Many coaster enthusiasts get wrapped up in collecting their credits, but a few go beyond that. Some of us are collectors and find ourselves grabbing some coaster and/or amusement park related items to take home with us as a keepsake throughout our journeys. For some, it might be something personal, like items focused on their favorite park or ride. For others, like myself, you find something and want all of them. A few hundred pins later, my pin collection is starting to catch up to my credit count. You can thank Jason and Elaina for getting me into pin collecting!
There are so many things that parks will slap their logos, or ride images onto for people to buy. You’d be hard pressed not to find a park that doesn’t sell magnets, pins, postcards, pressed pennies, collectors coins, lanyards, pint/shot glasses, or apparel. Even the smallest gift shops at the smallest of parks sell something with their branding. The bigger/corporate parks will take it a step further selling art prints, books, and even repurposed pieces of their former rides. That’s the case with the Steel Vengeance block in the image above.
That block is a piece of wood from Cedar Point’s former Dinn coaster, Mean Streak. It was turned into a collectible and sold for $50 at the park in the Steel Vengeance gift shop. Both James and I picked one up during our 2018 visit. The block came inside a box with a slip off wrapper. Inside the box was the block, wrapped in a red bandana, with a certificate of authenticity. I almost passed on it for $50, but ultimately felt that it would always be a nice piece to have in my collection. Now, you’d be hard pressed to find one below $250-300 on eBay. People have even told me to sell mine, but to me, it’s not something I bought to flip. I love the ride and the park. Every time I see the block it reminds me of that amazing two-day trip with James when we rode Steel Vengeance for the first time.
Not everything in someone’s collection has to merchandise, though. One thing that’s getting harder to find, especially during this current pandemic, is park maps. There are people out there who collect these often overlooked, and most importantly, free items. These maps often feature the park’s newest ride and have some top notch photography and illustrations found throughout. One of the people I have reached out to take part in this series collects park maps in addition to magnets. She’s shown me some of her magnet collection over the last few weeks, but I can’t wait to see how many maps she has. I’m looking forward to seeing what parks they come from, and what years. Just like with the Steel Vengeance block, you can find some of the older maps from the 70’s and 80’s on eBay fetching some surprising prices. I wish I held onto some of the ones I had in my hands over the years in hindsight. Again, not to sell, but for memories and the advertising art involved. I did save my Steel Vengeance one from 2018, along with the plastic hotel key card with the Steel Vengeance art on the front. Shh!
If you have a collection that relates to coasters or amusement parks, I’d love to know. I’ll always be looking for people who want to be featured in this series, even if you collect something that has already be showcased in someone else’s entry. I’m sure you don’t have the same exact items, or didn’t collect them for the same exact reasons. That’s going to be the interesting look into everyone’s collections. Shoot me an email if you’d like to take part and let me know just what you collect.
