Old News Can Be Good News
Dateline: 11/28/99Most everyone has been tempted to save an old newspaper from a special date. A child's birth or memorable occasions such as weddings and landmark anniversaries make for personal news dates worth conserving.
Some savvy collectors go beyond personal events and hold on to other issues documenting tragedies and commemorating historic events. Knowing what to save when collecting newspapers may seem like a mystery, but it doesn't have to be.
The truth is, most widely distributed paper items are rarely worth much monetarily until a good bit of time has passed. So, if you're looking for an investment that might appreciate quickly, newspapers are probably not for you. Once some of the issues perish and become harder to find, then there's a chance they may increase in value.
For sheer curiosity purposes, however, they needn't be nearly as old. For instance, do you know someone who saved a newspaper from 1963 when JFK's assassination shocked the nation or the beginning of World War II?
The answer could quite easily be yes, and since many people did, the value won't be quite as high just yet as a more scarce headline now in demand for one reason or another. Of course, owning these items remains important to the people who saved them or a collector of presidential or military memorabilia, regardless of the current value.
Finding a newspaper from April 15, 1912 in relatively good condition tucked away in your attic might prove more fruitful. Far fewer people are likely to have saved the Titanic issue of a newspaper and finding one today would definitely be on a treasure hunter's dream list.
Should you decide to keep a few papers for posterity or pleasure, columnist Wayne Mattox recommends keeping complete newspapers with one fold. Seeking graphic headlines depicting the type of news that has grown in importance over time is also suggested.
Major sports events, first announcements of war or peace, the death or assissination attempt of a world leader, and unusual tragedies all have the makings of news collectibles. Garnering a "mistake" edition, like the famous Dewey Defeats Truman issue of the Chicago Daily Tribune, would also be the pot of gold at the end of a news hunter's rainbow.
Mattox also recommends looking for air-sealed boxes suitable for framing newspapers along with other collectors supplies aimed at protecting fragile paper items. And, it wouldn't hurt to check with a local conservation league or a museum curator if you really want to get serious about preserving special papers for future generations.
For more information on collecting newspapers and other paper goods, look for Collecting Paper by Gene Utz with Books Americana Publishers.
For more on this topic, Mattox provides a list of headlines he views as historically significant and article on collecting newspapers.
