Some collectors are born rather than made, and Tim Hughes illustrates this well. As a schoolboy in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, he dabbled in old radios, bottles and books, visiting endless auctions, “yard sales” and flea markets. Then, 32 years ago, at an antique show in Philadelphia, he saw a newspaper that had been published in the city in 1826 and was fascinated.

“It cost only $3,” he recalls. “I knew an 1826 coin would cost at least $50, so it was terrific value. After all, with a newspaper you get a half hour’s interesting reading, while with a coin you just get a little chunk of metal and a date.”