PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AND CAMPAIGN MEMORABILIA

Update November 2, 2011  In about a year from now there will be another presidential election.  And during election years, certain collectibles gain interest and sometimes their prices rise.  Will we see an increase in prices for presidential campaign memorabilia?

I know there is strong interest in campaign memorabilia from the days of our founding fathers.  There are George Washington campaign medals and buttons, and signs for Abraham Lincoln -- that sorta stuff.  There are people who collect JFK and "I Like Ike" memorabilia, too.  There's are several books about the value of presidential campaign collectibles that I found listed on Amazon.com including one called "Hake's Guide to Presidential Campaign Collectibles: An Illustrated Price Guide to Artifacts from 1789-1988" and it's in paperback, and there are others including books about campaign button.

So I have to wonder if anyone will have any interest in the only election memorabilia I have from the presidential campaign of 1988?  What I have are two packs of king size filter cigarettes.  One pack says "Bush for President" and one says "Dukakis for President" and each pack has an illustration of the candidate with the words "Campaign '88" and the art is in red and blue printed on white.

I got these packs of cigarettes (see the photo below) from a smoke shop in Beverly Hills.  They were sold as a novelty item in an attempt to measure the favorite candidate among smokers.  I did a story on their sale when I was a reporter at KCAL.  I don't remember which packs were the top seller, but that was the year George Bush, Sr. won, of course.

Someone recently tried to sell a pack of the Bush cigarettes on eBay with a starting bid of $9.99 but the auction closed without a bid.  I don't know if these cigarettes have changed hands as a collectible.

They are made in the USA, of course, and carry a warning from the Surgeon General.  But unlike today's modern packs, this warning simply says "Cigarette Smoke Contains Carbon Monoxide."

Maybe these old packs of cigarettes would fit into a collection of Surgeon General warnings?

HOW WILL YOU DEFEND YOURSELF AGAINST INFLATION?

Update September 30, 2011  Today, inflation is low and that's because the economy is weak.  But that will change and when it does, inflation will rise -- and could even soar.  I remember when Certificates of Deposit at banks were paying 15% to 18% and when a fixed rate mortgage on a house was at 27% and when money was being poured in gold and silver and antiques and rare coins as a hedge against the inflation monster.

Well, you can prepare for a new inflation monster by starting to invest now in rare coins and stamps and collectibles and the experts at ProCoin and www.ProCoin.com can help you do that.  What is important for Southern Californians is that the experts of Pro Coin are here in Southern California, in Orange County -- so you will be able to meet with and know these experts.

They will help you invest in assets that you can hold and put into your own safe deposit box or vault or safe.  They are not selling paper assets and they are also selling things of beauty that you can hold and preserve for your heirs and future generations.  There really is pride of ownership when it comes to these rare coins and stamps, and you will be investing in truly marketable collectibles that can include those with independent "third party grading" which is recognized by dealers and investors around the world.

Call ProCoin at (866) 472-8126 or (949) 429-8150 go to their website at www.procoin.com for information and to see their catalogue of collectibles that are for sale.  Their email address is info@procoin.com and you can contact them this way as well.  Watch our new Best Buys TV Show report below.  Then call them for a free consultation.

PENNIES WORTH 3-CENTS, NICKELS WORTH 7-CENTS.  SHOULD YOU COLLECT THEM?

Update March 29, 2011   As I write this, the metal content of a U. S. Cent minted before 1982 is worth about 3-cents, or triple the face value of the pennies.  And the metal content of all common nickels now in circulation is now 7-cents, or about 40% above the face value.  This is the result of inflation-- and mainly inflation of copper.

Until 1982 our pennies -- cents -- were primarily copper but in 1982 the high price of copper forced the U. S. Mint to start minting pennies that were aluminum and coated with copper.  Most cents in circulation today are "clad" pennies and the metallic value is only a fraction of the coin's face value.

Since 1946 the composition of our nickels hasn't changed -- but the price of nickel and copper in the nickels has risen, and that's why nickels today are actually worth a bit more than 7-cents each based on their metallic content.

