Well, now the collector is amassing objects, and has begun to sort out some personal feelings about what is wanted and needed for a collection. The educational process begins around this point. I discovered that if I was going to spend my money like a drunken sailor, I did want to know more about the materials my object of desire was made with. For me, this meant learning about silver — coin silver, German silver, sterling silver, silver with alloys. Oh, and then, there’s the turquoise…

Books are needed! Once the collector becomes truly primed, the need to learn, evaluate, and judge based on knowledge becomes a driving force. In my case, it led me to begin writing on the subject when the variety of books out there wasn’t enough to satisfy my questions. Today, Amazon and the online used book market make the hunt for education an easier process than it was back in the 1980s.