In May of 1999 Byron T. Watts put out an ITSA top newsletter. This is one of the items Dick sent me. It included some instructions (spinstruction), information about peg tops, how to get started spinning and collecting. Here is the section about top collecting. It sure makes us appreciate how life has changed thanks to the internet and forums like buttons and string, topspinning.com and itopspin:
Top Collecting (where did all the spinning tops go?)
Each of our experiences in top collecting varies. It has been difficult for me to find spinning tops where I live in the Midwest, USA. I've dug through antique stores for an occasional glimpse of marginal quality spinning tops. One I bought was stashed away with some fishing bobbers. Others are very similar to the ones I already have. Some simply aren't that interesting to me. Since 1996, I've scanned eBay for spinning tops. I have purchased several spinning tops from antique dealers there. But internet auctions aren't for the naive, or the squeamish.
Do you have some neat spinning tops in your collection? How about letting others know about them. Perhaps you'd consider writing a brief article to be included in a future ITSA Newsletter.