The latest from Les Fox.................

[cpm9ball]

is Rare Coin Trading Cards produced by Upper Deck. I spotted the article in the October issue of Numismatist. Apparently, there will be a card representing every U.S. coin series up to, and including, the 1976 Bicentennial issues.

 

I wonder if you will be able to buy the entire set at one time?

 

www.eaglesofamerica.com

 

Chris

[rons]

I wonder if the rarity of the cards will correspond with the rarity of the coins???

[Dwaine]

I don't see the point in this. Trading cards for coins?

[EZ_E]

The Jackie Robinson coin and reproduction baseball card set sold poorly because coin collecting and card collecting usually don't mix.

 

I bet this venture will do poorly.

[cpm9ball]

I don't see the point in this. Trading cards for coins?

 

Oh, I can see the point very clearly..............................money!

 

Chris

[PerryHall]

I wonder if the rarity of the coins will correspond with the rarity of the coins???

 

You need to edit this statement so that it makes sense.

[rons]

Thanks Perry, I did change the post to reflect what I "meant" to say. I was thinking faster than I was typing, which is an unusual phenomenon in itself

[Houston Investor]

I guess people will try anything to make money in numismatics than just good old fashioned buying and selling coins and currency.

[MAULEMALL]

I guess people will try anything to make money in numismatics than just good old fashioned buying and selling coins and currency.

I think I will be buying a set if not too expensive and the pictures are good..

I think my daughter and her classmates will like them.

[cpm9ball]

I guess people will try anything to make money in numismatics than just good old fashioned buying and selling coins and currency.

I think I will be buying a set if not too expensive and the pictures are good..

I think my daughter and her classmates will like them.

 

The question remains, "Will you be able to buy the entire set at one time?" According to the info on the site, it suggests that there will be 10 cards to a pack for $5-6. For the sake of discussion, let's say that there are 300 different denomination/designs of U.S. coins. That would be 30 packs or $150-180. In all likelihood, you would have to buy considerably more packs to be able to accumulate a complete set.

 

Chris

[Dwaine]

If they have different levels of rarity with the cards then you will have to buy more than 30 packs to attempt to get a complete set. I used to collect baseball cards and they very seldom make it easy to make a set from buying one box of cards.

[carson city]

Will Les also grade and sticker the cards ?, could be competition for CAC !

[Conder101]

I think this is probably the third or fourth time someone has done "Coin Trading Cards" in the past ten years. So far they have all flopped.

[Dcoin]

Buy the coin not the holder .... card.

 

[Dwaine]

[RGT]

This reminded me of the Numistamps that Mort Reed promoted back in the '70s. I made a post on these a few years ago and showed this photo of the ones I had picked up on ebay. The picture is not so good since I took it before I had a decent camera. These were probably more expensive than trading cards but I don't expect the cards to really sell any better.

 

[kryptonitecomics]

I am an avid coin collector.....I am an avid Baseball card collector.........I am an avid Comic Book collector.............I have no interest in cards with coins on them or coins with cards on them or stamps with coins or coins with stamps or comic book charaters on stamps or coins nor comic books with coins or stamps......wait a minute....now I am confused

[Les Fox-migration]

