POSTERS AND BEATLES MEMORABILIA

            Many readers have had questions about their Princess Diana Beanie Baby. Let me clarify something.  The Princess Di dolls that have fetched up to several hundred thousands of dollars are the dolls that have a heart sewn to the doll. These are rare but still there are many that exist. The red heart tag needs to be in mint condition, preferably in a protector.  The doll also needs to be made in China and kept out of the sun. If your doll has met these criteria’s, then you have then you have reason to be optimistic   If you want, you can contact me for further clarifications regarding these Princess Diana Beanie Babies.

            I did mention in a previous post that there are some collectibles that have risen in value through the years. One such type of collectible is vintage travel posters. They have become very popular since the 1980s. Ski posters are at the top of the list. Collectors are attracted by the nostalgia for years gone by, when travel offered adventure and excitement. Airlines posters as well as those of rail companies and cruise lines enticed people to get away. Travel posters also bring back thoughts of places to which people shared memories when they were younger.

            Art and sport posters are also extremely popular.  Posters of vintage sports teams and players can be very valuable. In addition, posters from Olympic games are extremely desirable.

            Movie posters and lobby cards are very collectible. I will discuss movie posters in a later column, but keep in mind that condition and rarity are critical when determining the value of a movie poster. The popularity of the movie can be a big help also.

            I will give you an example. In my museum I own a 27” x 41” poster of the 1942 movie “Casablanca”. Some of you may know that the original name of the movie produced by Warner Brothers was “Everyone Comes to Rick’s”. The name was changed to “Casablanca” because the movie came out during World War ll when war movies were popular, and the Moroccan city of Casablanca played a prominent role for those wishing to depart from North Africa.

            My “Casablanca” poster has more than tripled in value since I purchased it several years ago.  Only about 25-35 copies are known to exist.  It also does not hurt that the American Film Institute rated “Casablanca” in 1998 as the second best film of all time, trailing only “Citizen Kane”.

            Let me point out that a movie poster needs to be from the earliest release of the movie, not a poster that is a reprint, to be valuable.  There have been plenty of replica “Casablanca” posters, many from the late 1940s. 

            By the way, you might be wondering about lobby cards.  Lobby cards, which usually measured 11” x 14”, came in a set of eight, and were displayed in theaters until the late 1970s. The most valuable of each set was the first card, called the title card. 

            Many of you reading this column may have a movie poster from “A Hard Day’s Night” or from “Help!”.

            Of course, most of us know that the stars of those movies from the 1960s were the Beatles.  An original poster from those movies are worth a few hundred dollars, depending on condition. Not too bad if you have one.

            But almost any original Beatles item is worth a lot.  Hopefully, you saved what you had. The list of Beatles items can go on and on, but include tickets, buttons, programs, albums, vinyl 45s, lunch boxes (with a thermos), wigs, and even record players. Just a note on the vinyl records. In the United States you could buy a 45 record, and it would have an A and a B side. In England, up until the 1970s, you could buy a 45 EP (Extended Play), which has four songs.  For example, on one of my EPs, there are the Beatles songs of From “Me to You”, “Thank You Girl”, “Please Please Me”, and “Love Me Do”.  The English company Parlophone realized that it could make more money by merely having two songs, not four, on their 45s.  Beatles items would sell no matter what, unless one of the Fab Four would make such an idiotic remark that the group was more popular than Jesus.  Remember that?  But after a brief lapse of time, sales picked up again. 

            I will talk more about Beatles memorabilia in another column. Look in your record collection to see if you have the “Yesterday and Today” album.  Does it have the original cover of the Beatles dressed in butcher frocks? If so, it is valuable. There was so much of a public outcry when Capital Records first distributed the album, due to the cover, that as many copies as possible were recalled. A new cover was attached. The original “Butcher cover” albums are valuable, whether the album is in mono or stereo. 

 

More Declining Collectibles

               At the conclusion of my last blog post, I made mention about Beanie Babies. Yes, those cute little stuffed animals that everyone seemed to want, and have, in the 1990s.

                Even parents wanted to get in on the Beanie Babies craze, knowing that if they held on to them long enough that they would eventually be worth a fortune down the road. Especially the Brittania Bear, which could fetch several thousand dollars at one time.  But times changed.

                You can imagine what happened. And you would be right. The Beanie Babies became so wildly popular that Ty, the manufacturer, produced more and more. Crash. The market became saturated with those adorable Beanie Babies.

                Most of the stuffed animals can be bought for a few dollars, or even less. Even the Brittania Bear can be bought for about $10. However, you might want to take an inventory of what you have before you donate your Beanie Babies to a charity or hold a garage sale. You still may be possessing a goldmine.

