Born in 1956 Steffen Gerdes has always considered himself a collector . Before Disney items he collected comics. After he married his wife Helle in 1987 the couple had a coin toss whether the current Beetle Bailey collection would grow or her Donald Duck collection. Donald won the toss which later landed Steffen a Guinness World Record for largest Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse Collection. While the Mickey Record was short lived he still holds the Record for Donald Duck.
A Guinness world record is a amazing achievement for any collector, so I was really excited to hear about the steps and what it was like. Steffen was encouraged by his daughter to go for the record. After counting every piece in his collection he received and filled out the required paper work. He then had to have two upstanding members of the community come see his collection and sign the papers also saying his claim was true. Along with the paperwork he also had to take pictures of the collection and the Witnesses that also signed the papers. Though he was informed it would be a month and a half to go through all the paper work he didn't receive a response for nine long months. The response was his well deserved certificates.
The amazing collection is now 19,324 pieces total. 3,983 items in which are / include Donald Duck and 7,579 include Mickey. Among which are two antique wooden Pluto toys one by Danish Lego and one by Swedish Brio and Danish No. 1 Magazine are just a few favorites on his list. When asked if he has a grail piece he replied "
If I should have a grail, it could be Scrooge' no. 1, the seated Liberty dime from 1875 from the 3 different american mints. That would be nice (and fun) to have."
In 1997 he participated in a exhibition where he displayed some of his collection . During this time he met and made friends with two other collectors. When all three participated the next year they met up again and later in the year decided to start a collectors club calling themselves "Bornholm Collectors". The club started with 20 members and now has between 65 and 70 members that meets four times a year . They continue to gain members by word of mouth and at the exhibitions the club holds themselves.
Steffen's collection revolves around the characters of Duckburg, and Mickey Mouse and friends. Currently residing in a former farm house, outside
Østermarie, a small town on the Danish Island of Bornholm. 200 m2 (200 square meters) is currently covered with collectibles with every space used. Mr. Gerdes hopes to always have something he will miss in his collection so it will never be complete and always hold the fun of collecting. With accomplishments like world records possibilities are endless.
Feel free to check out these links to learn more about Steffen and his club.
Steffen's Home page
Bornholms Collectors Home Page
QOTD: Have you ever Displayed your collection for the public?
