Coin collectors have a couple different ways to evaluate their collection: there’s the collectible value, based on the market, but then there’s also the face value. What use is a collectible coin that’s worth less than it’s face value? I once knew a shrewd collector who talked a seller into parting with the entire contents of a coin collection for $500 cash. None of the coins were particularly old or rare…but their face value totalled almost a thousand dollars. Money can be tricky; as we’ve seen before, that thousand dollar coin could end up in the take-a-penny-leave-a-penny bowl at the gas station. What’s money really worth?

Now, let’s consider the collector who’s after the elusive three dollar bill. Granted, they’re usually mentioned as a joke, but $3 have been around, and they do go for a pretty penny on eBay. In the next few weeks, though, something odder than a $3 is coming up for sale: original printing plates for numerous currency notes are hitting the auction block, including a $3 from Texas. As we talked about last week, printers blocks are most valuable because they’re the only ones that exist. What could be queerer than the printing plates for a $3 bill? If the joke came about because nobody thinks a $3 bill has much value, they’d be a bit surprised to see the truth.

The statehood quarters require a closer look, though. While the Mint claims they’re not being minted for collectibility, many have found their way into specially designed albums and maps for collection purposes. The Statehood coin folder I have at home proudly claims that it holds $25 worth of coins when full; I don’t doubt that’s all I’m going to fit into it. Hopefully I’ll never have a lapse of judgement and sell the collection for less than that. Despite the purported low value, a cottage industry revolving around the dealing of these quarters, from pre-assembled sets to ones painted more realistically. One of the coins, however, has increased in value due to corn. Three different variations have appeared in the Wisconsin quarter’s corncob, causing collectors to pay upwards of $500 for a complete set. Unlike the $3 bill, however, there’s nothing to stop a coin collector from getting one of these as change, letting it pass through their pockets, finally handing it to a cashier when making a purchase, all without realizing its actual value.

Gold isn’t inherently collectible, but coins minted from gold — even bearing dollar amounts — are around for collectors. While ones from the US Mint are (for the most part) legal tender, they can’t easily be mistaken for pocket change. Non-collectors are interested in them for their investment value as gold, but numismatists, no doubt, would discourage melting down a finely minted, uncirculated coin just for its value as metal. The same applies to other gold collectibles, including one particular statue. The Celebration Mickey was commissioned in 2001: a solid gold, two feet tall Mickey Mouse statue. Unfortunately, the maker of the statue haven’t found a buyer. The current owner is still waiting for the perfect Disney collector, one with both a love for Mickey and deep pockets, but they haven’t materialized yet. The appraisal of the statue comes in at over $4 million dollars, even though the statue only contains $1 million dollars of gold. If I ever thought I was crazy, it was by uttering the phrase “only $1 million dollars.” Gold speculators might be drooling over the amount of gold found in one spot, but the appraisal shows how important it is to keep collectibles intact.

Whether you’ve got extra corn husks on your quarter or a multi-million dollar Mickey in your closet, know that the main reason they’re more valuable than the metal they’re minted from is because they’re rarer than a $3 bill. Unless you have some of those lying around, too.

If you nearly lost fingers during the Linoleum Block Carving lessons in art class, you know a little bit about how printing blocks work. Both processes are far rarer today: offset presses and digital processing have ended the hand-setting of printing. While the process hails back hundreds of years, modern technologies made the development of type and other blocks simpler and faster. Linotype machines, huge typewriter-like mechanisms that melted lead and cast entire lines of text at a time, sped up production of text, and photographic processes made images and logos easier to produce. To create a single page, letters and images were laid out by hand, filled in with spacers and tightened with quoins, and sent to the press. When the printing was done, the frame was loosened and all the tiny pieces of the single page clattered out onto the table. The letters went back into their organized drawers or were remelted for the Linotype machine, and the images went into storage for possible reuse later. When printing was done, the only pieces recognizable from the page were the images, logos, designs, and borders.
In the late 1960s or early 1970s, many presses phased out the letterpress printing in favor of newer, simpler processes. The printing supplies were divided up and scattered, quite often into the hands of collectors. Type often followed the press, but the custom non-type blocks went elsewhere.

The miscellanous printer’s blocks could be a boon to collectors for their size and rarity. Because the blocks were often re-used, and if not they were stored poorly and possibly ended up in the dump just to get rid of them, specific printer’s blocks can be exceedingly rare. Remember, for it to have shown up in print, a corresponding block would have been produced. Every Ford dealership ad had a logo, every Harley-Davidson repair manual had images, every packaging sticker had to be cast in metal. For the thousands of copies printed, an extremely small number (possibly only one) of print blocks would have been produced. Memorabilia collectors often overlook printer’s blocks in favor of the printed end product, not realizing which one is the rarer of the two.

Print blocks are often quite small, making them easy to store and display. With a little ingenuity, mirrors can be used to make them a bit easier to read, as printing blocks are a ‘negative’ image in reverse. Most print blocks are also quite resilient. Designed to withstand several tons of pressure experienced during the printing process, very little can destroy them. They can, however, be scratched, and in some cases the metals used will corrode, resulting in an unattractive block. Depending on the severity, these could be overlooked. A sharp, readable printer’s block should have clearly defined surfaces, without rounding or dents, and the raised ‘ink’ surfaces should shine like a mirror when buffed.

In my experience, brewery and industrial equipment print blocks have sold quite well, but automobile brand and household products sell less often than I’d expect from the number of collectors. Collectors who focus on collecting a single brand, association, or product should not overlook printer’s blocks as a source for unique and rare additions to their collection.