Largest collection of Converse sneakers: Penny Gold sets world record Lake Mary, Fla., USA -- Retired third grade school teacher, Penny Gold, 63, owns 733 different pairs of Converse low-top and high-top sneakers - setting the new world record for the Largest collection of Converse sneakers, according to World Record Academy (www.worldrecordacademy.com). Photo: Penny Gold, of Lake Mary surrounded by 733 pairs of Converse sneakers, The World's Largest Collection of Converse Sneakers. Photo courtesy Penny Gold (enlarge photo)
The Guinness world record for the largest collection of Converse shoes belongs to Joshua Mueller of Lakewood, United States, with 403 different pairs of Converse shoes.
Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the most expensive pair of sneakers, set by a pair of high-top Nike Dunks dipped in 18-garat gold as part of a fashion show in New York, USA. Five pairs were made, costing $4,053. each.
Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the most people dressed as Robin Hood: 1,119 at Castle Green, Nottingham, UK.
Gold reportedly grew up wearing Converse sneakers in Brooklyn, N.Y. She and her husband, Barry, moved to Florida 20 years ago, when she began to collect the shoes, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
The shoes vary in appearance. There's sparkly, colorful, and clear. Some have comic book characters, band names, and then there are those that get plain outrageous.
Gold has pairs ranging from music-themed sneakers featuring Metallica and the Doors to comic-style Chucks with Batman and Robin on them to ones with a red-and-white tablecloth design and a 3-D fried egg on them. Her prized pair is designed with a map of the New York City subway system on them that shows the stops where she used to get on and off while attending Baruch College.
Photo: Penny Gold's closet boasts the world's largest collection of Converse sneakers. Photo courtesy of Penny Gold. (enlarge photo)
Gold reportedly visits Converse outlets regularly in Central Florida, where the employees know her by name and set aside the most unusual pairs for her collection, the paper added.
Every pair she has purchased has been done in person, as she has not bought any off eBay.
She admits some just aren't her taste. "I like the colorful ones, but some of them are a little outrageous."
Gold spends up to $20 a pair. Right now, she has 733. That's nearly $15,000 on shoes. Still, her husband doesn't seem to mind."We're married 40 years, I have no choice," says Barry Gold.