                If you really are unsure of what you have, do yourself a favor. Look to see if you have a Princess Diana bear. In the unlikely event that you have one, it is okay to scream with joy. They are worth several hundred thousands of dollars. But you might want to cash out fast before someone finds that they have a boxload of them.

                Supply and demand. The more Beanie Babies that were made, their price went down. The same held true with Cabbage Patch Kids dolls.

                The Cabbage Patch Kids actually were first introduced in the 1970s. However, once Coleco bought the brand in the 1980s the dolls became incredibly popular.

                Some dolls sold for as much as $1,000, but most went for about $25. However, as with the Beanie Babies, their fate was sealed when more were produced to meet the ongoing demand. You can now purchase most Cabbage Patch Dolls today for $10 or less. If you own any of those dolls, my advice is to hold on to them and give them to your grandchildren. They really are cute.

                Another category of collectibles that has lost its luster is Coke memorabilia. During the 1940s and 1950s, there was an outpour of people buying Coca-Cola items. Coke brand merchandise was everywhere. And they were selling. Coke brand items included television trays, radios, coolers, clocks, miniature cars, plastic containers, and much more.

                Through the years, Coke vending machines have maintained value, but most items have not. If you are one of the millions of Americans who own Coca-Cola items, you will not get more than a few dollars for most of them. I myself like the trays. They are nice Americana pieces, especially for Millennials.

                I become nostalgic when I think of the times I used to go to the McDonald’s and collected the Happy Meal toys. I even obeyed people who said that I should not open the bag because the value would decrease. And it was not only at McDonald’s where you could get a toy. However, most people even today associate the toys at fast food restaurants with McDonald’s.

                I used to tell people to collect sets of them. But not anymore. When a lot of the food establishments started coming out with their own, the values went down. Unfortunately, that has been the trend with most of the items I have discussed.  I have a friend who must have had several hundred of the Happy Meal toys. The sad fact is that the only value they truly have now is sentimental value. Just thinking about the anticipation of getting a toy at McDonald’s as a youngster is surely worth something.

               

                And that brings me to another type of collectible that has a great deal of sentimental value to Millennials in particular. Pogs. Remember them? They were a collection of merely circles of cardboard. But in the 1990s they were the key elements of a very popular game. Briefly, a player would stack the Pogs, and then hit them with a “slammer”. Each player would proceed to pick up the ones that were then face up. That would continue until there were no more Pogs to slam. Whichever player had the most Pogs won. I am not kidding. That was the game.

                At one time, Pogs could go for as much as several hundred dollars. Not now. Maybe a nickel.

                And the beat goes on. Values of many other types of collectibles have drastically plummeted. Included in the group that have also bit the dust are some comic books and even sports cards, as well as hot wheels, Longaberger baskets, and even lunch boxes.

                However, keep in mind that there are always exceptions within each category.

                In the next blog post, I will discuss items that are actually very collectible, including travel posters, and yes, Beatles memorabilia.

Collectibles Not So Valuable Anymore...

I know that there are many readers of Collecting with Jeff that have stashed away collectible items for years.   They hope and pray that if they keep items long enough that the items that they purchased for a dollar or two will now be worth thousands.  After all, that is what usually happens.  Right?

Well, not so fast.  Yes, some collectibles may be worth a significant amount more after several years. Others will probably stay flat, and yes, others may actually decrease in value.  That can easily occur.  Many collectors will be extremely disappointed when they learn that what the items they had hoped would pay for their grandchild’s education, or even a long-anticipated cruise to Europe, will only buy them a cup of coffee or a Chai Latte tea at Starbuck’s.

However, the reverse can happen as well.  In today’s collectibles market, there are new types of items that are now the rage, and considered too hot to pass up.

But let me first focus on the types of items that were “winners” at one time, but are not worth much now.

First, remember the Thomas Kincade paintings and prints? Wow, they were everywhere.  You did not have to look very hard to see a Thomas Kincade Signature Gallery.  In fact, in the 1980s and 1990s there were about 350 such galleries.  You saw Thomas Kincade pieces in airports, in malls, and on the internet.  Kincade was the “Painter of Light.”

However, two things broke the Kincade bubble.  One was that there was a glut of Kincade’s work. Way too much of supply over demand will bring down values.  The other was the internet.  Consumers could easily buy the same works online that the Thomas Kincade Galleries were selling.  Kincade’s works were adored by a great number of people around the world.  However, there were simply too many of them, and too easy to purchase.  In fact, Thomas Kincade’s company, Media Arts Group, went public in 1994 and in ten years the stock decreased by 80 percent in value. Some Kincade works that were worth in the thousands of dollars can now be bought for a hundred or so dollars, and some for even less.