Message from Les Fox. Hi. I just came across this coin website and found a number of comments about my new concept, Rare Coin Trading Cards. Your comments, pro and con, are very interesting, and I thought maybe you'd like to know more about what's happening and why I did this. Some people think I just did it for the money, but that's not true. In fact, I created a series of trading cards of such high quality that so far I have been unable to launch Series 1 because it will cost me $2,000,000 just to get started. Really! The reason I chose Upper Deck to design and produce the cards is that Upper Deck is the best in the business and that's how I always do things. I've collected, bought and sold only true Gem BU U.S. Coins since 1969 and I love coin collecting. I've been a collector since 1957 (age 10) and I will always love coins. I appreciate the beauty of coins, since they were designed by talented artists like Augustus St. Gaudens, George T. Morgan, Anthony DeFrancisci, Victor D. Brenner, Christian Gobrecht, etc. and I like to look at the relief and mint luster in proper lighting. Anyway, the reason I created the cards was because very few people can afford to own the great rarities, or even complete sets in MS65 to MS67. But everyone loves to look at these coins, and for a modest sum of money I felt that millions of people, including kids, students and teachers as well as numismatists, would be able to "sort of" own a collection of great coins on superb quality trading cards. Check out my website at: www.EaglesOfAmerica.com. The real cards will have gold and silver foil highlights, plus a genuine 1930's to 1970's BU Lincoln Cent in every pack (as part of a collectible card.) This concept is valid, it is not a rip-off, and I get hundreds of inquiries a month from people wanting to buy a few packs to hundreds of packs, or a complete "Boxed Set." Unfortunately, as I said this is a very expensive product to launch (the coin photos are provided mainly by Heritage Auctions, plus many other fine dealers whom I have known for 35 years) and I am now trying to make a deal with Whitman, Home Shopping Network, WalMart or one of the other big retailers (or a venture capitalist) because I do not want to risk $2 million even though I believe millions of people will buy these cards, love them, and then be inspired to collect more coins. The ANA loves this idea, too. Do you guys (and gals) want to hear more? If so, let me know or ask me some questions. I am a real person, the same guy people remember at coin shows in the 1970's and 1980's although I now look a lot older. But I still have a lot of energy and I hope I can make this work, because whatever you think I know you will really love these cards. Have a great day! Les (Les Fox) ANA Life Member # 1339 (since 1974) Author, Silver Dollar Fortune-Telling & The U.S. Rare Coin Handbook.

 

[thebeav]

Hi Les,

Welcome to the boards.

Good luck with this venture. Quite frankly, I've been looking forward to seeing these cards ever since the CW article.

Let's face it, anything that calls public attention to our hobby is a good thing.

PS: I was on your mailing list, as a kid, back in the late 60's, early 70's. I used to drool at the fractionals and encased postage pieces in there. Of course, as a kid, I didn't have any money for this stuff. If I could have bought just one of each......

 

Paul

[cpm9ball]

Thanks for taking the time to give us a little more detail, and welcome to the neighborhood. It appears that we are the same age (b.1947), and we both became interested in coin-collecting at the age of 10.

 

Your idea does have its merits because there are many people like me who will never be able to afford some of the great beauties and rarities of U.S. coinage. I would also be someone who would be more interested in purchasing an entire set because, at our age, I don't know if I would live long enough to complete it on a piecemeal basis and still have time to enjoy it.

 

Good luck and please keep us posted.

 

Chris

[jackson64]

I'm pretty sure that it would be fun to collect a set--maybe even revisit my youth a bit. I can hear it now, " I'll trade you a 1913 nickel for your double of the 1804 dollar"....when else would you hear those words spoken? I doubt they'd be a big hit sitting on the counters at a 7/11 but I'm sure you'll have no problem marketing them and finding buyers.

 

Thanks for being persistant in your efforts on what sounds like a fun and interesting collectible, and if it helps increase interest in numismatics, all for the better...

 

I was curious how many total cards there may be, what the criteria for "rare" was for inclusion purposes, etc....just a few more details if you could...and personally, I'd rather collect them randomly, by taking my chances with packs of 6-8 than buying a whole set/collection/box......that's not collecting, it's just purchasing and owning..

[carson city]

Les is the Man !!!

[cpm9ball]

...and personally, I'd rather collect them randomly, by taking my chances with packs of 6-8 than buying a whole set/collection/box......that's not collecting, it's just purchasing and owning..

 

If I were 10, 20 or 30 years younger, I would probably do the same.

 

Chris

[Tradedollarnut]

I considered this idea a decade ago and rejected it as financially unsound. Good luck!

[Zoins]

...and personally, I'd rather collect them randomly, by taking my chances with packs of 6-8 than buying a whole set/collection/box......that's not collecting, it's just purchasing and owning..

