If you’re gonna collect something, this is a lot cheaper option than Pokémon cards.
Barnaby Wickham, of Baltimore, tells The Associated Press that he picks up lost hubcaps he’s found while out on bike rides around the city.
The collection began in 2024 and has now reached over 700 pieces.
“I think it’s sort of the excitement of the hunt, for one thing,” Wickham says. “I love to cycle. I love Baltimore. I love to go out in Baltimore, and there’s just enough hubcaps and other things like car grills to be interesting, but not so many that it’s too easy.”
Not content to just collect hubcaps, Wickham also uses them to create art, including a 16-foot-tall Snoopy head.
“It’s all held together with zip ties,” Wickham said. “Hubcaps are filled with slots or holes, and so it’s easy to get a hold of them to hold them in place.”
Wickham’s collection has also surpassed just Baltimore — he brought a hubcap home from a trip to Rome.
“I was like, oh, I collect these. I’m just going to take this back with me,” Wickham remembers telling his tour guide when picking up the Roman hubcap. “I showed her a photo of the wreath, and she was like: ‘Oh, OK.’ Whenever anyone hears about it and understands it, they’re onboard.”