I have always been a saver.
Anything I think might have some monetary worth now or in the future, I keep.
Admittedly, I’m wrong most of the time. Items in which I have no interest normally are the ones that hold or increase in value. One exception could be postcards.
Having never thrown out a postcard, I had some prior to becoming a collector.
Nothing organized. Just cards stashed here and there.
The day I decided to become a collector, I was at an auction where the auctioneer was selling a bag of postcards. The price was right. I purchased the bag for $1.25.
Upon examining, the cards carried scenes from around the country. The real surprise was on the other side. Many of them were addressed to relatives. That got me started. From then on, I would attend any auction I could that advertised postcards.
Traveling Plan Lost Its Glow
I didn’t care what kind of cards they were, scenes, holidays, birthday, comical, real photo, linens. If the price was right, I purchased the cards. I kept this up for a number of years with the thought that when I retired, I would travel around the country setting up at postcard shows. During this time, the closet in which the cards were being stored, was reaching its limit.
I started rethinking my idea of traveling around the country selling postcards. How much was it going to cost to do this traveling? What would the setup fees be? Then there’s the hotel?
What would Pauline do while I was working the show?
About this same time eBay was coming on strong, and so I decided I start selling my cards.
Prior to my first sale, I went through all the boxes, pulling out the Dayton and Piqua cards I was going to keep. Next step: Place all cards into sleeves before anyone handled the cards.
A damaged card was put into a separate box and would be sold separately.
For the next two months, I attended a local antique show, selling postcards and other items. Even though I did well, I still had many cards left. I consigned them to an auction.
The auctioneer did a great job with the cards. He went through the boxes, removing cards he thought were interesting and sold them separately.
The rest were sold by the box. I was quite pleased with the outcome.
Today I’m limiting my purchases to Dayton and Piqua cards, and I look for cards from Covington, Ohio, for Pauline. Cards that might be included in a lot purchase, other than those listed above, are sold or used for trading.
There is no postcard collector club in the immediate Dayton area. However, there are several in the state. I haven’t gotten involved with any club though I gave thought to forming one here in the Miami Valley.
But I am too busy, and that activity has been placed on the back burner.
For the most part, collecting postcards is not an expensive hobby, but you can find single cards selling for over a hundred dollars.
Even with eBay and other auction sites, there are still postcard shows held around the country. They are a fun way to purchase postcard, as you get to see and touch exactly what you are buying.
If you have an interesting postcard story, email me at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net