Along the same lines, commemorative plates have lost their value as well. It was common to see plates memorializing events by such noted artists as Norman Rockwell and LeRoy Neiman among others.  There have been plates of the Statue of Liberty, the World Series, and athletes like Michael Jordan. Some of Rockwell’s popular paintings have been on commemorative plates, especially after he passed away in 1978.

However, as with the Kincade items, there was a market glut.  Plates were sold on late-night television, on QVC, as well as by companies such as The Bradford Exchange, the Danbury Mint, Goebel, and others.  Today, most plates can be purchased for five dollars or less.  Some plates manufactured after 1980 are worth even less.  Rockwell plates may go for as much as $10-15, if you are lucky.  I myself am a huge Rockwell fan and of his Four Freedoms series, and am sorry to see that the value of his plates have dropped so much.

Another type of collectible that has seen its better day is porcelain Hummel figurines.  They first were produced in 1935, based on drawings by a German nun Maria Innocentia Hummel.  They were extremely popular after World War II, as American soldiers returned from Germany and brought Hummels home to their families.  Hallmark stores sold them starting in the 1960s.  However, simply put, there are too many Hummels around.  “Special editions” and limited runs were produced by the parent company Goebel, which created even more of a surplus.  The first wave of Hummel collectors have mostly passed away, and the younger generations have not expressed a keen desire to purchase Hummels.  Buyers can usually find Hummels they want either from the manufacturer or through a secondary market.  The hope that Hummels would be good investments has diminished. Today, most of the figurines can be bought for no more than $75.  There are a couple exceptions.  Figurines taller than 12 inches, and those made before 1949, can still command more money, even in the thousands of dollars. But those are the exceptions. 

Precious Moments figurines have little value as well. 

Lladro Statues have taken a similar downward swoop as with Hummels, but not to the same degree. Some Lladros can still fetch more than half of their original price. 

And any of you have bought from The Franklin Mint or the Danbury Mint are going to be disappointed as well. Items purchased from those companies have little value.   

Oh well, that is what the market is for those items. I will discuss other items that have lost their luster in the next “Collecting with Jeff”. I hope you don’t have too many Beanie Babies or Cabbage Patch Dolls around the house.

I am back

              “Collecting With Jeff” is back.  And, by the grace of God, I am still around as well. At times, I might add, its been a long and arduous road. But the alternative is damn worse.

                “Collecting With Jeff” is a column about just that, collecting.  Yes, accumulating and owning items that interest you. It is not about paying your bills or else facing dire consequences. I am not a bill collector.

                What I am is a certified professional appraiser. There are not many of us in the country if you care to check it out.       

                This column is different than the previous one. That one had a heavy emphasis on sports, pop culture, and rare books. I will still cover those categories. However, I will also discuss other fields, such as art, furniture, documents, coins, and a load of others.

                You may be saying to yourself that you are not even a collector, so why read the column. I would beg to differ.  I bet you are.

                If you believe in definitions, and they keep on changing, a collection is a group of at least five related items. Whether you own a half dozen vinyl records, or three hundred refrigerator magnets, you are a collector. Of course, some collections are larger than others, and more valuable.

                I have to say that I have seen some massive collections throughout the country. But until recently I had never seen a collection that had 2,500,000 trading cards. I can now say I have. It is likely the second largest collection of its type in the world.

                It will be a privilege sharing with you my knowledge and experience of years in this field.

                Many of you may have collections that you are considering selling. Possibly you collected model trains for years. Now you are not sure what to do with them. Your grandchildren have no interest in them. It could be the right time to sell them.  However, you may need to make an emotional decision. But if your model trains are in demand, the revenue you receive will help soften the blow. Let me give you a personal experience. Every year after Comic Con has closed its doors for another 12 months, I get contacted by auction houses about my selling of my comic book collection. The auction houses are simply doing their due diligence. But I am not ready.  I am fortunate to have a son who is appreciative of what his father has collected. The acorn does not fall very far from the tree.

                Most collectors I know are very passionate about what they own. Chances are you would not have your collection unless you are passionate.  I still get a kick looking at some of the items in my museum. Often I am amazed to learn that an item which I purchased for a few dollars is now worth thousands. But that is not true of every item.

                Collecting reached its pinnacle in the early 2000s. Then the recession took its toll starting in 2007. The hobby has rebounded.

                However, keep in mind that the high end items will continue to appreciate. Often, the growth rate will exceed that of other types of investment. Common items that were manufactured by the hundreds and thousands have remained flat. In some instances common items have even dropped in value. So curtail your enthusiasm if you own a newspaper from October 1998 whose headline is that the San Diego Padres were going to play in the World Series. There are too many of those newspapers still around. Give it to a friend. You might be asking yourself what you should be collecting. Stay tuned.