Novices and Collectors Reap Rewards

With a little bit of ingenuity consider the following ideas as prep-starts for your forte in the world of collectibles. Collecting can be savvy and rewarding, time consuming and interesting. Whatever your reason for finding something fun, exciting and sociable to do, the tour doesn't just stop at $3,000 vintage club-foot china cabinet.

You can pick things that are easy to carry, move in and set-up for display or save for a rainy day discussion with an admirer, friend or relative you know. Collections are an easy ice-breaker for after dinner conversation or can be an interesting family fun activity on a rainy day. It's something extra and builds net worth. Most collectibles neatly kept by display or compact storage can bring some extra dollars should you decide to talk to a market appraiser or collector. Also there's the aspect of history or beauty in your life, and collectibles are stable and not as volatile as many investments. Dealers at table displays at shows sponsored by non-profit groups and armories frequently talk business about purchasing collections while they are selling and answering questions.

So what about the portable collections and what kind of finds are there to keep? Think about porcelain figurines, fabric patches, the many kinds of hats, scarves, mirrors, canisters, glass bottles clear and ornate or colorful, carnival glass, hand-painted china pieces, stray feathers or shells from a walk on the beach, science stones, replicas in miniature of pre-Cambrian to Renaissance art, show ticket stubs, one-piece tools, miniature sculptures, unique sugar bowls and creamers, planters and the unique plants that can fill them, sequences of magazines, i.e., National Geographic, Architectural Digest, Arizona Highways, Time and Newsweek, etc. You never know when you might have saved that valuable Kennedy family copy of Life, or Walter Cronkite Newsweek, or the late Lady Diana Time. Also think of the replica shopper or bulletin news from your home town. Should you move, you won't want to leave those copies behind. Just think of collectible leather and suede jackets, great scarves, sunglasses, cocktail purses, nice shoes, etc.

Any piece, in and of itself or by itself can be showcased on a stand, on an interesting shelf or glass-covered display case. For instance, bottle-caps, baseball cards, cuff links, gum wrappers, etc. can be presented as importantly as a sapphire, emerald or ruby in the Smithsonian. Some items don't have much value by themselves, however, a collection and unified assortment featuring a specific collection can involve value or conversation pieces. The forgotten replicas of carved wooden ducks are worth as much as $3,000 in some cases. Whatever it is you own that you've been hemming or hawing over unloading, stop right there! If it's old and no longer being made, there is probably a value to it. If it's new and different, there's value, or if it's just plain popular it may become hard to find.

The classic definition of an antique is something at least 100 years old. The appraisers markets, some even televised on public television stations, offer some expert advise on the value of a saved piece. If you're savvy you can watch the bulletins and local advertisers for the $5 appraisal sponsored by the Lion's, Kiwanis, Boy or Girl Scouts, etc. held for fund-raising. Just about anything and not limited to antiques can be collected if you have some ingenuity, enjoy asking and talking about history because every piece has a history about it. In one case a homemaker in an area town displayed gravy boats along the upper most shelves of her home, in the kitchen, dining and living areas, so many that conversation of the collection was unavoidable, and it provided an unconventional decorator theme. In another instance, an individual had the ability to hand-carve and build piece-by-piece sailing vessels from photographs and became such a fine craftsman of a four-foot long wooden replica of an existing ship it was featured at a high-public access storefront in Great Barrington, Mass., a known haven for history buffs.

The wedding favors and accessories you've kept all these years may be used in re-vamped style by a bride or groom who will appreciate it. A local theatre rents old world costumes for special occasions and Halloween.

And if the item or items you've collected is a special living one, i.e., fish, cats, dogs, gerbils, etc., it's something to write home about!