The Legendary Signatures Inc Collection

Do you have a plan for your collection?

There is an old saying which states…. "He who fails to plan, plans to fail”. I am not quite as cynical as whoever first uttered that little gem because some of my best decisions in life have in fact been made on the fly. However, you can’t argue with the general wisdom being offered. In most pursuits in life, the most successful people tend to be those who identify a goal, develop a plan to reach that goal, and then persistently work their plan.

In the world of collecting this is a prudent approach to take. With so many different options available a focused collection can quickly become nothing more than an accumulation of various items if the collector doesn’t devise a plan and follow it. Impulse purchases and acquisitions are an easy pitfall for the collector to get caught in. This is not necessarily a bad thing if that’s your aim. Collecting is after all a form of personal expression. That being said, the discussion presented here is directed toward those who wish to take a somewhat more focused approach.

All too often the aforementioned “accumulation”, as interesting as it may be, is nothing more than a byproduct of a lack of clear direction and planning which leaves the collector frustrated and unfulfilled with his/her money spent. Fortunately this is easy to avoid. Simply develop a plan and stick to it.

The first step in planning any collection is to determine what you are truly interested in collecting. What do you like? Do early colonial coins excite you or perhaps are you intrigued by game worn jerseys? It may be that you have an interest in U.S. stamps, antiques, action figures, or comic books? Quite possibly the answer is that you like them all or some combination of these or other things. This is not necessarily a negative. Many collectors, including myself, have multiple collections. In fact, this is one of the reasons that TCGB was created! This site is devoted to those of us who love to collect lots and lots of things. Simply prioritize your interests by order of personal importance and then allocate your resources accordingly.

Once you’ve figured out what you are going to collect the next step is to establish how you are going to collect it. Develop a set of criteria for what you will and will not include in your collection. For example, say you have decided to collect coins and wish to build a complete set of Lincoln cents by date and mint mark. Are you going to allow pieces in any condition in your collection or are you going to restrict it to a certain grade or range of grades or a specific “look” that you like? Perhaps you are collecting movie props. Will you collect all props, those used in a certain film or by a certain actor, or a specific type of prop? Or maybe it’s antique match safes or milk bottles or United States postage stamps or (???)

Also, consider what your financial and time budgets are. Set an estimated time frame you expect it will take you to reach your goals. This will help you to organize your resources and efforts and keep you focused. Will you work with a specific dealer or auction house? Will you check listings once a day, weekly or monthly? Will you attend shows or public sales in pursuit of items? These are all questions you can ask of yourself which will help you to define your plan and will sharpen your efforts.

There is no need to make this a second job. I am not advocating being so rigid in your approach as to provoke anxiety or stress. Collecting can and should be an enjoyable diversion to reduce stress. The point is more to put some thought into what you are doing. This may seem pretty elementary to some but a shocking number of collectors never really think carefully about what the parameters of their collections are or how they will go about building them.

It may come as no surprise to the more advanced collector reading this that the better organized and planned collections also tend to be the ones with the best chance at financial appreciation. It just stands to reason that a carefully orchestrated collection comprised of thoughtfully selected quality pieces would out perform a hodge-podge of items thrown together and labeled a “collection”.

With just a little bit of forethought you will be able to successfully build a focused collection that will be personally satisfying for many years to come.

Happy Collecting!