Hi Victor,

I too was wondering about that some time ago and the best info I could come up with was......

A collector of matchbooks is likely to have quite a few, easily numbering into the thousands. In those quantitites it is a danger to store the flammable items. Add to that the issues with decomposing match heads (some do), which can leave an oily residue on the covers, or powdery residue which can lead to abrasion.

Collectors (big time collectors) also remove the matches to allow for ease of storage and in some cases, display. If a matchbook cover is folded open and mounted that way, then it does not risk additional damage by opening and closing. Bear in mind that for some collectors, dings, creases and other marks (just like on sports cards) can greatly diminish the value. In fact, there is a marked (pardon the pun) decrease in value if the strike has been used, even once, even my a match from another book! Where as the value is not diminished if matches are missing. Of course the fact that matchbook covers are as collectible as matchbooks may have something to do with that. And lets not forget that match combs (and the staples used to keep them in-place) are very, very generic and can easily be removed and replaced. (We are not alone in the undetectable repair racket.)

The only time that the presence of the matches becomes important is when they are picture matches, and if even one is missing, it greatly reduces the value.

Lastly, when storing great quantities of matches, with the match combs in, there is a risk that the uneven surface of the match heads (which are pretty hard) will deform the cover when the matchbooks are bundled together.

But since I only have casino matches, and they do not number in the thousands, I too prefer them to have the matches in. I store mine in zip-locks baggies and plastic grocery bags and keep those bags in a cardboard shoe box. The box in now full (I may have to upgrade to a boot box, or buy another pair of shoes) and although this is rather un-organized, I'm glad to have them.

I sure wish I had Mark's Pioneer Club/Gold Strike Inn. I did not know of a relationship between the two.

Jim Follis