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Hello
again! Who knew when the 1st Hard Rock Cafe was opened up that 35
years later you could go to almost any big city in the world & find
a Hard Rock Cafe there. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett (started House
of Blues in 1992 where my favorite "Help Ever Hurt Never" quote comes
from) & Peter
Morton in 1971 near Hyde Park Corner in London. They started
their big global expansion in 1982 which included my 1st Hard Rock
experience...Los Angeles...which was opened by Peter Morton. I
thought that the car crashing through the roof was the coolest thing I
had ever seen. Being a high school kid who loved to go to the
mall, I would meet my friends there & feel like I was back in the
50's, then cruise the adjacent mall. I noticed a new piece of
memorabilia every time I visited.
But, back then I did not collect too many things. I was into Patrick Nagel, the Playboy artist, so I was saving my money for Nagels. Now I have a bunch of Nagels & no where & no desire to put them up...but, I bet they will come back too. Since then, I have become a PaCRat! (My sister always teases me..."What don't you collect.?")
PaCRat, PaC stand for PinsandChips. I love pins & chips! Especially, because they are small!
I do not know exactly how many Hard Rock Cafe's there are today, as some have opened & some have closed, but according to Wikipedia - 143 to date.
With so many locations...how does one choose what to collect? Some people collect from only those Hard Rocks that they get to, others get them from any location that themselves, friends & family visit, and others get their stuff from eBay!
Some people collect the now famous shirts, jackets, shot glasses, hurricaine glasses, or like me...pins & chips. I am lucky enough to go to Viva Las Vegas a few times a year...so I get pins & chips whenever I go.
There are too many cities to collect from all...unless you have unlimited funds. In the old days, there were not as many choices for pins / designs. Today...there are too many to mention.
So, what can you do?
These are just my recommendations. If you just starting your collection or thinking about collecting...here are some ideas...
Hard Rock Pin Collecting 101 (for beginners.)
So, ENJOY Collecting & Don't forget to look at your collection often! Display your pins on black material, velvet or in a frame. I have found that my collections are worth nothing when I just store them away in boxes & never look at them.
I am just starting to list some duplicates from my personal collection. Most of my pins come from Viva Las Vegas. Both the Hard Rock Cafe & The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. You can find more in my store. http://stores.ebay.com/PaCRatzCollectiblez_HARD-ROCK-Pin-Pins-Sets_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ8QQftidZ2QQtZkm http://stores.ebay.com/PaCRatzCollectiblez_HARD-ROCK-Collectibles-misc_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ9QQftidZ2QQtZkm If there is something you are looking from Vegas...please email me to see if I will be listing it.
Peace, PaCRat!
08/16/06
Thank You for taking the time to view this guide. If you have found this enjoyable, interesting or helpful...would you please vote 'Yes', so that it encourages me to keep writing & sharing information.
But, back then I did not collect too many things. I was into Patrick Nagel, the Playboy artist, so I was saving my money for Nagels. Now I have a bunch of Nagels & no where & no desire to put them up...but, I bet they will come back too. Since then, I have become a PaCRat! (My sister always teases me..."What don't you collect.?")
PaCRat, PaC stand for PinsandChips. I love pins & chips! Especially, because they are small!
I do not know exactly how many Hard Rock Cafe's there are today, as some have opened & some have closed, but according to Wikipedia - 143 to date.
With so many locations...how does one choose what to collect? Some people collect from only those Hard Rocks that they get to, others get them from any location that themselves, friends & family visit, and others get their stuff from eBay!
Some people collect the now famous shirts, jackets, shot glasses, hurricaine glasses, or like me...pins & chips. I am lucky enough to go to Viva Las Vegas a few times a year...so I get pins & chips whenever I go.
There are too many cities to collect from all...unless you have unlimited funds. In the old days, there were not as many choices for pins / designs. Today...there are too many to mention.
So, what can you do?
These are just my recommendations. If you just starting your collection or thinking about collecting...here are some ideas...
Hard Rock Pin Collecting 101 (for beginners.)
- Pick a city & collect just
from that city. Preferably, one you can get to...but, you can
also find them online & buy them without ever visiting that
location.
- Pick a theme...such as
holidays...my favorite being Valentines Day as I am obsessed with
hearts & many of them have cool heart designs. In that case,
I often buy heart designs from other cities if they are great designs.
Halloween, Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, etc. Some cities will
even commemorate a particular event taking place in that city.
- Pick a design...such as only those pins which have a guitar design.
- Pick a series of pins which have a common theme such as "Girls of Rock," but, come from many different cities.
- Pick only those pins that are limited to a certain number in the total production run. Some are limited to as few as 150 pins of one design. Some are limited to 1,000. I think in the future, they will be worth more.
- Pick staff only pins. These are usually more expensive & harder to get. You might have to "trade" one with an employee while you are there...so be sure to carry some cool pins with you.
- Pick
fake pins. Over time...I have met people who collect Hard Rock
pins that are actually fakes. They are from cities that don't
exist, or are not licensed. I am not saying to support that
industry, but if you are into collecting things that are different,
this would fall into different.
- Pick pin sets, preferably those
that come in a hinged velvet box. These are much harder to come
by & are very few & limited as most pins produced are packaged
in the little plastic bags. My favorite set is the one I got many
years ago in Vegas. There are 3 pins, a Jack / Queen /
King...each playing the guitar!
- Pick only error pins...but, there are actually very few. They might be expensive, but definitely more rare.
- Pick your pins after taking a
close look at them. If you have the chance to purchase them in
person...look at a few before you pick your pin...you will find that
there are a lot of flaws in them, not errors. (such as colors bleeding
into the next, specks of one color in another, etc.) Most people
do not look that closely, but if you have a detailed eye...it is worth
the few extra minutes.
- Most of all...Pick what makes you happy! You should only collect things that makes you happy.
So, ENJOY Collecting & Don't forget to look at your collection often! Display your pins on black material, velvet or in a frame. I have found that my collections are worth nothing when I just store them away in boxes & never look at them.
I am just starting to list some duplicates from my personal collection. Most of my pins come from Viva Las Vegas. Both the Hard Rock Cafe & The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. You can find more in my store. http://stores.ebay.com/PaCRatzCollectiblez_HARD-ROCK-Pin-Pins-Sets_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ8QQftidZ2QQtZkm http://stores.ebay.com/PaCRatzCollectiblez_HARD-ROCK-Collectibles-misc_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ9QQftidZ2QQtZkm If there is something you are looking from Vegas...please email me to see if I will be listing it.
Peace, PaCRat!
08/16/06
Thank You for taking the time to view this guide. If you have found this enjoyable, interesting or helpful...would you please vote 'Yes', so that it encourages me to keep writing & sharing information.
Guide created: 08/16/06 (updated 07/16/08)
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