An Intro to Collecting: Different Types of Collectors

Here is the First Installment of many more to come. Please forgive the labels as they are meant to help define the categories in a the vast sea collectors and collectibles.

Why Collect? A good question, a simple question, and yet one with many answers. For every collector their is a personal reason why they collect. Let's look at the different type of collectors and how they collect first.

The Completist is a collector who tries to get every example of an item, in Comics it may be a whole run or every appearance by a character, in Sports Cards a Full set or all issues by a company. In Figurines it may be everything in a series or by a Company.

The Local is a Collector who focuses on Items of Local Interest or about their Hometown if they've moved away. Most notably present in Collectibles like Post Cards, Ephemera or Souvenir Items they Tend to Collect Items Older then they are or about the same Age.. tactile Memories if you will.

The Topical Collector usually Picks a single Topic and Collects it, examples of this Range from the Predictable like Collecting Magazines with a specific Celebrity on the cover.. to the truly Odd Collecting Comic Books with Barber Shop themed Covers. Topical Collecting truly Started in the Field of Stamps but has moved out into all areas of Collecting.

The Family Genealogist Many times the Most ardent and Purposeful of any Collectors Chasing down the threads of their families Past can lead them into every facet of Collectibles, From Books to Billheads, Letter heads and other ephemera, to WW2 War Ration books to Police Blotters (for the more colorful families)

The "I like that" collector.. Not so much a collector as a Magpie .. a person who collects things on no other basis then it caught their eye.. I've been guilty of that one

The Purist Much like the Completist this collector wants all of something but it's usually very specific and very expensive.. Most times these collectors are in the Traditional Collectible Fields of Stamps and Coins,though Golden Age Comics and Pre 1960 Baseball Cards have their Purists as well.

The Investor: Once Limited to High Value Stamps and Coins this collector branched out into Golden Age Comics, "Key" Silver Age Comics (Like Fantastic Four #1) and Sports Cards, Buys Mainly established High Dollar Items with Proven Track Records.. Let's Face it the 1 Penny Black (First Stamp) Pine Tree Shilling (Early Colonial Coin) Action Comics #1 (First Superman) or Mickey Mantle's Rookie card are never going down in price.. only up.

The Speculator Never to be confused with the Investor, Speculators often buy not just single items but multiple Items betting the Price will go way up, sometimes they win .. sometimes they don't. In 1992 So Many Speculators Over bought/ordered Spawn #1 that unless it's Slabbed (CGC Graded more on that in a later Blog) it's not worth much more then cover Price.

The Accumulator the Mass Quantities version of Collecting.. where a person doesn't have a Collection they have numerous collections.. and almost collections, and maybe collections, they buy things because others collect them, because someone they know might be impressed they have them, because they catch their fancy or sometimes just because they Can. The Accumulator usually has no rhyme or reason.. only piles.. drifts and or mountains of stuff. As you can see

Collectors come in every shape and size.. just like collections, some have specialized collections that have been hunted down with care and deliberation.. others have vast amounts of seemingly acquired with no pattern. As to why you should consider collecting.. well do you have a passion? Something in your life that means a lot to you? Perhaps Computers? Collecting Computer Memorabilia is on the rise, not just hardware or software but advertising, Appearances in Pop Culture (Comic covers, books about, movies etc) If you can think of a thing I can point you at ways to collect it.. even emotions can cause collecting. Now don't think I'm making it sound like a disease, it's not. It's actually one of the finest hobbies out there, the thrill of the hunt, the pride of ownership, that special feeling of accomplishment when you get just the right Item to compliment your collection. There are thousands of reasons to collect, and many ways to collect. But the only one that matters is the one that's right for you.

Until Next time,

Good Hunting Doc