Mortality

[harry mac]

Well, mortality has just given me a kick up the arse. Had a heart attack 2 days ago; which I obviously survived, but it's driven home the fact that I've got a lot of stuff that the wife doesn't have the first clue about, that she'll have to get rid of, if I fall off my perch first.
Time to have tidy up, and do some cataloguing.

Information

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[30Three]

First thing to do is concentrate on your health! obviously follow your doctor's advice. But diet and when your ready, some light excercise can make a difference.

When ready, make a list of your collection and values of each article; so if one day it falls on someone else to look after them; they will have accurate information.

[Ovidio]

Wow. Keep up!!!

[LTPayton88]

Wish you the best of luck and you recover completely.

[Roger Payne]

Get well soon. Then you can sort out your collection!

[Hal O'Peridol]

Same thing here. Been selling off a lot of stuff putting the funds into home improvements. Still have a bunch to go. My hearts in poor shape for a 62yr old. I've managed to survive multiple heart attacks, but one will get me sooner or later.

[Strangely Brown]

And I thought you were looking so well at the HBSA Mid Range!

Regarding our "estates" I've already started to point out the valuable books and which gun dealers to call in.

[Singer B]

Dont stress this too much. Along with cataloging (both handwritten and digital), I list special features of each one that enhances or detracts from the value so no one can talk them down in value. I also identified an auction house with the proper FFL to handle everything if they choose that route. A couple of phone calls, they pick it all up, auction it and send them a check. Relax, take your time, get healthy, and your family won't need that list for a long long time!

[Brian B]

First of all, thank goodness you survived the heart attack!! Please take care of yourself first and foremost. As we all get older the reality of that fact really starts to set in and we all need to face that reality. I know I'm really starting to fee my advancing age.

I had a similar non health related wake up call about a year ago. We had the Bobcat Fire right on top of us for over a week and thought we would lose the house at any moment. I looked at my overfull safes, garage, storage shed and the attic above the garage and thought that there is no way I can save all of this stuff. Most of this stuff is going to burn up and will be gone forever. I started slowly loading up things that I could easily live without and started hauling to my dealer to move on. I was amazed at how much these "treasures" sold for. I cashed the checks and set that money aside as fun money and have been able to pick up some really nice pieces without spending any new money.

As I continue to downsize (removing quantity) and buying a few high quality pieces my collection is becoming more focused and of higher quality. My hoarding tendencies are now being replaced with the fun of turning pieces I'm not excited about into cash to obtain some new high quality pieces that I've always wanted. Don't get me wrong, the place is still a mess and I have a long way to go. Things I picked up for a few bucks are selling for outrageous prices. Of course the new pieces are higher priced as well. It's been a fun new way of collecting.

Anyway, just wanted to share my thoughts as I have shifted my priorities as well due to unforeseen circumstances. Keep mending and enjoy the collecting!!

Brian B

[Flying10uk]

If you had a heart attack only 2 days ago and it definitely was a heart attack you need to concentrate 100% on your health right now and not worry about your collection. This is because when a person has a heart attack the blood supply to part of the heart is cut-off and the part of the heart that is affected, i.e. starved of oxygenated blood, dies. My advice is to follow exactly what your doctors tell you.

Since my father passed away I have been left with a hundred years or so of things to sort through. Apart from saving almost everything from his entire life my father saved many things from his parent's life and his grandparent's life. Ive come across many interesting things that I'll keep amongst the items I've disposed of/donated to charity shops. An interesting item that I came across the other day were some First World War ration books a less interesting item that I disposed of recently, that my father had saved, was his grandmother's commode dating from the 1950's.