Let's talk about collect sizes. We all started at different times. When did you start and how many do you have? How many retired pieces do you possess? What is your plans for the future of your collection?

Inquiring minds want to know. If a newby, don't be shy. We all were newbies once. Lets talk!

Moby of SE Va.

Hey Robert.
I started my collection in 1996 after debating, get this! whether or not to get Harbour Lights or Spoontiques. ( I can't believe I EVER consider them) Money played a big factor, but I just loved the detail in Harbour Lights, so that's what I got.
My collection is right at 60 pieces today and would have been a great deal larger if I didn't have to sell some of my prized pieces, but I'll get them back one day.

---

digitalman

You can just ditto Sean for me - started 96, same ones missing + 1 - no LE Coquille.

Had received a few previously as gifts from my children. Their thought process was that if they could get me hooked on something, they would always know what to buy me. Well I caught the fever in Aug 99 and now have a total of 60 items. 38 are LE's of which 29 are retired, and the rest are GLOWS/Society pieces/Spyglass/Christmas pieces. My primary interest is Southeastern, Gulf Coast and Michigan lights but I suppose that will broaden out as my I get all of those. My plans are to keep collecting.

I started collecting in late 1996. Since then my collection has grown to a total of 196 pieces.

I have all of the LE's except Cape Hatteras, Sandy Hook, Coquille, St. Augie, and Hilton Head.

There are also a smattering of GLOWS, the Society Pieces, the ornaments, both Reunion pieces, Bob Tree, Bill Doll, both legacy pieces, some Anchor Bay, ect..., ect...

-Todd

Started 12/98. Have 42 LE's, 30 of them retired.

Rather selective on which new ones to buy. Don't plan to buy the older, high priced ones.

Putting the cost aside display space is a problem and I wouldn't want to have them if I couldn't see them. I enjoy having a variety of styles from different parts of the country.

The first three HLs in my collection were purchased in 1996. But, my buying frenzy began the week before the reunion in 1997. A visit was made to the home office and when I realized that how many there were, I began to buy like mad. I will never catch up due to a lack of money.

My collection includes 130 pieces. These include 14 Glows. Of course there are some event pieces and society pieces in that number. I collect from NY to TX--WA to CA. I do not have a Coquille or Hatteras and probably never will unless someone doesn't know what they own and put it in a antique shop for me to find. I am always looking.

By the by, are all of the rare Coquille's accounted for?

Soon three more will be in the collection and altho' I try to be careful, HLs keeps producing ones in the states I collect in. No more glows for me however, the ones I do have were bought because I thought I could never afford the originals. But they do make for a nice comparison beside the LE.

Derith

I bought my first HL on 11/1/97. Since then, I have collected 139 LEs, 17 GLOWs, plus spyglass, minis, keepers, trees, dolls, and 1 AB lightship. I think this is about right but there may be a few more lurking under the desk waiting for that new curio.
Jim
Johnson

We started collecting in 1991 when Harbour Lights was introduced; lost count at 250 pieces. We have entire LE collection including Coquille, first and second Hatteras, both versions of Burrows, both versions of Assateague, all purchased at retail; only missing a few of the variations including the Split Rock variation; but to us that doesn't matter since we have one of each anyway; also have the Anchor Bay Lightships; and yes the entire collection is on display Darlene

Do you do tours, Darlene?

Congrats on knowing a good thing at the onset. Took some of us a while to catch on and catch up.

Derith

[This message has been edited by Nana (edited 06-10-2000).]

Our collection was started December 8th 1996 with the purchase of a HL Currituck lighthouse, we have all but original Hatteras and missing Burrows, Split Rock and Mukilteo errors... have almost all the other variations.. paint, label, mold etc..

Latest variation will soon be featured here in the forums... Hatteras on the Move variation (one of a kind and impossible to have two)

Have all of the GLOW's and GLOW revised editions and have 3 complete sets of the ornaments for use on the HL tree at Christmas, only one set displayed all year. All of the Limited and Open editions are on display totally around 300, plus the complete set of Little Lights mixed in with their bigger brothers and sisters.

Like Sean we have all the other yada, yada, yada’s mixed in the displays.....

All of the Anchor Bay ships are also displayed including the full set of the "much rarer" Open Edition Anchor Bay ships…..

A heads up as by the way, I will be offering a second set that I have.... grouped as either the 3 most rare (Kim, Nancy and Lori) or a complete set of five including Toledo and Huron (minus the Chesapeake Open Edition, which is still available) of the "much rarer" Open Edition Anchor Bay Ships shortly either in the Marketplace or on eBay. I haven't decided quite where or when yet.

Everything is signed except for a couple of pieces that arrived this week and the set of Little Lights that I am waiting until Bill comes to Indy to have him sign them.


