I’m both young and old enough to remember the magic of Christmas. Most of us are. We’re young enough to remember the excitement of waking Christmas morning to the smell of evergreen, the gathering of family, and the thrill of what Santa might have left. We also need to be old enough to appreciate the unbridled joy in others – usually that of those quite a bit younger.
My recollection is that the allure and wonder of Christmas isn’t just on December 25. It extends well into the new year. That’s when, the dreams of children are anything but dreams. And, those dreams become harbingers of what we were convinced would become reality in the coming year.
Consider receiving a favorite toy such as a bike – or, today, perhaps a drone. It wouldn’t be just enjoyed on Christmas. The idea of playing with it throughout the year is key. That’s particularly the case for collectibles such as coins, stamps, currency, baseball cards and more. The thrill extends well past Christmas morning. Imaginations run wild dreaming of what waits to be found....
To that end, there is still time to acquire items that can spark a child’s concept of “what if.” For instance, a decades-old staple has been the series of “Whitman Blue Books.” Those are the tri-fold holders with holes the perfect size of the coin it’s slated to hold. Naturally, penny albums have been the “beta” because kids can access piles of those and affordably find the correctly dated coins to fill the holes. Truly, there’s nothing like the feeling and satisfaction of completing a set or album.
Those coin folders are manufactured to fit every coin variety. Pennies, nickels and dimes are the norm. Or, bigger. I was once asked to liquidate a massive collection of coins and stamps. It included a stack of those albums. Most would pass them off as “kid stuff.” Imagine my astonishment when mixed in among the low-denomination albums I picked up a heavy one containing all gleaming $20 gold pieces. (The combined value of those coins alone was north of $60,000.)
The key is to start small. That puts it in the reach of kids. The folders designed for Lincoln pennies issued from 1909 to the present day are about $6.00 each. Larger, nicely bound albums with special plastic holders runs about $30. For a child, the prospect of filling all the holes, some with potentially valuable coins, is epic. Again, the things of which dreams are made.
The natural question is “where might one find older coins to fill the albums?” Such coins rarely turn up in pocket change. Here’s a viable option to jump start the process. Imagine how many relatives everyone has who have envelopes and/or jars of old pennies, nickels, etc., lying around in drawers or cabinets. Some would surely be happy to relinquish those to help foster a youngster’s eager collecting (and imagination).
While a noble aspect of collecting is the intrigue of history, for children (and adults) it has also been the potential value. Growing up, I didn’t know of a kid who didn’t dream of finding a lowly coin or stamp worth thousands of dollars. Certainly, the many ads promoting such rarities in comic books or issues of Popular Mechanics stoked that imagination.
Some might think those days are past. In fairness, finding pennies from the early 1900s in pocket change is a stretch. Most from before 1950 have long been removed. But, what of pennies issued since then. The number of error coins minted in the past few decades is huge. Many of those accidental anomalies are subtle but very valuable – some worth hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Condition is also a major factor for coins from all eras. Say Aunt Jenny offers your child a jar of old pennies. Most will be ordinary including, say, a cent from 1928. Its value is not outrageous – worth may be a buck. Yet, that same coin in Mint State-63 condition climbs to $80. Better still, if the color of that copper coin is still red instead of aged brown, the value soars to $1,000.
The fact is, nary a kid doesn’t dream of finding and owning treasure – on Christmas or throughout the year. Maybe that’s one of the things that make the holidays “rich.” Inexpensive albums, price guides and books that can cultivate those ambitions can be found at larger local bookstores or directly from one publisher at www.Whitman.com.
For more collecting information and advice, log on to: http://prexford.com/.