October 26, 2024: For The Love Of Collecting

Whether it's comic books, action figures, stamps, or boardgames, a staple of nerd culture is, and has always been, collecting. More and more, specialty stores, and even big-box stores, are catering to those of us who like to collect our favorite geeky objets from across our fandoms. Often when we fall in love with a TV show, a movie franchise, a comic book hero, or a book series, we find that there is a whole wide world of collectibles that match our beloved characters.

 

A personal confession: I have a small army of Funko Pops that began with Disney's Robin Hood in 2016. From where I'm writing at this very moment, I can see over 250 on shelves that cover every wall of my office, though I estimate my entire collection to be in the 450-500 range. And yes, most are out of the boxes. But that doesn't even compare to Paul Scardino, who boasts an incredibly impressive collection of over 8,000 Pops. He's also a three-time Guinness World Records holder!

 

Here are some other records from the world of collecting that are both amazing and surprising:

 

Comic Books: Bob Bretall – 101,822 (as of 2015)

Playable Gaming Systems: Linda Guillory – 2,430 (as of 2021)

LEGO Star Wars Sets: Fredrick Oliver – 932 (as of 2024)

Barbie Dolls: Bettina Dorfmann – 18,500 (as of 2022)

Model Trains: Bernd Schumacher – 2,956 (as of 2016)

 

For boardgames, the current official winner is Jeff Bauspies with 1,531 in his library. This is the most recent award, given in 2011, but I would venture that someone has far surpassed his count in the past 13 years! Have more? Apply here to try and break the record yourself!

 

Do you collect any specialty items, and if so, how many do you have in your set?

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