I find it interesting how they handled the Collins' wealth through the various RT storylines.  Interestingly enough, being a history wonk, I find that what they show parallels how things progressed in society in the real world.

In Barnabas' time, Joshua is a wealthy shipbuilder, apparently with shipping interests in various parts of the world.  The connection with the West Indies makes me think of the song Molassses to Rum to Slaves from 1776 (in which Virginia Vestoff -- Samantha  in 1840 -- starred on Broadway).  The song WAS based on a truism of the time, and that trade was the basis of a LOT of the extreme wealth of the time.

1840s we have Quentin the head of the household as the Captain of what sounds like a Clipper Trade Ship, and the implication is that the family has a large fleet, and, though my memory is rusty on this, it sounds like they also have a major shipbuilding business.

The 1897 family is implied to have vast wealth.  They show Gilded age extravagance and its inferred even more by Edward being good friends with British nobility  - and you needed SERIOUS money to run in those circles in Victorian times.  This fits with a time when shipping and trade were at its height and anyone involved with them could increase even the biggest fortune many times over.

But then we come to 1966. This is a time when shipping is dying, planes are taking away most of the passenger trade and a lot of the cargo trade.  There has not been a big call for shipbuilding for many decades. The family business seems to consist mostly of a cannery.  We see Elizabeth is trying to keep Collins Enterprises afloat, and negotiating with the town to lower her property taxes on teh grounds that most of the property is unused.   A far cry from the family who had enough spare assets that Naomi';s jewels disappearing didn't even rate a hiccup on the family's style of living.

Anyone else have thoughts on this?