Page 100 - Issues131-133

Be a collector

Being a "collector" is a label that, of course, does not fit all human beings. Quite the contrary,
"being a collector" is a choice that in many cases begins in childhood, trying to complete the
famous album of football images, or a set of stamps.
Since childhood, collectors are noted for that
meticulousness and perseverance to achieve "the difficult
one". However, that moment of "filling the album" also
leaves an empty space, and that is why it is necessary
either to start a new album, or to dedicate oneself to
another type of collection, be it stamps, coins, banknotes,
comics, cars, trademarks of cigarettes or any other of the
"infinite" type, where there is always something new to
add to the collection, so that momentum does not wane.
Incompleteness is a substantial part of collecting to
maintain enthusiasm. That is the almost natural path that
many of us who currently dedicate ourselves to this
exciting world of collecting liquor bottles have taken.

Now… what is the point of collecting something? Perhaps
it is due to an ancestral human instinct that comes from searching and saving objects for
survival (some say that Noah was one of the first collectors since he collected two animals of
the same species in one place) or simply as an activity, sometimes collateral to the main
one, others with full-time dedication that provides us with satisfaction and relaxation. In any
case, whether it is an a numismatist who collects coins from Ancient Rome, or a collector of
beer bottle caps, they are "guardians of history", no matter how big or small that story may
be in the eyes of third parties. Once the collector has placed the sought-after (and found)
piece on his shelves, the monetary value will no longer be as important as the fact of having
safeguarded that long-awaited piece that, ultimately, and with the nuances of the case,
makes their own history of mankind.

The self-respecting collector, over time, acquires skills in ordering, classifying and grouping,
while exercising and enhancing his visual memory, skills that are not insignificant in an
increasingly demanding and stressful society. Likewise, the collector feels pleasure
contemplating his collection, and it’s growth, both alone and when showing it to family and
friends, which externalizes self-esteem and inner happiness.

That said, it is also necessary to point out some "deviations" (if we can call them that) that on
certain occasions affect some collectors. One of the most important, without a doubt, is to
confuse collecting with
accumulating, a situation
that generally occurs at the
beginning, when the
objectives to be achieved
are not clear. Without
reaching the
psychopathological extreme
known as "Diogenes
Syndrome" (accumulation of
all kinds of objects in an
irrational way), some
collectors put together, even
"pile up", the supposed

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