Promoking's announcement got me to looking at some of the records on the web site.

The largest non-sport collection is 20,000

Does that seem a bit low to everyone else?

https://www.guinnessworldrecor...ports-trading-cards-

LOL. Most of us have tossed away more than that!

Agree, that's ridiculous. Just any moderate card collector would reach that number counting what's in base sets alone.

Either something is missing, like some qualifying dollar amount or date, or I think we all should go get applications from Guinness because almost all of us could beat that.

I imagine the record date, 18 November 2011, is the giveaway. Probably the first and only one to apply for the record. As others have said, I imagine quite a lot of the collector's on this site could exceed 20,000 cards in their collections. Anyone going to try and snag the record ?

I have tossed, given away and have in my collection more then that but am not going to go for the record. we need to nominate Someone and send their name in. I am thinking of someone.

By a rough estimate, and counting a bit more than half of my binders, I have 17,750 cards. And that has to be a low number by a long shot.

I would assume I am in the bottom 10% of collectors on this site alone.

AND - I don't even collect cards any more.

Conclusion - 20,000 is a low number.

That’s not even seven 3200 count boxes

Seems rather low

I'm curious to know what kind of research is done on these records. . .

My collection is *much* smaller now, but in 2011 I easily had 250,000 cards.

Guinness has gone into the "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" realm with off the wall sub-sets. Just look at the first page. Largest collection of "toothpaste tubes" and largest collection of "grey alien-related items". What sort of records are those?

They don't research. You contact them on some sort of factual or made up accomplishment and submit your proof. If they confirm and no one else ever applies, you hold the record.

Who would have thought that the record for the largest non-sport card collection would be housed in Zagreb, Croatia? And that it would be mentioned for Magic the Gathering cards specifically too. Do you know how easy it was to pick up cases of Magic cards with their massive overproduction at one time? It was easy. And they are gaming cards. Non-sport technically, but not the kind of non-sport we here mainly collect.

Yeah, that's low. Promoking beats that with promos alone and I can't think of a promo collector who wasn't already collecting cards when he or she got into promos. I don't think I'm in the 20K Club but I have boxes of stuff so maybe it's time for an inventory.

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:
Promoking's announcement got me to looking at some of the records on the web site.

The largest non-sport collection is 20,000

Does that seem a bit low to everyone else?

https://www.guinnessworldrecor...ports-trading-cards-

Pretty much agree with everyone else. It was my thought as well that pretty much no one else has applied and it would seem that the record is more based on that then the owners of the record actually looking.

Personally I would put a distinction between game and subject title cards. Although I am pretty sure that number is low for those collectors as well.

I probably wont but if any of ya's wanna go for it then doo eet!

I think the title of owning "the largest non sports card collection" is definitely up for grabs.

I'm sure someone on this board probably has at least a 100,00 or more non sports cards. Just 500 sets of 90 cards each plus the specials: Costumes; autographs; sketch; older inserts etc... We're already talking in the neighborhood of 50,000.
I remember talking with Mark Macaluso many years ago who had a collection nearing one million cards. Sadly, most of those cards went up in smoke in a fire after his death.
I can tell you, however, that Guinness is very serious about checking the content of the application. They assigned me one individual by the name of Christine who asked for all sorts of proof before she would even consider allowing me to apply for the promo card sub-genre category.

For example, among many things requested, I had to refer them to Card Talk and to my postings and responses to show them my involvement with promotional cards. I had to give them the name of publications dealing with promotional trading cards, I had to provide them with extensive photographic and video proof of the number of promo cards I owned, where they were housed, how long I had been collecting, a written explanation as to why there should exist a separate category for promos instead of just the umbrella category of the "largest non sport card collection" etc... It took ONE year! Frankly, there were so many questions and requests that I almost gave up.
So if anyone here wants to be crowned the new owner of the "largest collection of non sports cards" be ready for a greater challenge from Guinness than from the current title holder.

It's good to know they are serious about it. Would hate to think that all one could do is fill out a form and become a record holder. Do you think an already established category would be as difficult? (i.e. such as largest non sports card collection)

It is interesting that they made you jump through a lot of hoops to prove you had what you said you did, but what did they do to prove you had the largest collection? I doubt there are many challengers for the largest promo collection, but the largest non-sport card collection record is really a joke. A simple post on any non-sport board at the time would have easily disproved that collection being the largest.

I think that's about right. Except for absolute factual records, Guinness doesn't research these oddball records themselves. What they research is the data you provide to ensure that it is accurate and not made up. So it may be a very detailed process and a prolonged process to get them to confirm it.

Then Guinness waits for someone else to contact them to beat it and starts the process of confirmation again. They don't independently try to research records like this. Unless its a matter of public record, how could they really?

If they don't do a minimal basic level of record verification then . . . I don't see a point.

In 2011 it wouldn't have been difficult at all to prove that a 25,000 card collection wasn't anywhere near a record. One email to either NSU or the Wrapper, or a post on Card Talk, Blowout or Scoundrel would have been all that was necessary.

Yes, of course look how we all for once agree that having 20,000 non-sport cards can't possible be the world's record when we know people who have way more and some of us have way more ourselves. Yet until mykdude posted the link to the record holder, none of us knew about it. So evidently no one was contacting Guinness to complain to them, since this has been in the book since 2011.

Great conversation by the way and I hope one of you takes the opportunity to make an application and present a more accurate record. I do have more myself, but I know its a only a fraction of what some of the collectors on Card Talk are holding.

I would also question the definition of non-sports trading cards in their eyes. Below is an except from Wikipedia's entry on Cigarette Cards:-

"The largest cigarette card collection on record is that of Edward Wharton-Tigar. His collection, bequeathed to the British Museum following his death in 1995, is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest collection of its kind."

The reference to "largest collection of its kind" is interesting as to what does it mean exactly.

I started counting my cards individually, one by one, but every time I reach 18,791 I lose count and have to start over again. Oh well, tenth time's the charm!

One...two...three...