As happens every year right about now, I’m having difficulty digesting signs announcing “Back To School” in stores. It’s barely the end of July. When do kids get to enjoy summer? In fairness, I do understand some schools begin way earlier than in the past. Particularly for kids who have football practice, going back early is now the norm. (That being said, there’s no way I can wrap my head around Halloween merchandise now appearing on shelves. C’mon!)
I’m of the mind that, particularly for kids, summer should be summer. The new Toy Story 5 movie in theaters underscores that with the sad but true premise that digital media has all but usurped familiar summer pastimes for kids such as pick-up baseball games or coin, stamp and card collecting....
For now, collecting Pokemon cards has supplanted that of baseball cards. A few Pokemon cards are temporarily worth a small fortune. Will that last? Doubtful. Of course, time will tell.
While collecting newer baseball cards may have waned and values dropped, it clearly hasn’t for the classic ones. A vintage Mickey Mantle rookie card from the 1950s still commands prices between $50,000 and $3 million. A few weeks ago, a family put a baseball card it had held onto for over a half-century up for private sale. It was a Honus Wagner card from 1910/11. Wagner cards are the Holy Grails of baseball cards due to their rarity.
Back in 1910/11 when the Wagner card was issued, baseball cards didn’t come in packs with gum. Rather, they were attached to the back of American Tobacco Company cigarette packs. A non-smoker, Wagner didn’t like the connection. He didn’t want young kids to have to buy cigarettes to get a card with his image. He demanded all cards depicting him be recalled and destroyed. Most were. Naturally, a few got out. Those cards are now rarer than rare. The newly discovered Wagner card that just sold in less than perfect condition still brought a record $7.25 million.
These are the kind of things kids still dream about whilst sitting around on long, hot summer afternoons. As I mentioned in my column last week, children’s wheels always are turning trying to formulate ways to make or find a fortune. One of those possible for all is discovering a coin with a rare date or a subtle error. Such prospects get the minds of kids churning.
I mention this because in those myriad coin designs there have been some valuable anomalies – the kind kids would not only delight in finding but can definitely cash in on.
For instance, one of the 2004 quarters honored Wisconsin. In the design, icons related to the state were a cow, a wheel of cheese and a corn stalk with several leaves. After the issuances, an eagle-eyed collector noticed one of the quarters with an extra leaf on the corn stalk. Other examples turned up. Word got out and collectors began looking. More were found – enough to raise questions…and values.
Just how the irregularity came about is still a mystery. Nevertheless, today collectors pay upwards of $500 for one of those extra leaf special quarters. More are surely out there waiting to be found.
There is another oddity with a quarter saluting Minnesota issued in 2005. It has an extra tree in the design making that variety worth hundreds more than its face value. I’m sure that’s more than a kid can make mowing a lawn in the hot summer sun.
This year, kids have the chance to search their change for the new Semiquincentennial nickel, dime and six new quarters. A special half dollar has also been struck. The Mint lists it as a “circulating coin” though it is doubtful they will ever show up in cash drawers or pocket change.
The same is true with a just announced golden-colored dollar coin bearing the portrait of President Donald Trump – an issuance supposedly prohibited by law. Doesn’t matter. It too won’t see circulation but will be sold at a premium price.
In the end, 2026 could be a great year to search change for many of the new coins. Alternately, armchair collectors can simply obtain them all in uncirculated or proof condition directly from the Mint at www.USMint.gov. Of course, much of the fun and satisfaction of collecting will always be stumbling across something rare and unexpected. For proof, ask the family that found and sold the Honus Wagner baseball card.
For more collecting stories and advice, log on to: http://prexford.com/.