By Maribeth Keane and Anne Galloway (Copyright Collectors Weekly 2009)

Tony Swicer is the president of the Palm Beach Coin Club, the vice president of Florida United Numismatists (FUN), and an avid collector of Kentucky bank notes. In this interview, he discusses the history of the regional banking system of the 19th and 20th centuries, the thrill of collecting his home-state notes, and the advantages of collecting currency over coins. Tony …

By Maribeth Keane and Jessica Lewis (Copyright 2009 The Collectors Weekly)

Jim Elyea co-runs History for Hire, a prop house in Hollywood, California, and has provided props for a variety of movies, television shows, and music videos. Recently, Jim spoke with us about the different types of props and the different eras that History for Hire covers, as well as the steps he takes to make sure an item or scene …

By Maribeth Keane and Jessica Lewis (Copyright 2009 The Collectors Weekly)

Scott Buckwald has been the prop master on a variety of popular movies and television programs, including Race to Witch Mountain and The Prestige. Recently, Buckwald spoke with us about his experiences as a prop master for AMC’s hit show Mad Men. He discussed what life was like in the early 1960s, when Mad Men takes place, and the lengths …

On a recent trip to Washington, D.C., I had the good fortune to speak with several curators from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. For a collectibles geek like myself, the experience was unparalleled, as I learned firsthand from the curators what they collect, why they collect, and what they hope to communicate to the floods of visitors who walk through their institution’s doors. In the coming months, …

By Maribeth Keane and Anne Galloway (Copyright Collectors Weekly 2009)

Rudy Franchi knows movie posters inside and out. That’s because he’s more than a poster dealer, more than an Antiques Roadshow appraiser, more even than a respected author on the subject. Franchi is also a film buff, as his years running the Bleecker Street Cinema in New York City attest. In this wide-ranging interview, Franchi talks about how he got his …

By Maribeth Keane and Jessica Lewis (Copyright 2009)

Dolph Gotelli is a professor emeritus of design at the University of California, Davis. Gotelli is well known in the Christmas community for his elaborate exhibits and seasonal displays, which feature items from his collections of ephemera, Santa Clauses, and Christmas-related toys. Recently, we spoke with Gotelli about Christmas in the Victorian era, which is his specialty and chief passion. A member of …