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Collectables - my addiction
My collection is something that has brought back many amazing memories of my childhood and brings a smile to my face each time I look at it. As within my collection of things is almost every toy (New In the Box) that I had growing up and then many things from my travels and things that reflect my business and personal life.
Few of the highlights of my childhood toy collection are: Alf, Lego Light & Sound Police Truck, Marvel Superhero Puzzle, Viewfinder, and Sneak Previews which I give credit to being the first MP4/portable video player. I have several displays of toys around my home including a collection of nearly 1,000 sealed in the box Hot Wheels, full collection of A-Team figures and play-set, most of the McDolands toys from the 80's and the dynamic display of my childhood toys.
One toy that is a highlight of my childhood and many kids before me is the Fisher Price Castle 993 and although being from 1974 I managed to find NIB and was the first "kid" to play with it. But now it sits proudly on a shelf with the king & queen being protected by the knight from the evil pink dragon.
My collection doesn’t stop at the toys from my childhood; also from my youth I have a very large collection of sports cards. As a youth in the 90’s sports cards where the big trend and for me it was primarily hockey cards with some basketball cards. These days I have 1,000’s of unopened packs of cards, and have setup a nice display just as I remember at the card stores. Each time I walk by my unopened boxes it brings a smile to my face and at least once a week I’ll crack open a pack and see what memories it holds.
My card collection goes beyond packs from the 90’s as I have bought some unique cards that are seen around my home. I’ve collected several Wayne Gretzky rookie cards and even more autographed and jersey Wayne Gretzky cards as to me he is the ultimate Canadian sports idol. Not to leave out my other idol, I have a good collection of Michael Jordan cards, everything from his rookie card, jersey cards to
a #1 edition of his famous 30,000 point card. Other cards that are noteworthy in my collection would be:
1) The first hockey card ever made, this card comes from 1910 when
sports cards were starting to be introduced and while not a major
superstar "Frank Patrick" holds the historic record of being the first person to
become a hockey card.
2) During my search for the first hockey card made I found the first
basketball card, this also being from 1910 it was a unique card as
being a redemption only card its not often found. While this card was
just showcasing basketball in general it would take another 26 years
before the first basketball player would be printed on a card and yes
I also have that #1 card from 1936.
3) Not all my cards are sports cards, 2 of my cards that I have a lot
of admiration for are the first Superman and first Batman cards. Both
these cards are from the 1940's and show the passion the youth had for
these idols. One interesting thing is that on the Batman card, they
use the name "The Batman" instead of just "Batman" as I guess early on
his name had adopted using “The”.
4) Yes Wayne Gretzky is to me the ultimate Canadian sports idol, I
don’t ignore the fact that Sidney Crosby is an important part of
Canadian sports. So I have also a very nice collection of autograph
cards from Sidney Crosby, everything from an Olympic autographed card
to a #99 edition autographed card, my personal homage to Gretzky.
Sports cards were my focus as a youth but like all other boys of the 80s and 90s comics where always apart of my life. Now for me as a youth comics where nothing more then entertainment but now as an adult I have taken into the collectable side of comics. This has seen me buy out at least 1 comic book store (giving me a 30,000+ comic collection) and has seen me investing in the enjoyment and maybe one-day the profit from high value first edition comics.
Most of my 30,000+ comic collection is from the late 80s and early 90s, which for me is great as it brings back memories and was a time when they where making all the Superhero greats, but there isn’t much value in those as it was simply overprinted and over collected. But for the value side of my comic collection I have been slowly buying a nice array of comics that includes:
1) Funnies on Parade #1 (first comic book ever made)
2) Wonder Woman #1
3) Spiderman #1
4) X-Men #1
5) The Hulk #1
6) Fantastic Four #1
7) Worlds Best Comics #1
8) Walt Disney Comics #1
9) Justice League of America #1
10) The Avengers #1
11) Daredevil #1
12) Other comics within this prized collection which will be on their way out to new collectors are: Superman Annual #1, Joker #1, Iron Man #1, Wolverine #1, Silver Surfer #1, Ghost Rider #1, and Conan #1.
But I have also moved past my youth and into a more modern/adult style collectables that has includes items that make people refer to me as a "big kid" and goes on to include collectables from my travels and some very random items that just simply to me are uniquely cool.
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