SaintWackoPaul '
Keep the Flame

Hey Paul,
I cannot believe I let you buy that HOTM variation in front of my very eyes. I should have had better sense and bought it when Cindy put it on the chair behind me, where we were boxing up other people's purchases. Then you came along and we began discussing the difference and before I knew it you had it in your hands and were buying it. Where was my mind?

Derith



[This message has been edited by Nana (edited 06-10-2000).]

Derith,
If you make out to my neck of the woods again, give me a call.
Darlene

I believe I received my first HL (Minots Ledge) as a gift in May of 95. I first only received them as gifts but then...well you know how those stories go...

Here's my tally:
38 Regular LEs (27 retired)
10 Society Pieces
5 Event Pieces
2 Christmas Pieces
2 Open Editions
1 Reunion (society version)
1 Thumbnail
1 Tree
1 SOL
For a grand total of 61 items deserving of a HL product #.

Tim

As did my "twin" Mombo, I started collecting in December of 1998 when my wife gave me my first HL as a Christmas gift (Cape Elizabeth, ME). Since then, I have collected 48 pieces, most of which are LEs, with 42 of them retired now. I have started collecting pieces through the secondary markets, paying close attention to the NC LEs. I have all of them with the exception of CH1, which I'm afraid is a bit out of reach. The rest they say, "is history."

Tim - Keeping the flame lit...

I started collecting in Aug of '99. The first buy were two (Boston Harbors) which I found at retail. (Sold one).. I now have 22 LE's, one glow, a spyglass series. about 15 ornaments, and 4 of the society pieces.

I plan to continue to collect, but having to slow down some, and will concentrate on southern lights.

I just love these lights!

Rusty

Oh, almost forgot, 15 of the 22 LE's that I have are retired.

[This message has been edited by Rusty (edited 06-10-2000).]

I got my first HL from my Mother as a early Christams gift, in December of 98. As of today I have 102 HLs. I have:

1 Glow
5 christmas pieces
2 reunion pieces ( NPL full size and REXM)
5 event pieces
4 society gift piece
5 society exclusives (Boca is on order and not counted)

The rest are all LE's

Also I have 1 LLom (won at last Tampa Bay Collector meeting not counted)
And I didn't count the LLOm that I won on the "Guess the next release" contest.

Weasel58





[This message has been edited by Weasel58 (edited 06-10-2000).]

>>Started 12/98. << Gee mombo, seems like yesterday. :-)

I started in '95, first piece was Mackinac, then the Stamp Series. Joined the Society in its first year. Now we have every retired piece but Coquille, all the 9500 series, ornaments, thumbnails, NPL, REXA, Christmas, and many of the 10k set. First two in A/B set. And of course a BoB Tree without which any collection pines for fullfilment. :-)

Its not just a hobby, its an adventure. You meet the nicest people at a lighthouse and I've made many friends through HL collecting.

Rgds,
__
/im
[This message has been edited by JTimothyA (edited 06-10-2000).]

I bought my first HL (S.E. Block Island) in the summer of '94. I bought my second, Brant Point, in September of '97. I now own all the LE's except for Cape Hatteras, Portland Head, Coquille, and St. Augustine. I continue to buy every light as it becomes available.

Bob

We started collecting 12/97 and at this time need 15 LE's to complete the collection, most of which are still readily available at retail. I'm afraid some of the fun dwindles once we obtain all of them, so we slowly sneak up on it. We just became the proud owners of our 3rd CH1 (1 white tip and 2 green), we have both Burrows, Coquille, both Assateagues, all the green waters etc.
We also have 4 AB's and a couple of Glows and one LLOM. Like Tim, the best part has been meeting fellow collectors, visiting the different lighthouses, spending time on the forums. If it wasn't for the people at Harbour Lights and many friends we have made and continue to hopefully meet, we might have stopped at Charlotte (our home light) and the first HL purchased instead of the financially
ravaged WACKO collectors we have become.

Kaiz

I started collecting in April of 1999. I have the following items-
LE- 47
Glows- 9
Society Exclusives- 6
Society Gifts- 5
Soc Ornaments- 4
Minis- 3
Legacy Lights- 2
Event Pieces- 5
Reunion Pieces- 2
Thumbnails- 5
Spyglass/Keepers- 3
Ornaments- 20
Trees- 2
Total- 111
I also have three in the pipeline from various dealers. I have slowed down considerably recently. I intend to concentrate on purchasing ones that I have visited. I may have to rethink some of the ones I have and consider gleaning the collection in the Marketplace or ebay. I went a little WACKO.
Dennis



[This message has been edited by wheland (edited 06-11-2000).]

