If you follow this blog, you know I love movies and movie memorabilia. Not just collectibles like film cels, but toys, posters, stamps, action figures and just about anything that reminds me of my favorite movies. Our buyers are always looking for cool Things to collect from the movies—and there are a lot of them this year.
The Harry Potter series is one of my favorites. I've read all the books and seen every movie so I had to have this framed set of Harry Potter Film Cels from the original prints of all five movies. I also bought one for my cousin, even though his birthday is several months away. You never know when we're going to sell out of these Things.
The Lord of the Rings is arguably the greatest fantasy film series of all time. These are movies that you don't see just once, but twice or even three times. (Who? Me?) I got The Lord of The Rings Trilogy Cels to display on my bookcase between my worn out old copies of the books.
I honestly can't see why, but my sister is totally crazy for Johnny Depp. She was the very first to buy the Pirates of the Caribbean Film Cels from us. True, I was second, but because I think the series is one of the best Disney has ever released, not because I want to make googly eyes at Jack Sparrow's picture. Sheesh. Maybe I don't always understand her, but my sister can be kind of cool sometimes. For example, she knows that Star Wars is one of my favorite science fiction movie series. She bought the History of Star Wars Film Cels collection for me before I even knew we had it. It was just hanging in my office when I came to work one morning.
Toys from the movies are fun, too. Especially if you actually play with them like I do. I got this Star Trek Phaser for just that reason. It has sound and light effects and a break-away design that lets you remove the “type one” phaser from the pistol grip. I keep it on my desk, right next to my Alien Vs Predator action figures. If you ask me, memorabilia you use is the best kind.
That's why I always end up buying Things like this Scarface Gun Lamp and Indiana Jones Hat. I use the lamp in my home office and, yes, I do wear the hat—not just for Halloween, either. It's a cool hat and it's well made.
Sometimes useful Things are purposely transformed into collectibles. This Harry Potter Stamp Set is a perfect example. Issued by Britain's postal service on July 17, 2007, the stamps are canceled with the official "First Day of Issue" Quidditch postmark, so even if you lived in Great Britain, you couldn't use them. Because they're a piece of British memorabilia celebrating the Harry Potter phenomenon, of course I had to have them.
Now that I have my collectibles in order, I'm going to head out to the warehouse and see what kind of new gadgets we have to play with. I love my job.
Showing posts with label catalog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label catalog. Show all posts
2.12.2008
2.08.2008
coins, coins, coins
We're collectors. Nearly everyone who works here collects something. My grandpa collects coins. Since his birthday is coming up, I went looking through our stock of coins for something unique and interesting to add to his collection.
America's First Silver Dollar was the first Thing that caught my eye. It's not a replica—it's a .903 silver coin minted when Mexico was still a Spanish colony. Based on Mexico's eight Reales silver coins, these silver dollars were legal tender in the U.S. from 1794 to 1857. He also collects the state quarters, so he might like these 51st State Quarters even though they're outside the official collection. They were privately minted after a the Senate bill that would have extended the program with quarters for Washington DC and the four US territories was anonymously blocked.
Gramps also likes to search bulk coins. When I was a kid, I used to help him go through bags and bags of unsearched coins looking for that one rare find that would make his day. This bag of Buffalo Nickels, minted between 1913 and 1938, might help him round out his nickel collection.
Our Genuine Mercury Dimes collection contains ten of these increasingly rare coins. The dimes are mounted for display with one .900 silver dime from each of the last ten years of issue (1936-1945.) And this set of Double-Dated Coins is also ready for display. It contains coins of the same denomination that shared a common production year but had different designs. For example, in 1916, the Barber dime was ending its 24-year run and the Mercury dime was beginning.
Lincoln pennies are really popular with collectors and this is the best Lincoln Penny Collection I've ever seen. 98 pennies, one from each year of issue (including the increasingly rare 1943 steel cent) are displayed in a museum-quality portfolio. It's great for both new collectors and lifetime collectors like my grandfather.
Collectors also like counterfeit coins—as long as there's a good story behind them. The Racketeer Nickel is a perfect example. Called “the most brazen coin fraud in American history,” a deaf-mute named Josh Tatum gold-plated Liberty Head Nickels and passed them off as five dollar coins. And because of a legal technicality, he was never punished for it! To reproduce Tatum's crime, we've plated these Liberty Head Nickels in 24-karat gold and mounted them for display.
Finally, no collector can resist recovered treasure. Our Sunken Treasure Coin is part of a collection of coins lost in 1809 when a British trading ship bound for India sunk in a sudden storm. The ship and its cargo were recovered in 1985. The “10 Cash” coins were packed in wooden casks and trapped in the thick mud so they are still in mint condition.
Since I can't buy every Thing I found in our collection of coins, the hardest thing now will be to decide which of these collectible coins and/or coin collections to give to Gramps for his birthday...
America's First Silver Dollar was the first Thing that caught my eye. It's not a replica—it's a .903 silver coin minted when Mexico was still a Spanish colony. Based on Mexico's eight Reales silver coins, these silver dollars were legal tender in the U.S. from 1794 to 1857. He also collects the state quarters, so he might like these 51st State Quarters even though they're outside the official collection. They were privately minted after a the Senate bill that would have extended the program with quarters for Washington DC and the four US territories was anonymously blocked.
Gramps also likes to search bulk coins. When I was a kid, I used to help him go through bags and bags of unsearched coins looking for that one rare find that would make his day. This bag of Buffalo Nickels, minted between 1913 and 1938, might help him round out his nickel collection.
