So, I am sitting in an airport terminal waiting for a long afternoon flight back to Wyoming. When I am in such boring predicaments, I will often think to myself what would I do if I had $100,000 in free and discretionary money to spend only on antiques. What would I do? This is one of those fun games to play that sadly most of us will never convert to reality. Still, its fun to play. I end up usually with three big scenarios in my mind. First, would I blow the whole amount on one truly magnificent painting? Now $100,000 will not get you a Warhol or a da Vinci, but it would get you a pretty nice regionalist painting. Perhaps I would seek out the best of the Weber or Smith families of artists from Philadelphia, a work that would hang on the wall, and I could watch it reveal itself to me by the light of sunset or a cold winter dawn. The second dream would be to acquire really solid untouched examples of a Lancaster or Harrisburg tall-case eight-day brass dial clock, a still-life by John Francis from the mid-19th century, and maybe a pair of really nice three shell Philadelphia Chippendale chairs. A small, but impressive collection of really solid blue ribbon antiques. The third scenario would be to use the money to acquire a collection of 20th-century decorative arts. It would be a collection of reasonably high quality works that would take a lifetime to acquire on a limited budget, but with the right money could be done very fast, something like Colorado Van Briggle art pottery or Rookwood pottery figurals. Maybe some top end southern pottery by Lanier Meeders and his family. Or one of my darkest desires is to assemble a great study collection of 20th-century craft revival decorative arts reflecting a Pennsylvania German aesthetic. This is a topic that a few others and I see as truly fertile ground for collecting. Few people understand it, and folk art snobs see it only as revival craft. And yet, these items often were constructed with the same tools and techniques as the period pieces. Available for relatively small amounts, one could assemble a world-class collection for $100,000 that probably any museum would be envious of. The $100,000 game is great fun to play. For me, it represents the challenge of quality or quantity, age compared to comprehensiveness. And while I doubt that windfall would occur for me, you never really know! Perhaps that long lost aunt will send me her fortune, the kids college and the mortgage will be paid, and out of it will come that chance for just one small indulgence. Peter Seibert, a native Pennsylvanian, grew up in the antiques business and remains closely tied to auction houses, collectors, and dealers. Professionally, he has served as a museum director and public historian in Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Virginia, and Wyoming. He holds a Master of Arts in American Studies from Penn State and has authored two books and numerous articles on decorative arts, interior design, and history