The Hawaii Collection & The Singer Collection
In any collectible field, there are a handful of sources of material that are of unusually high and outstanding quality. The quality of these items exceeds the remainder of available material to such a degree that examples from these sources are elevated within said collectible category. So far, Wata has recognized three such collections that demand a special status within the hobby: The Indiana Collection, The Carolina Collection, and The Atwood Collection.
Today, we are proud to recognize and share two new collections: The Hawaii Collection and The Singer Collection.
In 2005, The Hawaii Collection was discovered through an eBay listing. The lot faced a great deal of scrutiny and skepticism from the very small group of collectors that discussed it back when it was listed; it was from a seller with only three feedback, the listing contained only two photos, and it was plainly titled “Lot of New Nintendo Games.”
One of the early sealed collectors watching this auction, Mr. Singer stepped up and purchased the entire collection. Mr. Singer was a longtime “casual” collector of his favorite games: Zelda, Super Mario Bros., Rambo, Dragon Power, and others. To make the leap from casual collecting to buying an entire collection of this size was a large risk for him. In his words, “the Hawaii collection first appeared on eBay. I don’t recall seeing “vintage” or “sealed” in the titles as it did not come up in my normal saved searched and there was a very scant description. 12-15 days later, 42 boxes of Nintendo games showed up to my townhome.”
It turned out to be quite the find. It consisted of 1418 Sealed NES games, 88 Sealed Game Boy games, 6 NES Action Sets, 6 NES Power Sets, 8 Homework First NES locks, 2 NES Zappers, 1 Game Boy Power Adapter and 1 case of NES plastic game protectors. Although there were a few vintage store reseals included, with which he was understandably “devastated,” Mr. Singer had successfully purchased what remained of the old stock of a Hawaiian Nintendo distributor; 42 boxes of highly coveted Nintendo games in immaculate condition. This was and remains a particularly noteworthy find that while only a handful of longtime collectors may remember, is one that has gone down in the history books.
Over the ensuing years, Mr. Singer sold and traded many of the extras to fund his own phenomenal collection, which he continued to build. Because of this, many games from the Hawaii Collection are floating around, and some fortunate collectors may stumble upon them from time to time. Games from the collection can be easily recognized by two distinguishing stickers (and in a few cases only one sticker) present on every game. One of the stickers contains a catalog number, while the other contains the price. Since Wata’s inception, we have received and certified games from collections large and small that are a part of The Hawaii Collection.
In addition to The Hawaii Collection, we are also recognizing Mr. Singer’s curated collection, “The Singer Collection.” In receiving the largest known grouping of The Hawaii Collection, we are also recognizing the rest of the collection that Mr. Singer curated with his own named collection; several of the most historically significant games that we have received at Wata in the last few years arrived at once in Mr. Singer’s personal collection, yet are not a part of the Hawaii collection. For example, a Super Mario Bros. Hangtab, a “Left Bros.” Super Mario Bros. 3, and Wata’s first ever confirmed sealed copy of a “TM” Legend of Zelda (first print) were part of Mr. Singer’s collection but not from the Hawaii Collection.
Some items in the overall collection are “The Singer Collection,” while others from The Hawaii Collection that Mr. Singer submitted himself receive the dual designation of “The Singer Collection / The Hawaii Collection.” If any future games are submitted to Wata that are a part of The Hawaii Collection, they will receive the proper designation.
We have decided that both The Hawaii Collection, through its preservation and distribution by Mr. Singer over so many years, as well as The Singer Collection, have contributed to fueling the hobby we all love and share today. The importance and impact of collections like these on our community deserve recognition and documentation, and we are honored to preserve this wonderful and historically significant collection. We thank Mr. Singer for his contributions to our beloved hobby.
Please enjoy photos below of some of the certified games from this collection: