Wolverine: I saw your question about the value of my collection last night, dear chap. Forgive me for rather a tardy response, but it was quite a tough one to answer.
I’ve been collecting since the 1970s and currently have fifty-four pool ball sets with me here in England, plus five others awaiting pick up from a friend’s home in America. My collection is therefore quite modest in size, especially considering its longevity, but I flatter myself in thinking it includes some of the rarest and most desirable examples.
It is priceless to me because it doesn’t merely represent monetary value, but rather memories of where in the world I found a particular set, who gave it to me, the fascinating story behind it, or even just the thrill of hunting and successfully acquiring something prestigious like a Romanique or a Raschig.
All that personal sentimentality noted, if the sets were listed individually in auction they might perhaps be expected to return about $35,000 based on most recent sale prices. I would like to think the collection as a whole, however, should be worth more than the sum of its parts purely because of all the hard work it took to gather together. I don’t think I could ever sell, though, because it means too much to me.
Chef: It is always wonderful to welcome a new name to the thread. And thank you so much for taking the time to offer such kind words of encouragement… they are very much appreciated indeed.
Best wishes and happy collecting for 2026.
RC.
