Keeping Track of the Past

Investing for the Future

Collector Milton Luban Turns to Fine Art Registry™

Oh sure, it starts innocently enough: a kid wants baseball cards of his heroes on the local team or maybe an autograph, whose occult powers will confer big league ability on a Little League batting eye. A young girl gets a dollhouse for Christmas and for months it's her favorite possession ever. A letter arrives from overseas with a really cool stamp or an uncle comes back from China with some wildly colorful money. The collecting bug bites and before your parents know it you've got thousands of stamps all over the house and you're pasting at least some of them in an album ("All I need is Luxembourg and I've got all of Europe!!!").

To many, these items become the detritus (debris) of growing up. The baseball cards get thrown in a shoebox and forgotten or get thrown out during spring cleaning. The doll house (and all the Barbie dolls) get stuffed somewhere in the basement. You move onto collecting other things like girlfriends or boyfriends or traffic tickets. More detritus.

But there's something about collecting things that resonates with people and in many cases, resonates very deeply. For sure the things we collect connect us emotionally with memories, adventures and experiences of our past. Who hasn't spent a Saturday combing through trunks in the attic, reliving childhood? It's fascinating to discover that great-great-great grandpa fought in the Confederate Army, not the Union. Why? It just is. Long forgotten mementos can settle arguments ("Ted Williams hit .388 in 1957." "Ten bucks says he didn't." "Oh, yeah? Take a look at this. Pay up!"). All this stuff with their emotional and intellectual connections root us to our families and our lives, our pasts and our world.

Consider something that may seem somewhat afield to the common notion of collecting. Here you'll find the results of one builder's lifelong interest in implements of 19th Century Swedish home life. Erik Larsson was owner of a construction company around the west coast of Sweden. When he built a house for someone he collected stuff people no longer wanted, household items, tools, farm implements, utensils and such, the things of an earlier era. As you can see from the pictures, he must have done a lot of building because he sure collected a lot of stuff. His collection eventually became a museum which today preserves the more practical aspects of Swedish life from the 1800s and early 1900s, when Sweden was still an agrarian, rather poor, country.

The Wide, Wide World of Collecting

For many, many people collecting remains a lifelong hobby, an enjoyable pastime. For others, like Erik Larsson, the interest becomes a passion and sometimes a profession. But before this slides into the nostalgic, have a look at this list of some of the things people are given to collecting:

Art
Books, magazines, and paper
Brand name products
Clothing, fabric, textiles
Coins, currency & stamps
Entertainment items and memorabilia
Household items and kitchen collectibles
Nature and animals
Pottery & glass
Technological items, such as computers
Militariana
Trading cards
Travel memorabilia
Toys, games, dolls

The End of Innocence

Sparked in part by the early experiences of childhood, the collectible market today is a multi-billion dollar enterprise. One thin slice of the pie, the sports autograph market, by itself accounts for an estimated $1 billion yearly.

And where we find money we find our old nemesis, the criminal - the forger, the counterfeiter, the thief, the con man, the scam artist and their bags of tricks. The honest dealer, the unsuspecting enthusiast, the vast majority of collectors can have the joy of their hobby dampened by the swindling few. Most hobbyists are not in it for the money and it's unlikely that mint condition beer cans would generate much interest for a counterfeiting ring. There isn't too much money in that. On the other hand, the celebrity autograph market is very lucrative. Consequently, it is reputedly awash in fakes, to the extent that the FBI estimates that the vast majority of celebrity autographs available are forgeries.

To deal with the problem, various segments of the collectibles industry have gone to extremes to maintain their credibility. Dealers in sports autographs now have company representatives personally witness every ball, jersey, picture, or helmet the athlete signs and then they affix holograms to the item as well as the certificate of authenticity and get the certificate notarized! As a result, the public can be somewhat more confident that they are buying the genuine article.

For high-priced collectibles such as signed jerseys, photographs, balls, etc., authentication is everything. The more trustworthy the source, the more authentic the item. And trust is often established by agreement of those in the marketplace. Reputable dealers go to great extremes to establish and protect their reputations, as well they should. They employ experts to analyze handwriting and inks, to track dates and locations, keep records and inventories and they jump through all manner of hoops to guarantee the authenticity of their wares.

The individual collector entering the market simply for the love of a certain field or possibly with the hope of turning a hobby into an investment opportunity needs a surefire means to similarly authenticate and record his items, but without the expense that these large dealers must carry.

Milton's Story

This was the situation facing New York collector Milton Luban. Milton has been a collector for some time and began accumulating savings bonds years ago for himself. When his son was born, he saw the need to provide for his future as well. Milton combined his interest in pop culture artifacts with the desire to put something away that could appreciate through the years and he began collecting stamps, comic books, autographed pictures and other items of value. What was a hobby has now expanded into an investment opportunity.

Today, Milton says, "I have a storage room filled with stuff, not sure how much is in there, but it keeps growing! All kinds of categories. My significant other works for Viacom, so she brings home a lot of stuff that I feel is worth collecting. Plus, I have a friend who works for a travel company that deals with a lot of stars, and she gets me stuff too."

Milton got infected by the collecting bug, like many of people, early on. Comic books (Richie Rich and Spiderman), toy cars, stamps and coins. He still views himself as a hobbyist when it comes to collecting, but clearly his interest is to expand his participation in the market, begin to establish a reputation as a dealer and turn his hobby into something more.

An Ideal Solution For Any Collector

Having been involved in the market, though, Milton is aware of its pitfalls. When asked if he's run into any unscrupulous people in the market, he emphatically replies, "Of course! I strongly feel that one will always meet bogus people or stuff in any industry where there is money to be made."

