RCC/Stuff and Other Stories from the Front

Stuff and Other Stories from the Front

With all appropriate and due respect to George Carlin... Geez, I got a lot of coin stuff!

I took a few extra days off for the Thanksgiving holiday this year and figured it would be a good time to take stock, so to speak, of a numismatic collection crying out for organization and the best that Mr. Dewey had to offer! I soon came to realize, however, that attempting such a task with just "a few extra days" at my disposal was like trying to tame a lion armed only with a paperback copy of Stupid Cat Tricks. I was going to have to get very lucky!

Every journey begins with a single step, however, so I dove in and began my task by gathering up all of my various purchases that were of low enough value to not merit storage in a bank's safe deposit box. I was like a bull in a china shop! No, I mean a kid in a candy store! Every room of my house yielded a fascinating rediscovered treasure!

And as I held and examined many of these wondrous pieces, I couldn't help but stop and ponder the questions that man has asked for hundred of years. "When did I buy this?" "Where did I buy this?" And, of course, "Why did I buy this?" Yes, the bond between a collector and his collection is a wonderful and special thing! (Or am I thinking about a boy and his dog?)

I bought a number of big RubbermaidÒ tubs a few months back for the sole purpose of storing the many low value items that I add to my collections from time to time. (Ok, so I seem to add items on more of a day to day basis. The important thing is that I can stop at any time. Really, I can. I just don't want to right now. Please don't make me!)

The tubs seemed huge in the store and they filled the entire backseat of my car as I drove them home. I figured that I had bought enough of them to last me for years! So, as I drove back to K-Mart to buy a few more on Friday, I started to debate the whole "need" versus "want" issue. I may not want to stop, but maybe I needed to.

At that moment the words of the ancient philosopher Mickus Jaggerus called out to me from all directions! (My car has a really good stereo.) "You can't always get what you want, but if you try real hard, you just might find, you get what you need." And so, newly inspired, I knew what I had to do.

I tried real hard and bought bigger tubs than I did the last time and strapped them to the roof of my car. Once home, I sorted and packed and arranged for hours on end. As the weekend drew to a close, I gazed into my living room over a grand flotilla of tubs, filled to the top with the joys of one man's forays into numismatic collecting. It was a sight to behold! And as I took a step back to take it all in in one majestic panoramic view, I noticed that the piles on the dining room table seemed to be as tall as when I started.

I'm not saying I wept, but I did quickly chop a few onions in case someone unexpectedly stopped over and wondered why I was a bit "misty."

I'm not saying that my collection has beaten me, but next year I don't plan to take any extra time off for the holidays to get organized. What's the point? Where's the benefit? If I were organized I would never get the opportunity to rediscover items in my collection as I wander from one room to another, and I would eliminate the only exercise that I seem to get. Namely, running around my house like a crazy person trying to find items for my talks, exhibits, or RCC's show and tell!

Anybody need a copy of Stupid Cat Tricks?

Happy Holidays and Happy Collecting!

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