Gravel great for collecting and investing

The end of winter means the beginning of collecting for Jeff Horland of Britains Corner,Pa. Though the Philadelphia area had a mild winter with few snow and ice storms the suburban streets are strewn with gravel do to generous plowmen.

Unlike the city many suburban municipalities do not have street cleaning to collect the loose gravel that can be a hazard to children and pets. "It's just not in our budget so we rely on the residents to clean the street in front of their house," said Kimberly Caln, Township president in Britains Corner,Pa.

This is where the retired Horland comes in to not only clean the neighborhood but add to his ever growing gravel collection. "Honestly, cleaning is like the 2nd or 3rd reason for picking it up. I am a gravel collector and have been for almost 15 years."

When Horland began collecting gravel in 1994 the stone mixture went for twelve cents an ounce. In the time since then gravel has increased to twenty cents an ounce. "It's not silver, but I am able to make a living from it," said Horland.

Gravel is traded on the New York Commodities market and is currently listed at $0.197. Gravel hit an all-time high at $0.27 in 1996 when the Northeast experienced a severe blizzard.

"This is a collection I am very proud of and the buckets and buckets of gravel show that I not only like gravel but that I have a lot of it."