What constitutes a “great” sand? Surprisingly, Mr. Beck assures me that a “big name” sand may not be the one that brings the highest price at auction. Indeed, as I checked eBay, I discovered that the sales pitches were geared toward particular qualities of the sand in question, with little regard to the “name” of the location. One vial of sand from Iwo Jima had been bid up to $20.00 as I searched, but I did note that the description of the sand indicated that it had been a part of the owner’s collection since the landing on that beach during the war. That, apparently, was the key to its value. “Anyone can get sand from a famous beach,” Mr. Beck informed me. “That’s not a big deal. It is a big deal to get sand from a beach that’s closed to the public and that you have to hike half a day over rocks to get to. That’s where the best sand is.”
His most valuable sand? MrSand found that question impossible to answer. The value of the sand is in the eye (and wallet) of the collector. As with most collectibles, this is a case of “run it up the flagpole and see who writes the biggest check.” His favorite sample was easier to identify. He smiled and held up a small bottle. "I walked miles over the worst rocks to get this." The beach in question had no name, lying as it did within the perimeter of a government military installation. "It wasn't easy to get in there," he explained quietly, a conspiratorial sparkle in his eye, "so I'm pretty sure not too many other people will have a sample like this one."
Be a Stand-Out
Sand collectors tend to specialize. A complete set of the sand from every beach in one particular geographic area may be worth far more than the solitary baggie scooped up from the beach where Columbus first planted his feet (unless, of course, it was Columbus who collected the sample). The beaches with big parking lots and on-site bars and souvenir shops are, generally speaking, not particularly collectible. Samples from those locations may fill out a collection of “Sands of Massachusetts,” but they will not be the centerpieces. The truly exciting finds are the sands from tiny spits of land which require half a day’s hike beyond the end of the last beach past the final rock pile around the hook from the place no one has ever seen before. If the sample cost you a pair of hiking boots and a few bumps and scrapes (or a potential arrest for trespassing on a top-secret government installation), so much the better when marketing time arrives.