OK, the title suggests some sort of deep manifesto on “why we collect.” But of course, there are thousands of personal reasons for collecting vintage sports cards and memorabilia.

I’m reflecting on why I collect as I sit here anxiously awaiting today’s signature-confirmation-needed USPS delivery. I have always been a sports collector–and I’m going to guess that this is due to some unique combination of nature and nurture.

What does the research say about why we collect? Why do you collect?

5 Main Motivations for Collecting

There are obvious reasons we might collect vintage in particular. My own partial list (brainstormed just now) includes nostalgia, investment, preservation, legacy, social connections, stress relief, cognitive stimulation, and more.

Some psychologists devote their careers to the study of this question, and various theories exist. Some of them are a bit depressing: consumerism and materialism. But these motivations of course cannot be dismissed. We can neither deny nor escape the fact that we are a “stuff” culture. And “collecting” anything of value certainly requires “first-world” comforts like money, leisure time, and storage space.

Psychoanalytic theory identifies 5 main motivations for collecting (Formanek). They include:

1. for selfish purposes;
2. for selfless purposes;
3. as preservation, restoration, history, and a sense of continuity;
4. as financial investment and
5. as a form of addiction (i.e. hoarding, gambling).

An aside: I was chatting with a friend last week about his sports card, postcard, photograph, trade card, and other ephemera collections that have (almost) taken over his house. He concluded, “I mean, I guess I’m a hoarder, but it’s all REALLY GOOD SHIT!” So . . .

Are You a Hoarder?

If you have loads and loads of cards, I have invented 5 criteria to make you (maybe) feel better about yourself:

1. If it has value, you are not a hoarder.
2. If you say things like “I’m keeping this to pass down to the kids,” you are not a hoarder.
3. If you know where stuff is, you are not a hoarder.
4. If you don’t need to move boxes of cards to get from your bedroom to your bathroom, you are not a hoarder.
5. If it’s vintage, you are not a hoarder.

OK, feel better now? (Note: if none of those apply to you, you are probably a hoarder).

Why I Collect

Hey, I’m not immune to any or all of those reasons–I’m only human. Though I’m decidedly not a hoarder! My personal collection is tiny, and my impulse always is to pare down, refine, focus. But as a teacher, I think my primary collecting impulse is gathering up specialized knowledge. Yes, learning.

Baseball card collecting provides an endless supply of learning opportunities, and you can go as “deep” or “shallow” as you want. I’m often in awe of the depth of knowledge some collectors have about their favorite set (every variation, series, and SP). If you know why this card is cool, you are probably a “depth” collector:

Other collector friends seem to know a little bit about every set under the sun. Personally, I’m somewhere in the middle.

Today’s “Learning Opportunity”

So, back to today’s incoming USPS delivery: a treasure trove consignment lot of vintage Japanese cards. Admittedly I have resisted diving into Japanese cards, because I’m still learning the ropes of Cuban cards (my PC passion). But the chance to help a friend liquidate some cards means it’s time to learn!

As things stand today, I know almost nothing about vintage Japanese cards. In a few weeks, I’ll have a working knowledge. In a few months, I hope to be passably fluent! And as always when I take on consignments, I’ll add a few to the PC.

My process is both scholarly and social. I devour every credible resource I can find, including this killer checklist / price guide offered by Prestige Collectibles. And I also enjoy making new connections and learning from the real experts. I have built some of my best friendships via this process, and maybe the social aspect is the real reason most of us collect.

Let’s Connect!

So I guess this post is a long way of saying: if you know a lot about vintage Japanese baseball cards, let’s chat!  Thanks for reading, and if you like all-vintage content like this, please Join Cardhound!

Source Cited:

Formanek, Ruth (1994). “Interpreting objects and collections”. Why they collect: Collectors reveal their motivations. Routledge. pp. 339–347.