Previously I have written about items I collect.

Today I will share my mug collection. No, I don’t collect pictures that have been on display at the Post Office.

I’m talking about the mug you use for your morning coffee, although there could be a picture on your cup.

If you haven’t paid any attention to that lowly cup you place in your hands each day, you might be surprised at all the information it contains.

Have you checked out the shape and size?

The fascination I have with them is not what you drink from it, the shape or size, but what’s on the mug.

The only thing I actually use a coffee cup for is ice cream. That, however, is another story.

Collecting coffee mugs can be an inexpensive hobby.

I purchase most of my cups at flea markets or garage sales, normally paying 25 cents or less, unless it’s a must have.

I will spend a little more while on vacation. I am trying to get a cup from each state we visit.

Once in a while I will also run across an interesting cup and up the ante; however that’s a rare occasion.

Most new cups can be purchased for less than $10. Sometimes you can get them for as little as 99 cents.

Now Here Is a Bargain

On the most recent visit to our daughter’s in Michigan, we went to a flea market and I was able to purchase five cups for a dollar.

I spent a half hour rooting though a basket full of cups. After examining each one, 10 got a new home.

A few weeks ago the Boy Scouts had a garage sale. I made four trips, buying 12 mugs each time at 25 cents a mug. It was a win-win situation; I helped the Scouts and got mugs.

The common message on mugs is some form of advertising, support of a cause, or as souvenir from an event or place visited.

All of these make interesting additions to my collection.

In my article on collection, I mentioned that I was a collector, not a pack rat.

You may ask, how do you display your cups?

The cups line the top of the walls in my den and are hanging all over in my outbuilding, where I also display most of my cash registers and other memorabilia.

I must admit that I have never checked to see it there is a collectors club for coffee mugs collectors.

I wouldn’t be surprised.

I doubt if there will ever be any real value to my collection. I expect when the time comes for them to be sold, they will be auctioned in inexpensive lots.

What, if anything, my mugs might bring at sale time is not important.

It’s the fun of collecting.

Due to the low cost, mugs are something I can purchase and not feel the funds could be spent more wisely.

Who knows? With the state of the economy, they might be my most solid investment.

The best part, as with all collecting, is the find, especially when it’s unique. Henry L. Rinkler said it best — “It’s not what you collect; it’s the joy of collecting.”

When you have your next cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate in a mug, be sure to check it out.

If you find something interesting, email me at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net