It is collecting if you are collecting sets ... instead if individual coins

 

For some items, you can get much nicer pieces through set collecting than individual collecting. This can be especially true of rarer items where a set owner takes care of the pieces and individuals don't get as much TLC. Of course, you can say the ones that don't get take care of have more character!

[jackson64]

I see your point about collecting sets--concerning coins. I myself have purchased a complete Ike BU and proof set in an album, it was financially more prudent than hunting each coin down and paying seperate fees and postage/shipping. I really was only refering to the collecting of cards. I really do think it would be a fun return/reminder to my youthful days of card collecting. And I just felt it would be more interactive and involved (feel more like a side hobby) to assemble a set in pieces instead of just buying a box with one of each....

[123cents]

Good luck with you venture Les. It sounds like a great idea.

[carson city]

Les. if TDN doesn't like your "idea as being financially unsound" you are probably sitting on a Winner---Good Luck

[Les Fox-migration]

Hi, there Thanks for your thoughtful comments (pro or con) about my Rare Coin Trading Cards. As to the rarity of individual cards, Sue and I pondered this question for quite a while. We made dozens of charts, usually making key dates like the 92-S and 93-S Morgan, etc. harder to find...but then we realized one of the fun aspects of collecting these cards will be the ability to collect the great rarities (all photos are Finest Known specimens) without the extreme suffering associated with buying the actual rarities. So we decided to mix up the rarity, making some cards 2 to 10 times "rarer" than others, but not so rare that everyone won't have complete set after spending a few hundred dollars, or maybe a little more than that. Then we added genuine coins (BU Lincolns including coins from the 1930's) plus Prize Cards, autographed cards and other "Bonus" cards to make it more exciting. This is truly a great concept - I'd buy the cards myself if I saw them in stores - except for the $2 million I have to put up to get it started. Unfortunately, Upper Deck doesn't have enough faith to front the deal although they are very interested in other options if I can prove it's viable, and I know it is. I'm waiting for a WalMart or Home Shopping Network to go for this deal, they can afford the risk. Hundreds of dealers and thousands of collectors want to buy in small quantities, but it doesn't add up to $2 million, or even close. Sue loves the idea, but she won't let me mortgage our house to take a shot! But even she has to admit the cards are incredibly beautiful, as nice or nicer than any baseball or sportscard you've ever seen. (See samples on www.EaglesOfAmerica.com.) The Boy Scouts are interested, lots of distributors, the ANA, but everyone wants to take a modest position. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. I can also print 1,000 box sets of 300 to 600 cards (Series 1 contains 600 different cards including 500 coins & 100 bonus cards + Lucky Penny cards with real coins), but my cost is $140,000 plus design charges! Heritage was nice enough to provide the fantastic photos, but they won't invest in the concept either. I can also do some other test marketing options, but as quantity decreases unit price increases so it's really not feasible until we print 1,000,000 foil wrapped packs. I've been talking to Whitman, too. Everyone is interested, but I have not been able to raise the money yet. Personally, I believe I can sell 5 to 10 million packs a year. I just can't prove it. I did Beanie Baby Trading Cards in 1998 when BB's were hot, and I sold 200,000 packs in 60 days! (Then the Ty company took over and I had to stop.) Anyway, I will continue to participate in this discussion as I wait for my opportunity. In the meanwhile, I'm keeping busy with many other projects including art and real estate development. But I'm dying to bring out the cards in 2008, or 2009, or maybe 2010. I also approached Bank Of America, Vegas casinos, cereal companies, Lucky Jeans and lots of other corporations. Again, everyone wants to give it a try for a few thousand dollars. I'm also producing a new product called the Cal Carb Clicker. It's a cool little calorie counter and it will debut on QVC around Xmas time. If this takes off, I may get the money for the coin cards. Have a great day! Les

[carson city]

Best of Luck in this venture.