Would you pay $600 for a dog collar?

Dog collars have been used since the pre-dynastic era, and by the time of the Egyptians, collaring and leashing was standard. We would regard many of these collars (even the ones less than 75 years old) as works as works of art.

We’re betting that somebody will fork over $600 to own the antique spiked iron dog collar seen above and on sale at Ebay at the time of this writing. Antique dog collars are popular collectables, and surprisingly expensive if the collar is old, annotated or documented. They’re of such interest that there is a Dog Collar Museum located in Leeds Castle in Kent, England. The oldest piece dates back to the late 15th century (a Spanish iron herd mastiff’s collar), but there are other collars that range from 15th century German spiked iron collars to ornate gilt collars of the Baroque period.Recently, 30 collars discovered in storage and never before seen on display have been added to the Leeds Collection. It probably goes without saying that the older the collar, the more apt it was to have been worn by a purebred dog since “curs” weren’t regarded as worth the expense.