I started collecting in February, 1999, and my first HL piece was Roosevelt,NY. My first desire was to purchase only NY lighthouses since I'm originally from NY. Then I bought Cape Florida, and reasoned, well, I live in Florida now. So, I thought I'd collect NY and Florida. Except, the very first HL I saw was Alcatraz and couldn't get it out of my mind. Then I thought, what the heck, collect the ones I like. So, here's the breakdown:

71 LE's (51 retired, 12 signed)
14 GLOWS
3 Signature Series
1 Bob Tree
1 Keeper and Friends Set
3 Anchor Bay (Kim, Lori, Nancy)

Joanne

I STARTED COLLECTING ON AUG 15 1995 AND BOUGHT OLD MACKINAC PT AND WITHEN 3 WEEKS I HAD THEM ALL BUT COQUILLE RIVER,AND I STILL NEED IT. I DONT DO THE GLOWS AT THIS TIME

I started collecting HL's in September of 1999. I had visited Maine a couple of years ago and visited quite a few lighthouses. My favorites were Nubble and Portland Head. I ordered those 2 GLOWS from Lighthouse Depot first. After receiving them and being really impressed with the detail and quality I told my wife that I would like to have some of the Chesapeake lights for Christmas. She got me Concord Point and Sandy Point. I also joined the Collectors Society so she was able to get me Seven Foot Knoll and of course I got Baltimore. I read a lot about collecting Harbour Lights and decided I wanted to collect retired ones. In early January I bought Drum Point and Thomas Point LE's on eBay. Then I became an eBay junkie. At last count I have 2 GLOWS, 5 Collectors Society, 41 LE's and 2 Special event pieces for a total of 50. Thirty two of the LE's are retired pieces.

I have visited, at one time or another, about
30 of the fifty that I own. I am going to Boston in a couple of weeks and hope to visit 6-8 more.
I am going to my dealer this weekend to pick up Boca Grande. I would not be surprized if my total grows by more than one!


Jim Thomas

We started our collection Christmas of `99 with Cape Lookout and Currituck.
Our collection includes 51 HLs(incl.4 GLOWs),2 spyglass sets,1 AB.Plus 3 more in the pipeline headed our way.Of the 51,29 are retired.
Terry

[This message has been edited by TERRY BARFIELD (edited 06-14-2000).]

I have been buying HL since '96 for a friend who collected them.Now I wish I would have started this early too. But I caught the bug only last Christmas '99. I now have 12 lights--all LE's. I probably will not collect any GLOW's or GLOP's and space is an issue. I also will not attempt to collect the older, expensive ones.
My focus is on the Mid-Atlantic & Maine. My family comes from there. I hope to see some German lights created as I was stationed in the Army in N. Germany & these lights rival the lights of NC in beauty and yet they languish. Oh well...

Tim H

I received my first Harbour Light (Key West)as a gift in 1993. Ocracoke was my second probably about a year later. Since then my purchasing slowly increased...I started buying the ones I had visited and then added those that I thought were very attractive. I joined the collectors society as a charter member. With the discovery of the internet, ebay and the marketplace on this forum I have been able to complete my collection with the exception of the original Coquille River. I'm still waiting for a "bargain" for that piece. When I got a bonus last year I seriously considered buying one but decided it would be better to use the money for a home theater system which the whole family could enjoy...maybe I'm not a "Wacko" in the purist sense since I could have bought one but chose not to do so.

I remember first becoming aware of the demand for some of the pieces when I tried to get a Big Bay Point the Christmas it came out. I had to make alot of calls but found a store in Texas. I was able to get it at retail albeit 2 months after Christmas. I made the decision then that if there was a piece I absolutely wanted, then I would not hesitate because you never knew whether it would be readily available later.

My collection includes the LE pieces, society pieces, ornaments, minis and spyglass pieces. I have chosen not to collect open editions because of limited display room.

Doc John

I started collectiong Harbour Lights in October of 1998.
I have 80 and 54 are retired.

Sorry! I wasn't finished! My computor is acting strange!
What aremy plans for the future? Just keep collecting, and collecting, and collecting!!!
Before I started collecting Harbour Lights, I looked at all the competitors and there was no question as to which ones I wanted to collect!

If I told you, I'd have to kill you before my wife found out and killed me! lol

Well, since I started this discussion I'll close it. 92 and continuing on, all LEs. Started in mid '97.

Moby

Started in mid 99 and now have 15, 7 of which are LE's, 4 glows and the rest specialty/gift pieces.