Well, should you save these pennies and nickels?  That's a tough question.  First, the U.S. government doesn't want you to save them because the government fears a coin shortage should all of us wake up one morning and realize that every nickel is actually worth 7.1-cents.  And while most cents in circulation are "clad" coins, the government doesn't want everyone taking the remaining copper pennies out of circulation or hoarding all cents looking for the copper ones.  Even more, the government doesn't want our pennies and nickels melted for their metallic content which is why in 2007 a regulation was ordered by the Treasury Department barring the exporting and melting of cents and nickels.

But let's get back to the question -- should you save these pennies and nickels?  First of all, there is a chance that some of those pre-1982 cents are in fact older, collectible coins with numismatic value.  These should be saved because a collector isn't going to melt these coins anyway because their collector value is far more valuable than the value of the copper.  Pennies dated even in the 1950s in exceptional condition -- uncirculated and looking new -- already command nice prices among collectors.  The same is true for older nickels, especially Buffalo nickels minted until 1938 and "War Nickels" minted during World War II which actually contain silver -- these are also valued by collectors.

Some day, the Mint might have a new "clad" nickel and when there are enough "clad" pennies in circulation then the restriction on melting pennies and nickels might be lifted.  In 1964 the melting of silver dimes, quarters and half dollars was restricted because of a coin shortage caused by the rise in the price of silver.  But as clad dimes, quarters and half dollars were sufficient, the restrictions on melting the silver coins was lifted.  So should you save those modern nickels now in pocket change?  Well, a hundred years from now your great grand kids will be happy you did.  But six months from now you might be wondering if it's worth the bother?

ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, PAWN STARS, AUCTION HUNTERS AND GARAGE SALES

Spike, the cable TV network, recently added a "find it" program called Auction Hunters.  It's about a couple of guys who buy abandoned storage units, discover treasures, and sell these treasures for huge profits.  This "find it" theme has been going on for a while, and you've heard the stories about how a fortune was found in an abandoned storage unit after the contents were sold at auction -- or how a body was discovered.  We love those stories and we especially love the idea of buying "stored treasure" for "pennies on the millions of dollars."  Auction Hunters is produced by a Los Angeles production company and a publicist for the show told me that some Southern California "finds" will be featured in future episodes.  Sounds like a fun show especially for others who dream of stumbling on a treasure instead of just a storage unit filled with old clothes and unwanted furniture.

Of course the "grand daddy" of these treasure-finder shows is Antiques Roadshow.  Why do we watch the show?  Because we are hoping to see something like Aunt Ethel's clay pot and find out that it's really an Ancient Mayan ceremonial urn that is worth gazillions of dollars.  Once you start watching you start looking around in your closets, don't you?  Come on, don't deny it.

And then there is Pawn Stars.  Another show that reveals that what you thought was Uncle Morris' pirate's cannon really is a pirate's cannon and it really will pay for your kid's college education.

What's really great about these shows is that they help people with their garage sales.  We might not be able to make it to that auction of abandoned storage units, and we might not have a pack-rat great great Aunt Ethel who just passed away leaving four rooms filled with "old stuff," and we might not have a mystery box of things our grandparents left behind-- but there is probably a garage sale around the neighborhood every week and we will go to them for our own treasure hunt.  Admit it, you do it.

When you go to a garage sale you hope you're going to discover a Rembrandt in that box of old paintings with a sign that says "any painting, $5 each."  You also hope you're going to discover a shoebox filled with 1960s baseball cards -- like the shoebox you had until your Mom cleaned out your closet when you were away at college.

Programs like Antiques Roadshow, Pawn Stars and Auction Hunters are entertaining and inspirational and motivational.  They make us look around, be more inquisitive, and make us dream of finding an original Barbie doll in a box that was never opened because great-grandma Helen forgot to mail it to your great-Aunt jean for her eighth birthday.

So we keep dreaming, and now we add Auction Hunters to our list of shows we must DVR so we can also strike it rich.