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Saturday, April 13, 2013

Rare Conan Coins: Part 1


I’m not sure who introduced me to coin collecting, but in my elementary school days I received several blue coin holders.  Family members contributed to this cause, and in time, I filled many of the slots in those cardboard folders, particularly for the less valuable currency, such as the Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, and Quarters.  For some reason, people seemed less inclined to part with their older Half-dollar and Dollar coins.  Go figure. 

At one point, we rented a house along a busy street.  During our stay there, thieves broke into our home twice, and my coin collection numbered among the items stolen.  After that, I lost interest in coin collecting.  What was the point of collecting old coins that you would never spend, but other people would inevitably steal?

Perhaps that’s one reason I started collecting books.  Through my beloved Fiction, I visited exotic worlds, had exciting adventures, and met fascinating people.  And no one ever stole my collection of paperbacks.


While reading “Conan The Barbarian” Vol. 1 Issue #39, I noticed this advertisement for three collectible coins.  Hallmark Minting Service offered these in 1974 for $2.50 each, plus 60 cents for postage and handling.  While that doesn’t sound like much in today’s money, Issue #39 sold for 25 cents, and Marvel had recently raised the cost of their comic books by a nickel.  In the letters column, “The Hyborian Page,” the editors explain that they had to raise the issue price to cover losses of several hundred thousand dollars due to the inflation, shortages, and the energy crises that resulted from the 1973 OPEC oil embargo. 

As most kids my age never had enough pocket money, I wondered how many readers actually sent off for one of those coins, when they could have used the money to purchase a year’s subscription to their favorite monthly Marvel mag.  Had I been reading comics in 1974, I doubt I would have saved up my allowance to procure one of those coins.  Evidently, not many of us did.  (Or if they did, they didn't take good care of them, and made them into belt buckles and other items as the ad suggested).  If I wanted to purchase one of those Conan coins today, it would cost in excess of three hundred dollars.

Isn’t it interesting how the things (and people) we ascribe little worth to today, sometimes dramatically increase in value later on? 

Dragon Dave

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