Loz mate, I've moved around so much during my life that I've never managed to hang on to progs for long, but back in the late 80's i used to hang around outside shops in the morning, waiting for them to open, so I could get the latest. Actually I even managed to get some of them in Thailand wich was no mean feat (because it was fcuk all like it is now btw, and although superficially similar to that film "The Beach", as I was there, at that time, in fact the whole country was running pretty much purely on goodwill and patience, because there was precious little reliable organisation to be found!).
But I feel your pain. Personally I don't rate the artwork in the early progs, but there's an energy to the stories, a peculiarly British-yet-World-Citizen iconoclasm that was mainly lost on me back then, as I'd not had the money to become jaded by Marvel et al beforehand, nevermind the intellectual requisites. Even disregarding their cash value, I'd love to have a flick through 1-100 again. Your mum should have here ornaments, or whatever knick-knacks she keeps, summarily binned!