Collecting is no longer a dirty word

Humanity has been collecting things since the dawn of time. Sure, at first it was a necessity for survival. A tribe without good gatherers didn't last long. Once individuals appeared who didn't have to fight for their lives and had time for nonsense, they started collecting all sorts of things just for the joy of it. Precious stones, metals, coins, art, slaves, religious relics. If you had the means, you could collect practically anything. If you didn't have at least one trophy above your fireplace, you weren't a proper nobleman.

Collectors regularly acted as patrons who supported artists. Their activity thus had a very important function beyond just hoarding wealth. Gradually, as the standard of living for the common population rose, collecting became a hobby for the masses. And they started collecting everything they could! Stamps, coins, postcards, banknotes, badges, medals, stickers, cars, mistresses… all were (and still are) popular.

An interesting phenomenon is that collecting affects men more often than women. How many desperate wives must silently suffer their husband's hobby? Condemned to forever move boxes of collections and wipe away dust. The most hardcore collectors fortunately have the advantage that women don't even notice them, so they can collect undisturbed. Sociologists and psychologists still argue whether this hobby stems from the human hunter-gatherer instinct or if it's a substitute for childhood trauma. Sometimes it can even grow into so-called Diogenes syndrome, which then leads to the pathological hoarding of anything.

With the arrival of pop culture and the development of popular literature, comics, and cinema, the real harvest began for collectors. After all, our company basically makes a living by satisfying the needs of such afflicted individuals. :) And we love doing it!

I count myself among the veterans who started with the frantic collecting of 'céčka' (plastic C-links), hockey cards, Pogo caps, and collectible card games, led by Magic: The Gathering or Doomtrooper. But I had one big advantage! A lack of funds. Mom raised us alone, so there was no money to spend on printed paper and other nonsense. On one hand, it really annoyed me and I envied my classmates, but on the other hand, I think it helped me maintain a safe distance and keep some space in my room.

But later, I started earning a bit of money… The time came when I needed to have every comic at home. These were gradually interspersed with sci-fi and fantasy literature. I discovered board games, the card game Flesh and Blood, and even Magic eventually happened! I resisted for a long time, but then I succumbed to the magic of assembling and painting miniatures. Fortunately, it all comes in waves; some passions gradually faded, and I always manage to sell the accumulated items. At home, piles of boxes, plastic sprues, and books rotate and move from room to room. As a result, I dare say I can keep my collecting in check. For now…

Nothing should be overdone. Even collecting has many positives. Collectors like to organize, show off their collections, and this leads to organizations, clubs, and exhibitions where you often find friends for life. Someone might ask, what is it all for anyway? It's just paper. Oh, they would be surprised if they knew how much money is hidden in some collections! Today, almost anything can be an investment.

Lego bricks everywhere you look

Personally, I don't know anyone who doesn't have at least one brick of this mega-popular Danish game at home. Collecting Lego sets is also quite common. But few reach a world-class level. More people are fighting for the top spot in the ranking of top collectors. For a long time, this position was held by Frank Smoes from Melbourne, Australia (pictured), now it is held by a certain Vitalii Solovev from Belarus. The title of the most 'bricked' Czech belongs to Miloš Křeček, operator of five Lego Museums in our country (Prague, Kutná Hora, Špindlerův Mlýn, Jeseník, Poděbrady). If you are looking for a great trip idea, you can find more information here.

A drug called Warhammer

Warhammer, miniature games, and modeling in general dangerously combine several obsessions. You can assemble miniatures, paint them, complete armies, build dioramas, and even play a game occasionally! Several hobbies in one—that's a dream come true. I resisted it tooth and nail for a long time. I suspected how it might end. And in vain, ha! Now even my shelves are occupied by figures in various terrifying poses. This is exactly the path that can easily disrupt your family budget. Miniatures aren't free, and on top of that, you need tools, paints, and terrain. And the manufacturers know it very well, so they churn out more and more goods, and we keep falling for it over and over again! It's beautiful. :) There don't seem to be official records of who owns the largest collections of Warhammer models. One of the main suspects is definitely Dave. The sight of his army is clearly stunning. Just imagine how many liters of paint went into that!

Magic and collectible cards

Baseball, hockey, or football cards with photos of players have a long history. But besides collecting, there isn't that much fun to be had with them. That changed in 1993 when the game Magic: The Gathering came into the world. Its mega-success influenced the lives of many of us. It is clearly the biggest collectible card game in the world. Only Pokémon TCG is breathing down its neck. The real collecting lies mainly in the fact that some cards are truly rare and expensive. In every set, there are many cards that aren't even worth the paper they are printed on. But there are always a few cards that are scarce, and thanks to the secondary market (selling single cards, bazaars, etc.), their price often climbs to dizzying heights.

The pinnacle of collections are rare cards from the first editions of the game. A Volcanic Island (Beta) card? Twenty thousand dollars. Lord of the Pit (Alpha) – 100 thousand dollars. Mind Twist (Beta) – 200 thousand! And the legendary alpha Black Lotus? You have to empty your piggy bank of over half a million dollars for that one. Doesn't that seem like much? In Czech crowns, that's over twelve million! Still not scary enough? Dive into Pokémon! The Illustrator CoroCoro Comics Promo (Pikachu illustrator card) last sold at auction for 6 million dollars. More precisely, over 135,000,000 CZK. What does it look like when you pull such an expensive card from a pack?

And similar joy with Pokémon.

Funko Pop

Pop! That's the sound of money disappearing from a fan's wallet. The American company Funko has been making stylized figures of all kinds of licenses for 25 years. And they've really got it figured out. The figures are small; at first glance, they don't take up much space. Most are also relatively cheap. It's no problem to throw one into your shopping cart just for fun every time. So, you have one figure displayed on your desk. But it often has a friend… Okay, you move 5 figures to a shelf. Fine. But they are Avengers, so you want them all. Then you find out that the boxed sets can be sold quite well. You discover limited versions. And suddenly, you aren't careful, and you have a problem. :)

And what about Funko as an investment? For example, the glow-in-the-dark figure of Alex, the main character of the cult film A Clockwork Orange, sells on eBay for some 13,000 dollars…

We can collect really anything today. As it turns from a culture for a few nerds into entertainment for the masses, you don't even have to be ashamed of it anymore. Board games, comics, manga outfits. There are no limits to the imagination. What is your passion? Show off!

author Karel Krajča