A couple days ago, I wrote about my surprise at what people collect. My post that day was about yo-yos.
That got me to thinking about other collections I’ve bought or seen at auction. One that came to mind was a collection of vintage beer coasters, neatly wrapped in plastic (about 20 or so to a pack) and taped shut at the back. There were about 200-300 of them.
I got the collection for about $5, apparently because no one else was interested. As always, I was intrigued the minute I saw them on the auction table and wanted to know what breweries were advertised on them. Most were Pennsylvania and New Jersey beer manufacturers, so I’m assuming this collector was from that area. They included Reading, Pabst, Ballantine, Schmidt’s and Esslinger.
Collecting beer coasters is apparently a popular hobby but apparently not as much as collecting beer cans, labels and trays, according to the website Beer Coaster Mania. The site offers everything you want to know about coasters, from prices to guides by state to how to date and care for them. The site mentioned that most of the breweries named on the coasters were no longer in business. The website Collectors Weekly noted that coasters as advertising became popular in the late 1800s, and there’s a name for the practice: tegestology.
What do I collect? I used to collect a lot of African American art, but I’ve run out of places to hang it on my walls. Now, I buy selectively – at auction. I used to collect children’s books illustrated by African American illustrators and artists. I stopped because I’ve run out of room for those, too.
But I love hearing a good story about other people’s collections. If you have more than five of one item, you have a collection. As I come across collections at auction, I’ll blog about them and post photos. In the meantime, please tell me what you collect.
Here are photos of coasters from the collection:
