The difference between collecting and hoarding is the obsession and intensity of the collecting. A hoarder collects over a long period of time, and becomes emotionally attached to every item they have even if they didn't know they had it. It is sort of like a fear of not having a lot of things. A collector will collect a lot of one type of thing whether it be stamps, quarters, etc. Even if the subject of the collection is a broad one it doesn't become their whole life like it would for a hoarder. There is typically a reason for a collector to do what he does, a hoarder has less of a passion for the collecting and more of an unknown need to have the items for no use. I don't personally have any collections, but if I were to have one it would be one of firearms because they interest me a lot. The interest derives from the ability to use them and maintain them, not so much the desire to just have them. It also would help me learn about them and the reasons they work and look the way they do.
Collecting
Hoarding
Hoarding can also be considered a serious problem and in some cases hazardous. Families have had to move out our even tear down their house because the health risks were too great. A collector's collection doesn't take over their life to this extent.
This link describes the difference pretty well:
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