that drew her to like Grover Alexander, it's been fun watching her discover her own favorites!

WOW
Mind if I frame that picture of your wife holding the CJ?😃

Congrats you’re a very lucky guy!

[C-mack]

Originally Posted by tonyo

WOW
Mind if I frame that picture of your wife holding the CJ?😃

Congrats you’re a very lucky guy!

Lol , and thanks! I think I lucked out too

[cubman1941]

My wife is not a sports person. When we got married (second for both) and combined households she knew I had boxes full of baseball "stuff" After 25 years and 3 moves I finally had a room again I could call my own and display some of my baseball and football collection. To this day she knows i am a Cub guy and that is that. I have instructions in our will whom to call to dispose of my collection. She is "proud" to tell people that I have a large "collection" but that is the extend of her knowledge. She never questions any purchase I make and, when we go to flea markets and antique malls, she will even ask if I saw this glove or that bat. The only player she knows and likes is Cal Ripken, Jr because when lived in Baltimore she would to to ball games with me. That was during his streak year so his name was prominent. Every year for Christmas she will buy me a blaster box or two and I say "Thank you", open them and promptly give them all away.

[toledo_mudhen]

Mine is oblivious and disinterested - As long as she has cash to buy clothes, shoes, whatever - the subject never comes up. I have left instructions in the lockbox (in case I get hit by a bus or something)

[Al C.risafulli]

True story:

Eight or ten years ago, I was scouring eBay because I was bored, and I found a beautiful Ruppert Beer tin sign - a HUGE one, not the one that we see more frequently that measures two feet across, this one was about 5 feet across.

I won it, and when it came, it was in a giant box that I had to open in the living room. My wife was sitting on the couch, watching me open it - just another package of baseball stuff arriving at the house.

When I pulled it out of the box, I held it up so she could see it. She was quiet for a minute, and then she said "Oh, that's MINE."

Since then, she's been engaged in every purchase I've made. My collecting tastes have even changed because I buy stuff that can be displayed, and it's hung up throughout my house. She knows what the stuff is worth, she appreciates the aesthetics, and since she was a baseball fan to begin with, she understands the history. Once in a while, she'll see something in an auction, and she'll say "We need to win that." WE.

She's fully involved in LOTG as an employee, she's gotten to be friendly with a lot of collectors, and she's got a decent amount of hobby knowledge. I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm a pretty lucky guy.

-Al

[mechanicalman]

Al, that's awesome. I love the use of plural possessive pronouns when it comes to collecting. My wife and I have achieved that as well.

One of the things I do to involve my wife is, about once a quarter, we have a Wine and Cards Night where we pick a certain theme (it might be something like: My Top 20 Favorite Cards or Top 10 Lowest Pop, etc.). I lay out the cards in the kitchen and we go through each one together while drinking a bottle (or two) of moderately priced champagne. She is not a huge sports fan, but she has come to appreciate the aesthetics and the history of the cards.