I think paramedicpete is spot on with this sentence.
I remember how one teacher at high school told us once the theory why men tend to collect various things.
Men were once hunters and and basically remained to this day. We just hunt something else now. The satisfaction from the succesful hunt is what drives us to collect various things - stamps, knives, gear etc. It's not so much about the collection, it's about the hunt for the new thing.