During his high school days in the early 1980s, Wayne Arnott would make his way to Bluenose Collectible after class to help the shop’s owner — also known as his father.
“I never thought I would work here,” said Arnott, the store’s manager. “I always thought, ‘Gee, this is my dad’s thing… That’s way too boring!’”
Fast forward to 1989, when his father gave him floor space to sell sports cards.
With over 30 years at the shop, he is now an expert on everything collectible — including stamps. He explains that when someone tells you they have a good Canadian stamp collection, ask if they have the Bluenose.
“If they don’t (have the Bluenose stamp) then they don’t have a good collection… they just think they do,” said Arnott.
The 1929 stamp sells for around $400 if it’s in mint condition. It was inspired by the famous 20th century Nova Scotian Bluenose ship that is also engraved on every dime.
“My father was a coin and stamp store – that is all he did,” said Arnott. “That’s why he called it Bluenose Collectible.”
Located in the Pointe-Claire Plaza since 1972, Bluenose Collectible now sells more than just coins and the Bluenose stamp. Tables at the shop’s entrance overflow with records, hockey cards and the collectible stuffed animals known as the Beanie Babies. The abundance of items and colours make the shop visible from the end of the plaza hall.
“Right in front of my cash right now is a four-foot by six-foot sheet of plexiglass,” said Arnott.
Not a part of the shop’s original look, the plexiglass shields act as an extra COVID-19 precaution. They were installed two weeks before Bluenose Collectible reopened on June 19 after the months-long closure.
“We’re definitely still down with our numbers,” said Arnott. “As I say to many customers, it’s not as bad as I thought it might be, but it’s not as good as I hoped.”
The store’s owner, 79-year-old Ross Arnott — also known as Ross the Boss — has not been to his store since the pandemic began.
He says he began collecting coins as a teenager.
“I was probably 17. I just liked (collecting),” said Ross Arnott. “I like meeting collectors… They always have new ideas and always find treasures.”
Roman coins are Ross Arnott’s favourite treasure. Their history interests him.
In 1964, he opened a coin and stamp shop located on Queen Mary Road. Three years later, Bluenose Collectible moved to Fairview Pointe-Claire.
“When my dad was in the middle of Fairview, I was, like, five,” said Wayne Arnott. “I would run around Fairview shopping centre and would come back an hour and a half later and go, ‘Hey dad, I’m alive!’ then run around again.”
Ross Arnott, then seeking expansion, made his second-to-final move. Bluenose Collectible rented space from Ted’s Hobby Shop at Plaza Pointe-Claire. The mall’s expansion in 1981 then allowed for Bluenose Collectible to have its own store. That was Wayne and Ross Arnott’s final move — they’ve been there since.
“It’s great,” said Peter Grant, owner of Ted’s Hobby Shop. “I like all the other merchants that are in the mall. We’re all in this together.”
Over the years, collectibles have been bought and sold at Bluenose Collectible but one of the things that remains the same is employee Reed Gilmore’s love for the shop. He’s been working there for 25 years, and is a sports card collector himself.
“It’s a fun job,” said Gilmore. “Every day is different. You see a lot of cool stuff come in.”
The shop’s walls are covered with collectible merchandise, like the autographed photo of Canadian hockey player Bobby Orr.
“My dad and I went to meet Bobby Orr,” said Wayne Arnott. “I’ve met Wayne Gretzky… met Maurice Richard… and was even in a headlock by Mike Tyson.”
Ross Arnott is proud that his son understands the passion and the business he’s been building all his life.
Now with a family of his own, Wayne Arnott is not certain if his daughter, 24, and son, 27, will follow in his footsteps.
“When I was their age I didn’t think I would do what my dad was doing,” he said. “So I don’t see them feeling any different.”
Wayne Arnott’s only concern for the future of collectibles is that he believes the young generation are minimalists who don’t appreciate the “old stuff.”
“They will get older and start to appreciate it,” he said. “Collectibles will never go away.”
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