Looking for ways to protect himself as well as establish a reputation as an honest dealer, Milton was told by a friend who deals in sports memorabilia that he should certify his inventory with a reputable registry. That led to online searches and eventually to Fine Art Registry™. And FAR® is able to supply what Milton needs to accomplish his aims as a collector/dealer.

Imagine that you have a storage room crammed with Sylvester Stallone signed "Rocky" boxing gloves, Anna Nicole Smith signed baseballs, vintage comic books, baseball cards, stamps, concert ticket stubs signed by artists, celebrity signed post cards, Muhammad Ali and Rocky action figures and plaques with handprints of the famous, like Milton does. And you’re adding new items every couple of weeks. Unless you've got a photographic memory, you absolutely need some means to record and keep track of it all.

The Fine Art Registry online database permanently records the contents of a collection, with pictures and descriptions of each article, providing Milton with a paperless, yet complete and accurate, inventory of what he's got, when he acquired it, its value and much more. By registering it with FAR, each item contains a FAR registration seal, which establishes Milton's ownership of the article in a manner that is tamper-and counterfeit-proof.

FAR Founder and CEO, Theresa Franks developed a patented system to tag any item of value, collectible, work of art, old manuscript, items of historical or sentimental value for collectors like Milton. Asked to describe the benefits of FAR registration for everyone from the casual hobbyist to the passionate collector or the entrepreneurial dealer, Theresa lays it out plainly: "Buyer confidence is absolutely key for an art or collectible dealer these days, especially when selling via the Internet. Collectors want to be assured that what they are getting is exactly what it is claimed to be.

The value of FAR from a collecting standpoint is the confidence that comes from knowing that a dealer is taking responsibility for what is being sold and is standing behind it by recording the details of the object's existence in the FAR database before it is sold or traded. As a collector, I know I can always go back to that dealer if there's any question at all about the piece, or I can take it to my law enforcement people and say 'Hey, I found out this was stolen. It was registered by so-and-so.' So in the process of making a formal record or registration of the art or collectible object, the seller makes a permanent record of his or her existence and of their criminality, if they are a criminal. It’s really helpful for me as a collector to know that a dealer will stand behind the merchandise he is selling and is willing to take responsibility for it if questions are ever raised regarding the registered object."

It's a huge benefit for Milton to be able to enter the marketplace with utter transparency, where anyone can access his collection, find out when he acquired an item, and know that there is a permanent identifier on the item, which is forever recorded in a secure database. As Theresa says, "With FAR®, you can always track the object back to who originally registered it. For a collector that's absolutely critical to value."

This has implications for the future of any substantial collection because the FAR system heads off common scams in the art, antiques and collectibles markets. "Never mind what FAR does for insurance purposes," Theresa continues, "and what about probate? Someday when I'm dead and gone, my only daughter or my three grandsons that survive me won't have to wonder about what I have in my collection because it will all be permanently registered with FAR and more importantly, my family won't have to wonder about my collection's value because that will be permanently recorded as well, along with appraisal reports and all manner of documentation associated with the FAR permanent registration record. My descendents will instantly know what my portfolio is worth, without having to scratch their heads and rely on others to value it for them. There are many unscrupulous dealers/appraisers and others in the art market that will take advantage of situations like this whereby collections are significantly and purposely undervalued, purchased, and then resold at a substantial gain. Because many family members are not often familiar with the collecting genre of their lost loved one, they become targets for manipulation by unscrupulous dealers and appraisers and others in the industry."

When you have your collection registered with FAR, Theresa adds, "Your inventory is stored somewhere else. You don't have to worry about it burning up in a house fire, or being destroyed in a flood, or other natural disaster. You've got your inventory stored in a secure on line database separate from your home or office. You're going to be able to show your insurer, 'Here it is. My list of FAR registered objects.'"

Milton recognizes the value of registering his collection and this has already paid dividends, as he sold a piece and the new owner logged onto the website and requested a transfer of ownership which Milton was able to complete with a few keyboard strokes. In a marketplace lacking a standard for registering and tracking valuables of any description, the Fine Art Registry™ provides hobbyists, collectors, dealers and buyers what they need to pursue their activities with the certainty they are dealing with items that are pictured, fully described and recorded in a permanent database that is accessible by anyone worldwide. A new generation of FAR tagging technology is nearing completion, which will make it possible to register smaller sized valuables, such as a ring or earrings.

All of this is to Milton's (or any collector's) benefit. Now that he's registered with FAR, his plans include, in his words, "Establishing my own authenticity/certification company, where I will be able to authenticate items myself and with all my friends who sell. When I attend in person signings, I will be able to take a picture of the actual signing, and certify it as authentic."

Milton is also a long time boxing fan and belongs to a club in New York, Ring 8, that runs a worthwhile program. "Boxers Helping Boxers," raises funds for retired prizefighters who have fallen on hard times and helps by looking after their welfare. He often attends dinners where former ring greats as well as other athletes are in attendance. By having items he gets signed registered with FAR, Milton is establishing the necessary transparency for his collection and this is essential to building a reputation for honesty and integrity, which is a vital hallmark for anyone who wants to succeed in this market.

There is much more Milton can do: classes on handwriting analysis, networking with other reputable dealers, becoming a notary public to authenticate signings and so on.

But he has taken an all-important first step, connecting with Fine Art Registry and beginning to register his collection. Other collectors will appreciate it. And, with any luck at all, so will Milton’s son when it is time to pay for college.

Visit Milton's website at www.substancecollectables.com.

Join FAR® Today
and start registering your collectibles!

— by Dan Koon  |  March 31, 2008  |  Print Version - PDF (2.73 MB)

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