Our Genuine Mercury Dimes collection contains ten of these increasingly rare coins. The dimes are mounted for display with one .900 silver dime from each of the last ten years of issue (1936-1945.) And this set of Double-Dated Coins is also ready for display. It contains coins of the same denomination that shared a common production year but had different designs. For example, in 1916, the Barber dime was ending its 24-year run and the Mercury dime was beginning.
Lincoln pennies are really popular with collectors and this is the best Lincoln Penny Collection I've ever seen. 98 pennies, one from each year of issue (including the increasingly rare 1943 steel cent) are displayed in a museum-quality portfolio. It's great for both new collectors and lifetime collectors like my grandfather.
Collectors also like counterfeit coins—as long as there's a good story behind them. The Racketeer Nickel is a perfect example. Called “the most brazen coin fraud in American history,” a deaf-mute named Josh Tatum gold-plated Liberty Head Nickels and passed them off as five dollar coins. And because of a legal technicality, he was never punished for it! To reproduce Tatum's crime, we've plated these Liberty Head Nickels in 24-karat gold and mounted them for display.
Finally, no collector can resist recovered treasure. Our Sunken Treasure Coin is part of a collection of coins lost in 1809 when a British trading ship bound for India sunk in a sudden storm. The ship and its cargo were recovered in 1985. The “10 Cash” coins were packed in wooden casks and trapped in the thick mud so they are still in mint condition.
Since I can't buy every Thing I found in our collection of coins, the hardest thing now will be to decide which of these collectible coins and/or coin collections to give to Gramps for his birthday...
11.16.2007
rush, rush, rush
Everyone is in such a rush to get ready for the holidays. I went to the mall on Saturday and it was a nightmare. First, I had to park like eighteen miles from the entrance. Then, after my trek across the parking lot, for which I should have packed a snack or at least a bottle of water, the people inside were so stressed and hurried. They rushed past me like I was standing still. The whole experience was a blur of anxiety and pressure. Believe it or not, I left without buying a single thing. It's unlike me, I know, but I just couldn't stand that frenetic energy for a minute longer.
On the hike back to my car, I decided to go downtown and see what the smaller shops had to offer. After twenty minutes of wasting precious gasoline, and getting flipped off by a guy who front parked into a space I was clearly backing into, it was clear I wouldn't find a parking spot anywhere close to the shopping district. On the way home, I made up my mind: mail order shopping is the way to go. Okay, so maybe I'm more than a little bit biased, but I look at it this way: either you curl up on the sofa with a stack of freshly minted catalogs or you hang out at the computer surfing for cool new stuff. Either one beats the heck out of fighting the crowds. Plus, with gas prices the way they are, who needs to be driving from store to store or mall to mall when all it takes is a click of the mouse to visit the same stores?
The season is busy enough without adding extra aggravation. Shopping at home is relaxing. No crowds. No crying children. No salespeople talking on their cell phones and working harder at avoiding making eye contact with you than they do at actually selling products. No piped in music with canned versions of songs you used to love that somehow now seem to grate on your very last nerve. Instead, you can put on the music you want and shop in your PJs.
Of course, you have to order a bit earlier - planning is key, especially if you want to pay only standard shipping. Still, for my money, paying expedited shipping is worth not having to go to the mall or drive around downtown competing for metered spaces that the meter readers watch like hawks at this time of year. Plus, most online stores offer gift wrapping now and they'll ship everything directly to the person you're buying for. So you even save a trip to the post office – we won't go into how much I hate going there.
Between Saturday night and Sunday, I got a lot of my shopping done. And it's not even Thanksgiving yet. It's so unlike me to be prepared this early that when I told my sister, who is always way ahead of the holiday curve, her jaw dropped and she looked at me like I had three heads. I think I'm going to like my new tradition.
I'll see you next week. In the meantime, I strongly recommend relaxing with a stack of catalogs and/or pointing and clicking your way to a less stressful holiday.
On the hike back to my car, I decided to go downtown and see what the smaller shops had to offer. After twenty minutes of wasting precious gasoline, and getting flipped off by a guy who front parked into a space I was clearly backing into, it was clear I wouldn't find a parking spot anywhere close to the shopping district. On the way home, I made up my mind: mail order shopping is the way to go. Okay, so maybe I'm more than a little bit biased, but I look at it this way: either you curl up on the sofa with a stack of freshly minted catalogs or you hang out at the computer surfing for cool new stuff. Either one beats the heck out of fighting the crowds. Plus, with gas prices the way they are, who needs to be driving from store to store or mall to mall when all it takes is a click of the mouse to visit the same stores?
The season is busy enough without adding extra aggravation. Shopping at home is relaxing. No crowds. No crying children. No salespeople talking on their cell phones and working harder at avoiding making eye contact with you than they do at actually selling products. No piped in music with canned versions of songs you used to love that somehow now seem to grate on your very last nerve. Instead, you can put on the music you want and shop in your PJs.
Of course, you have to order a bit earlier - planning is key, especially if you want to pay only standard shipping. Still, for my money, paying expedited shipping is worth not having to go to the mall or drive around downtown competing for metered spaces that the meter readers watch like hawks at this time of year. Plus, most online stores offer gift wrapping now and they'll ship everything directly to the person you're buying for. So you even save a trip to the post office – we won't go into how much I hate going there.
Between Saturday night and Sunday, I got a lot of my shopping done. And it's not even Thanksgiving yet. It's so unlike me to be prepared this early that when I told my sister, who is always way ahead of the holiday curve, her jaw dropped and she looked at me like I had three heads. I think I'm going to like my new tradition.
I'll see you next week. In the meantime, I strongly recommend relaxing with a stack of catalogs and/or pointing and clicking your way to a less stressful holiday.
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