A Collector’s New Year’s Resolution… Item Number: 100043 $0.00

DescriptionLast week I talked about 2010. I think, for most of us, it turned out to be a pretty decent year after all. Wouldn’t have given you a tin nickel for it January of last year! But things this January are far rosier, bargains can still be had, old buyers are slowly emerging from hibernation and the sun is shining (tomorrow a foot of snow expected here in Colorado, but today, not so bad…)

As a collector, I, too, need to watch out for big mistakes and making sure I don’t revert to bad habits. This year my New Year’s Resolutions are:

1. I will buy fewer items, of better quality. (Funny, I have been preaching this one for years, yet I too fall into the “I want it because it’s old” mentality). For my own collection I will endeavor to add only finer quality items.”

2. I won’t get suckered into buying questionable pieces simply because the person selling it to me has a really interesting and believable story. I will rely on the attributes of the piece, and try to ignore the story behind its discovery, completely – until after I am convinced it is authentic and then needs its provenance.

3. I will set an antiquity budget, and try very hard to stick to it. Like all areas of my financial life, I will buy what I can afford without stretching my finances too far.”

4. I will add items into my collection because they make sense to my collecting interest. I will look at my collecting in January and try to picture the pieces that I would like to add in 2011, and do my best to stick to adding only those items that fit my interest. In our case, we collect –

• Fine miniatures
• Adorable animals depicted in the ancient world
• Art depicting loving couples and families
• Really macabre scenes or torture, murder and mayhem – one can only be warm and fuzzy for so long!