Another Christmas is behind us, at least for adults. Children are altogether different. For a child, the magic of finding that special gift on Christmas is always unforgettable. Of course, as adults should know, the most popular “fad” presents change and fade from year to year.
In 1996, lunacy surrounded the toy “Tickle Me Elmo” – a Sesame Street character doll that giggled and shook when activated. The price for Elmo that year was $30. That’s before parental madness set in. The rush was on. Elmos leapt from store shelves. Prices skyrocketed. Similar to the Cabbage Patch Kids craze of 1983, when riots broke out in toy stores as adults fought to snag one, the 1996 Elmo madness sent fists flying and prices soaring....
I was lucky enough to accidentally spot one in a store as an employee was putting it out. I bought it for $30. I contacted a radio personality I knew to see if he would like to offer it on the air for charity. He did. It brought $1,100. That’s peanuts compared to one auctioned that year on a Los Angeles radio station. It brought – I’m not making this up – a whopping $18,500. The sad irony?...today, a mint-in-box Elmo might bring around $50.
If there’s a moral that can also be a New Year’s resolution it would be to avoid spending fortunes on fads – particularly when it comes to collecting. Of course, sometimes that’s hard to recognize.
It’s actually happening right now. Target stores have been selling a metal beverage mug made by the Stanley company. It costs $45. But, wait! A pink or red one made for this Valentine’s Day has become the latest craze. Hordes of buyers have invaded the stores cleaning out inventories. Online, the mugs are commanding over $250.
Considering we are constantly bombarded with ads and come-ons on TV and in print for “rare,” “scarce” or “limited” collectibles be they shiny commemorative coins or sports mementos, it’s hard to discern what to snag and what to ignore. In the next year its guaranteed to get trickier.
This year, 2024, is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Winston Churchill. Next January will be the 60th anniversary of his death. While there are certainly many fans of the former wartime British Prime Minister in the US, in Britain, his fame remains larger-than-life.
A visit to any gift shop in England reveals legions of Churchillian collectibles from statuettes and cigar ashtrays to coffee/tea mugs in the shape of his head to brandy snifters and books filled with his witticisms. For the anniversaries, a variety of colorful commemorative stamps and even a new two-pound coin bearing his image is being released by Britain and its colonies.
Those won’t hold a candle to the expected onslaught of collectible items to flood the US market in just two years. In 2026, it will be the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States and our full separation from Great Britain. Those old enough to remember the deluge of items produced to celebrate our bicentennial in 1976 will know what to expect. Considering the United States is arguably the longest lasting democracy in history, commemorations and collectibles for our quarter-millennium anniversary will be epic. But, what of value?
It may be easy to dismiss many tchotchkes such as porcelain Liberty Bells or statuettes of George Washington as valueless. (They are.) But such items will be the tip of the iceberg.
Our bicentennial was when the Postal Service issued multiple commemorative stamps and sheets – quite a few of which became viable and valuable collector items. The US Mint and Bureau of Engraving and Printing however, took the prize by issuing the first “new” design on a circulating quarter since 1932; a redesigned Kennedy half dollar; a new full-size Eisenhower dollar; and a two-dollar bill featuring an image of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. None of these were catapulted into extreme collector value, but variations of them soared in value when discovered.
Artisans in the government are already crafting designs for commemorative stamps, coins and more before our big Semiquincentennial. Get ready for the onslaught. Those planning to strike it rich with some of the upcoming offerings would be wise to remember what Churchill said: “Success is not final; failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts!” With that in mind, I’ll do my best to sift through many of the imminent “collectible” items and give my two-cents.
For more collecting information and advice, log on to: http://prexford.com/.