I have often written about areas for new collectors to pursue. Some topics, such as jacquard coverlets, remain bargains, albeit with prices that are slowly ticking upward. Other areas, like Empire furniture, remain flat as the proverbial pancake. One topic that I do think could be explored by a young collector is early wrought iron, brass and copper. The other weekend, I was out exploring shops and came across a wooden barrel full of wrought iron forks, spatulas, skimmers and the like. They were priced around $35 each, and one could have easily assembled a nice grouping. More to the point, the iron was early, with most of it dating from the first quarter of the 19th century and thus a nice period discovery. A week later, my wife and I purchased a hammered copper teakettle marked by the maker, who was one of her ancestors, for a price that was one-third of what one would have paid 20 years ago. Metalwork is a great topic for a collector to consider. The forms and metals are amazing, from pewter plates to copper flagons. One can chase after beautifully engraved or wriggle worked surfaces or equally striking and dramatic forms like gooseneck kettles. If you like New England items, they are as different as night and day from examples made in Pennsylvania. Therefore, you can collect items that can be attributed to makers working within a few miles of your home. There are great reference books, and I particularly recommend Jeanette Lasanskys must-read books on tin and wrought iron from southcentral Pennsylvania as well Don Fennimores beautiful and exhaustive studies of the metal collections at Winterthur. Finally, I would offer that tin is still one of the best bargains in the antiques world. Cookie cutters that have an aesthetic and funtional value are real bargains to collect. Some bring big money, but it is still possible to find early examples for very little money if you know what to look for. Moreover, in between, there are tons of cookie cutters that can be purchased and just used in your kitchen. We have three baskets full of them in our house. Another note to encourage the collecting of early metal is that they generally require little conservation. Keeping them clean, dry and rust-free may be all that you need to do in order to preserve a collection of iron or tin. Patinated pieces like pewter and copper often should be left in their original crusty condition. Why? Because if a piece is damaged and repaired or restored, one of the best ways to mask that change is by polishing the entire piece after the work is finished. As such, collectors are highly skeptical of polished metals, preferring examples in original and crusty old finishes. So, consider taking that budding collector out and starting them on a collection of early metals. Born to collect should be the motto of Peter Seiberts family. Raised in Central Pennsylvania, Seibert has been collecting and writing about antiques for more than three decades. By day, he is a museum director and has worked in Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Virginia and New Mexico. In addition, he advises and consults with auction houses throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, particularly about American furniture and decorative arts. Seiberts writings include books on photography, American fraternal societies and paintings. He and his family are restoring a 1905 arts and crafts house filled with years worth antique treasures found in shops, co-ops and at auctions.