Barbed Wire

The need for barbed wire emerged as a result of Western expansion, which increased tension and conflict between open-range-ranchers and farming homesteaders.

In the 1970’s, collecting barbed wire was the focus of the Barbed Wire Gazette, an international organization centering around the documentation, trading, selling, and collecting of barbed wire. People from all across the United States and Canada gathered at the Abilene Kansas Wire Show. The members in the organization would submit their stories, drawings, and questions to the Barbed Wire Gazette magazine.

In its heyday, collectors priced strands of barbed wire from 25 cents to upwards of $150.00. Values have since fallen to more reasonable levels, and barbed wire now appeals to decorators looking for new and different materials to work with.