Written by Q. David Bowers, Chairman Emeritus
I am a more or less steady reader
of the New York Times and have been
ever since I was in college. Today most of the articles of interest are on the
Internet and I can capture them there. However, each Friday, Saturday and
Sunday I buy hard copies so I can work at the crossword puzzles. If you are
into crosswords you probably know that the Friday puzzle is fairly difficult
compared to earlier in the week, and Saturday is most challenging of all. Then
comes the large Sunday crossword, which is about medium skill, sometimes
challenging, but usually fairly easy to do. In last Sunday’s New York Times there was a special
section called “Collectibles: Historical Items from the New York Times Store.
Bring History Home!” It is interesting that America’s highly regarded newspaper
is going into retailing collectibles.
The problem is, of course, that
when readership is in the millions -- or whatever it is -- finding enough
collectibles to fill a substantial number of orders is almost impossible unless
the collectibles are common. The Times seems
to have achieved a mix. Scattered in the offering are some items that are
either one of a kind or probably only exist by the dozens or hundreds, such as
a Mickey Mantle autographed baseball for $995, an American Express stock
certificate signed by James C. Fargo at $995, and a few other things. Most are
items that could be acquired in unlimited quantities and really are not
collectibles at all, but are items made in quantity. For example, for $249 you
can get “Stadium infield dirt from all 30 ball parks in collector’s box.” This
could be very useful, as if you tire of it you can always put it in your
garden! Whether it is a “collectible” or not is debatable. Ditto for modern
ship models. They might be collectible some day, but are they true collectibles
now? Who knows?
In numismatics we have a pair of
1913 Buffalo nickels made into cuff links for $99.95. I would think that while
the nickels themselves might be collectible no matter what the grade, as cuff
links they would not be collectible. The same could be said for a “spectacular money
clip that features a genuine John F. Kennedy half dollar minted from 1971 to
present,” for $29.95. On the front page is another numismatic offer: “Morgan
silver dollar set 1878 to 1881, San Francisco Mint.” The description: “These
brilliant Uncirculated silver dollars were produced from Nevada’s famous
Comstock Lode. Comes with a 32-page Times
booklet on the Old West.” The price is $525. The New York Times might be interested in knowing that the value of
Morgan dollars depends on their grades, and that if they are MS-60 they are
vastly overpriced. On the other hand, if they are Gems they might be
reasonable. Perhaps the accuracy in reporting the news championed by the
publication might also be extended to descriptions of rare coins. However, who
knows? For $525 someone might be getting a good deal or might be vastly
overpaying. As to the booklet on the Wild West, interesting enough, but why not
give a Whitman or other book specifically on Morgan dollars to get a collector
started?
I am not meaning to be critical,
but just to observe that one of America’s leading newspapers is devoting a
special section to collectibles. Indeed, collectibles of all kinds have become
the rage. In today’s faceless Internet society, not to mention life in which
products and services are all alike in many instances, collectibles offer the
chance to build a unique display. If I were to give ten people each a check for
$1,000 and ask them to look through the Guide
Book to select items of interest or, for that matter, to look on our
website and make purchases, no two collections formed would be the same. In
fact, it might be that no two of the collections even have the same variety.
Indeed, collectibles are distinctive.
Until Next Week,
Q. David Bowers
qdbarchive@metrocast.net
Until Next Week,
Q. David Bowers
qdbarchive@metrocast.net
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