The nostalgia of collecting

The nostalgia of collecting

These days, we have so many things at our fingertips thanks to technology. We spend a lot of time staring at a screen, whether for work or as a hobby, but it makes you think about how things used to be. From the simpler things of going out and playing with friends to spending more time with family playing board games, among many other things.

There's no doubt that we're living in a time when pop culture characters are more alive and present than ever, largely thanks to film and television, where we see comic book characters leap from comics to the big and small screen in the form of movies and series; video games, which are increasingly more realistic; and, of course, the Internet, a vast and endlessly popular medium.

That's where we cling to nostalgia, because it reminds us of those moments in our childhood when we didn't notice our surroundings, just enjoyed them in our own way. Now that we're grown up, sometimes we want those memories to never go away, to keep them alive in our minds and remind us that even though we've grown up and time has passed, we're still those adventurers who had their favorite cartoon, their favorite comic, their favorite toy.

This is where collectors and the value of nostalgia come in when starting a collection.

Nostalgia, as an emotion, has existed for as long as civilization can remember. In the 1950s, collectors' dealers generated more income painting cards and trading cards than repairing watches. We can have new editions of the cartoon we watched as a child, but we know it won't hold our attention like it once did. We like the classic characters, the stories from the beginning, the memories they generate. We don't want a remaster; we want things the way they were.

A very simple example is Nintendo, which, despite continuing to release new consoles, new games, and new editions, is going retro, with a console where you can continue playing your childhood classics. That's where two types of collecting come in. One is where you want to keep a complete collection, no matter how many editions there are, whether you like them or not. And the other is out of nostalgia: I just want to have the collection that has the characters from the '80s or '90s, which is when I was watching it.

The 90s and especially the 80s are fondly etched in the collective memory, in which cinema and television played a fundamental role. What child of that time didn't dream of traveling back in time in a Delorean, riding in Knight Rider at full speed on the highway, becoming a Super Saiyan and launching a Kame Hame Ha, or being able to climb into the world's largest robot, Mazinger Z?

What would be the price of this nostalgia?

Beyond monetary value, I think it's a satisfying feeling to be able to collect pieces that hold sentimental value for you. Life is full of difficult moments; treasuring these nostalgic moments helps us forget about everything. That moment when your order arrives and you open it is a small moment of happiness, which can expand to complementary moments. It all depends on the value you add to the collection. The truly important thing is not to repress that feeling and to live it regardless of what others think or say; but above all, to enjoy the nostalgia. There are people who suffer or sadly remember moments from their past. The idea is to be able to transform that feeling into a positive one, where you can reminisce about your past and make it a memory of satisfaction.