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Mike Call of Nevada is a barbed wire
aficionado and a member of the Antique
Barbed Wire Society and the California
Barbed Wire Collectors Association.
Collectors share their fascination with
barbedwire, and the history it represents, at
gatherings such as the Western Collectibles
show, sponsored by the California Barbed
Wire Collectors Association and this year
to be held in Minden, Nevada.
“The whole idea is to bring back history,”
Call said: “We want to keep people
interested in history.” Call first became
interested in barbed wire after seeing a
small collection at a state fair in 1969. He
bought a book about it, and his passion
“Took off from there.”
Barbed wire was first patented in the mid-
1800s. Over 1,000 barbed wire types were
patented, but even more were made
without patents. “There are some rare
pieces out there that are just absolutely
beautiful,” Call said. “I never cut a
farmer’s fence. I always walk the fence
long enough that I can find a piece.”
When barbed wire was first patented it
was sold by the pound rather than by the
foot, so the goal was to make wire strands
that were both light and effective. Wires
with elaborate and heavy barb patterns
were unpopular, due to their cost, but
these short-lived patterns are the most
coveted by collectors.
Call has never traveled overseas to
collect, but an uncle once brought back
pieces from Italy and Germany. Call
commented: “He had a hard time getting
that briefcase on the airplane.”
History goes
to the wire
Thomas J Barnes patent 1907.
Photograph courtesy of
collectorsweekly.comwiredInUSA - April 2017
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