Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Collectors
I’ve been bottom-feeding on eBay, snapping up modern-date proof coins for a fraction of their book value. It’s a sleazy job but someone has to do it. I don’t know whether a high grade proof quarter from the mid-90s will ever appreciate in value, but if I buy it at 25% book, I’m unlikely to lose money.
It’s a curious thing, what some folks collect. Yesterday, I asked a young disabled patient what he did with his time. He told me that he trades, restores, and customizes Hot Wheels. I described to him the one Hot Wheel I remember from my childhood: something Mod Squad-inspired, a metallic green sports car with a glass (plastic, actually)-topped cabin and an exposed engine on the hood. Instantly he knew which one I was describing, and even named it.
Blew me away. I never would have been able to recover that name, but the moment he said it, I knew he was right. Meet the Beatnik Bandit.
In retrospect, I shouldn’t have been so surprised by his quick recognition. It’s a distinctive car, after all, and 1968 was the first year of issue for Hot Wheels. Not knowing the Beatnik Bandit would be like a coin collector not knowing the Booby Head Coronet Large Cent.
And here I thought I knew what a booby was.
Some people are collectors, some aren’t. I wish I had saved all my various collections because they’d have had considerable value by now. My 1975 Topps Manny Mota card must be worth —
$2.49? And not even a single bidder? Maybe my baseball cards wouldn’t be worth a fortune.
My collection of Orange Crush bottle caps surely must be worth . . . $0.99? And no bidders.
I’ll stick to coins.
D.
U dib’t collect for investment purposes. I colllect for enjoyment. A lot of collectors are similar.
I’m praying that my Star Wars Customizable Card Game cards will have some value some day…..
Nox, when it comes to coin collecting both investment and enjoyment are at play. One coin I bought back in the early 90s is a real beaut, and I’m happy to own it, but the coin store owner ripped me off (it’s still not in the “profitable” range, even after nearly 20 years) and I’m afraid that diminishes the joy of owning it. Unlike that movie they showed us back in elementary school, where the Polynesian guy pays 100 cows for an ugly bride and she magically transforms into the prettiest dame on the island, coins don’t get prettier (or more valuable) just because you pay 80-too-many cows for them.
Charles, check eBay, wherein you learn the value of all things 🙂