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
Related Internet Links
No comments:
Post a Comment