I collect chips, slot cards, and currency and I have been asked by people who don’t collect anything why I collect. A long time ago I read somewhere that people who collect things need to have order in their life. I don’t know it this is true but I am an organized person so it must be true for me. In speaking on currency the one most asked question is, “How much is it worth?” On the chipboard I see the more rare a chip is the more it is sought after. With slot cards it seems everyone wants ‘one of each’ since it is such a new hobby.

I collect because I ‘like’ the item, or the series. I like it because it is unusual, colorful, pictures I like, or has a history worth remembering. Very seldom does future value come to mind. If I were told I could never sell anything in my collections, my habits would not change. I don’t collect for investments, my broker does that for me, and I collect for pleasure. It’s like if my house goes up in value, I am not going to move, nor am I going to if it goes down in value. I like living here and the value changes everyday. If a chip is the last one in existence and it is ugly, I would only buy it for my collection if I liked it. It feels good if I see items go up in value but I am not very inclined to sell because it would just leave a hole in my collection. I have a custom program that was written in Australia by a software company just for me, it lists, labels, tables, sorts, cross-references, makes reports, trade lists, and almost does the dishes. The one thing it does not do, is tell me how much I paid for the item. Like a car I pay what the market value is and sell it for what I can get. So since it is not an investment, what I paid is irrelevant (and sometimes I don't want to be reminded - if you know what I mean- ).

Some items I have are gifts from people that I would never part with. Some have stories that would be lost if I sold the item. Some are junk items I began with and are just ‘old friends’ I have had through the eons. Slot cards? Now that’s a different story! God only knows why I collect them…. Must be that thing about ‘order in my life’ thing because I sure can’t come up with anything better! IF you could NEVER sell anything would your collection habits change? There are no good or bad reasons just different ones. I think I am a PACKRAT who needs ORDER!!

So, tell us WHY do you collect?