Our collection started when my wife, Linda,
gave me Thomas Point on our first wedding anniversary (3/23/1997). At this time we have
all the Christmas, Reunion, Society, Event,
GLOW, Ornaments, Signs, Spyglass, Bob Tree and thumbnail pieces. We have all the buttons, brochures, pins and calendars plus some unique things like the "Captain Bill" statue and HL watch. We have all the LEs and most of their variations. The only LEs we do not have at least one of are:
Cape Hatteras I
Coquille River
Key West
St. Simon
St. Augustine

We continue to acquire every piece as it becomes available and plan to continue doing so and hope to acquire the pieces shown above also. Some of the LLOMs have even come home with us.

Now if we just had enough display space.

------------------
Randall Ronne

First HL was Yaquina Bay, a gift from my husband almost two years ago (9/98) for our anniversary. We now have 120, all LE'S except for three GLOWs (Great Lakes Stamp Series).

We don't have any of the Spyglass, Anchor Bay, LLOM etc. The one ornament was a gift from a lady I purchased four retired pieces from. I try to keep my sights on just the LE's.

We love the HLs and visiting the real thing!

Donna

Started in 1996. Now have 85 LE's and 1 GLOW (Coquille). I try to buy only ones that I've visited, but I have 10 or so that I couldn't resist even though I haven't visited them. (YET!!)

Larry

Started collecting 10/96. First piece was our home light, HL122 Buffalo purchased at a signing event at the local mall. Since then we have acquired 60+ LE's, 10+ ornaments also event, reunion, mini and spyglass pieces. No glows but Keeper & Friends. Running out of room for more but can't resist a good purchase. Over the years searching and buying Harbour Lights has brought a renewed interest in lighthouse history and visitation. Every lighthouse we own has a special meaning to us that we would like to share with others.

Donna & Roger

[This message has been edited by Sonic59 (edited 08-10-2000).]

I started collecting in '95, my first piece being Coquille. I have all retired pieces, and now buy as they retire or if I think it will retire fast.

We have a total of 223 and 117 are signed. I started collecting in 97. Funny thing, I decided to collect HL's because I didn't think there were very many lighthouses. Remember, I am from the middle of Texas. We try to see all the lighthouses HL has made. We have seen over 100. My dealer went out of business and I am having a hard time keeping up with the collection this year.
Jo Ann/Texas

We started collecting in '97 by purchasing lighthouses we had already seen. After the Legendary Lighthouses series came out on PBS, we switched into high gear. We currenty have 34 L.E.s, most with flag #'s below 500. We are only collecting East Coast pieces to conserve space and our sanity.

Yeah, right. We'll see how long that lasts! Welcome to the Forums, wilsonj3. They have your local light done with its paint job?

Dave

Hi, Dave,
Yes the renovation is complete and, get this, they got the job done early and under budget! If anyone gets a chance to see Jupiter lighthouse they will be impressed. As far as limiting myself to East Coast lights, this is probably further evidence of my denial of my addiction.
Jack

[This message has been edited by wilsonj3 (edited 07-21-2000).]

Welcome to the forums, wilsonj3. My cousin lives in Jupiter, so I've been out there many times. In fact, Jupiter Lighthouse got me started collecting. I have pics since the restoration was completed, and she looks great! Can't wait for my next trip out to see her in person!

At last count, I had 40 HL's, several of which are GLOW's. I'd guess that by the end of the year I'll graduate from Bronze to Silver.

I started collecting in 1996. I signed up for the first year of the collector club membership. That first year I went on a buying streak to get everything that I couldn't find that was already retired. I now have 200+ LE, only missing Coquille River. I have all the ornaments, spy glass sets, event pieces, both reunions, etc... About the only pieces I don't have are GLOW's.

I started in '99 going slow - I believe I have 10, plus the keeper's. Most of mine are retired. I am trying to collect the one's I have actually visited, and definitely all in Oregon. Everyone who see them thinks they are great, and I am the definite lighthouse fanatic to my friends and family. I expend more film and time than most them sleep in a year! In witness to that, I received 9 lighthouse calendars last year. :-)

Ned

I started in July of 1999! with Macquarie since I have spent about 10 weeks vacationing DownUnder. I currently have 42 pieces, and it grows 1 or 2 a month due to my own efforts right now. Holidays and birthdays are known by my relatives require HLights as the gift of choice, so I get another 3-4 that way. I started out with a collection of Lefton's, but was not pleased with the large size or lack of detail. I Ebayed all the Leftons last June and converted the cash to Harbour Lights. Harbour Lights is the only way to go!!!


"Pharologst" George




[This message has been edited by pharologst (edited 09-08-2000).]

I have been collecting since mid 1997. I am only collecting the Virginia, Carolina's and the Chesapeake Bay lights.I have just about all except Ocracoke NC. as to witch I am hunting for one at a resonable price being that I have a couple of little one's that seem to take all extra cash I may have had.