souvenir collecting – Reliving the 1939 New York World’s Fair Through Collectibles

Saturday, March 20th, 2010 at 3:52 pm

The 1939 New York World's fair opened on April 30, 1939. It closed on October 27, 1940. During that time it attracted over 45 million visitors from all over the world and generated approximately $45 million in revenue (which from a financial perspective made it a great failure as over $160 million was invested in the event.)

Planning for the 1939 Worlds Fair began in 1935 during the height of the Great Depression. A group of businessmen at this time formed the New York World's Fair corporation to make an international event so spectacular that by its sery grace would pull the world out of the depression it was in. The committee consisted of Grover Whalen as the president of their committee, Winthrop Aldrich, Mortimer Buckner, Floyd Carlisle, John J. Dunnigan, Harvey Dow Gibson, Fiorello La Guardia, Percy S. Straus, and many other business leaders.

Even though the fair was not a financial success, it was an emotional success. Millions of people had a wonderful adventure, one that they would share with their children and grandchildren for generations to come. They shared it with films, photographs, brochures and collectible trinkets that they collected while attending the fair.

In addition to all the souvenir stands where one could buy collectibles, they also had a myriad of penny crushers where people could make their own souvenir by putting a penny in the machine, cranking the handle to flatten and imprint the penny with a World Fair Corporation approved design. Along with the 1000's of souvenirs that covered the spectrum, there were also 1000's of corporate souvenirs passed out at the exhibits to help brand the corporations in the visitors minds. This included items such as the Heinz pickle pins, the Planters Peanut mascot, pens, bowls, etc. If you could think of it, it was probably there as a souvenir.

Even in modern times, interest in the 1939 New York World's Fair is still very strong and people are still collecting the souvenirs surrounding the event. In fact, a search on eBay for 1939 Worlds Fair in December, 2006 returns over 450 items for sale. And that is just one place selling Worlds Fair memorabilia. If you search the web, you can find hundreds of other sites selling New York World's fair collectibles. And the prices can be surprisingly affordable. For instance, in the last week on eBay you could have acquired a 1939 New York Worlds Fair Ash Tray for $9.99, a Porcelier 1939 Worlds Fair Sugar ,Lid & Creamer for $63.61 or a 1939 New York World's Fair George Washington Creamer for just $14.95.

While there is a huge interest in the collectibles, the prices remain reasonable so it is a great time for you to build a fascinating collection of 1939 Worlds Fair memorabilia. The items are interesting and make great conversation pieces - and who knows - they may even turn into a solid investments someday.

Want to experience the fair. Check out our 1939 New York NY World's Fair 4 DVD Set for almost seven hours of excitement and exploration of the king of World Fairs.

The Historical Archive offers a variety of Historical DVDs and CDs. You can visit us at http://www.thehistoricalarchive.com and shop our large, robust library of DVD and CD based products covering a wide range of significant and interesting historical events and cultural moments through film, photos, audios, maps and other documents.

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Whether you are coin collector with a love for the unusual or whimsical or you are simply someone who loves to collect souvenirs when they travel, you should take a look around for elongated coins!

Elongated coins are essentially normal coins that have been flattened or stretched and then embossed with a new or interesting design. In the practice of coin collecting, they are often categorized as exonumia.

They have a long history, but they first appeared in the United States during the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.

These designs were used to commemorate the fair and you can still find them today.

Today, the hobby of collecting elongated coins can be found all over the world. One of the most well known engravers of elongated coins was Frank Brazzle, whose designs are still being rolled out today using is original dies.

Another famous engraver whose work is still seen everywhere in the country is Jim Dundon. Their designs are usually meant to commemorate events or certain locations and when you come across a machine that will provide you with this service, you can put in a coin and have it stretched and embossed.

There are many different areas that might use elongated coins to help their visitors mark their visit. For instance, they are very common in museum gift shops or souvenir stores for landmarks. They are also quite common in zoos and amusement parks as well.

Sometimes, these machines are pressed into service to commemorate an event. They might celebrate anything as grand as an election or a World Fair or something as simple as a marriage or the birth of a child. Sometimes, clubs and other private organizations will order elongated coins printed out for their use.

Coin elongation was something that was often done by small children who played near train tracks. When pennies were left on the tracks, the force of the train causes the penny to flatten and stretch into an oval. It was not only children who did this; there are examples of coins that were flattened in this method that were then hand engraved with the date.

In the United States, pennies are most often used for elongation because they are fairly thin and easy to emboss.

The next time that you are a museum, a zoo or an amusement park, you may find that it is time for you to take a quick look at what elongated coins might be available. You will also find that there is a brisk sale of these coins that are going on online and you can even find them at coin shows.

Take a few moments to learn more about elongated coins and how lovely they are. This is a great way to start a coin collection or to add to an existing one!

Brian Lomas is the author of Coin Collecting Secrets - compulsory reading for any coin collector. This website contains valuable information on how you can enjoy the fun and profitable hobby of coin collecting... Even if you have no experience and an extremely limited budget!

For a FREE 10 part mini-course to "Learn The Secrets To Coin Collecting And How To Create A Valuable Collection" go to => http://thecoincollectingclub.com/

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