MY ONLINE FOOTPRINTS

LinkedIn - Todd And

Facebook - Todd And

Technorati - Todd And

Twitter - Todd And

Delicious - Todd And

iTunes iMix - Todd And

SlideShare - Todd And

Flickr - Todd And

YouTube - Todd And

StumbleUpon - Todd And

FriendFeed- Todd And

Power 150 OPML

RSS - Todd And

ADMIN

Diversify Your Investments with Historic Newspapers

March 13, 2008

Between your 401K, IRA and those Apple shares you’re sitting on, you have most of your money in securities and equities. You’ve got a shrinking cash cushion and the value of your house is tanking. You may want to further diversify your portfolio.

Instead of scratch-and-win lottery tickets, why not consider collectibles? A collectible is an appreciating asset that is either rare or desired by many. Stamps, coins, fine art and sports cards are the most common collectibles, but the most appropriate collectible for marketing and media executives is historic newspapers. When framed, rare newspapers also make for unique and interesting wall art around the office.

Given the state of news media and the possible extinction of the printed newspaper, this collectible is the perfect relic for new and traditional media enthusiasts alike. Even better, unlike old baseball cards and coins, which have millions in circulation, historic newspapers are scarce. Back in the early 1700s, the earliest newspapers only printed a few hundred copies. As such, many of these early issues, when found today, are truly one-of-a-kind. The unbelievably rare newspapers go for thousands of dollars and more, but there are relatively few newspaper collectors in existence today so you can easily find museum-quality newspapers for a couple hundred dollars or less. That won’t last forever.

Previously, we discussed the most popular 20th century newspaper — Dewey Defeats Truman — so now let’s cover some of the 17th and 18th centuries.

The oldest continually published newspaper in the world began printing in Oxford, England on November 16, 1665 while King Charles II was avoiding the plague. It was called the Oxford Gazette (click image to enlarge) and many sources, including Britannica and newspaper historian Mark Mitchell (see video below), consider it to be the first English-language newspaper (it was the first to fit the definition of the term “newspaper”). After the 23rd issue of the Oxford Gazette, the King felt the plague was subsiding so he moved the paper back to London where it resumed as the London Gazette. While it originated as a weekly paper, the Gazette continues to be published each weekday in 2008 as an official record of British government. Any of the first 23 Oxford Gazette issues are worth more than $1,000 each - most reaching north of $5,000.

Across the pond, the first American newspapers began printing in the early 1700s. The Pennsylvania Gazette, started on December 24, 1728, was only the eighth newspaper printed in the colonies, and only the fourth outside of Boston.

Benjamin Franklin bought the Gazette in 1729 and gave the paper a brightness and liveliness unknown before to any colonial paper except his brother’s New England Courant, according to “American Journalism” by Frank Luther Mott. But the Gazette was a much better newspaper than the Courant - more well-rounded with “superior news handling, greater advertising and a handsomer appearance,” wrote Mott. “Franklin was more fully aware of the possibilities, limitations and responsibilities of colonial journalism than were most of his fellow editors,” Mott added.

For collectors, it is extremely rare to find pre-1750 issues of this Benjamin Franklin-printed newspaper. An issue in one of the finest conditions ever encountered is pictured at left (click to enlarge). I’ve been told there are auction records of pre-1750 Pennsylvania Gazettes to $11,000!

There are only a handful of newspaper historians and mega-collectors in the world. One is Mark Mitchell. His collection contains 20,000 original issues across five centuries and, according to his website, is one of the nation’s finest and most historically-complete private holdings. Here is a video of Mark sharing some of his private pieces:

Filed Under Educational, History, Media, Newspaper Collecting, Personal Finance, Video

Comments

9 Responses to “Diversify Your Investments with Historic Newspapers”

Diversify Your Investments with Historic Newspapers on March 13th, 2008 10:28 pm

[...] Read the rest of this great post here [...]

Daniel on March 14th, 2008 7:22 am

I’m sure there are ways to store historic documents like newspapers. How much does this equipment cost?

toddand on March 14th, 2008 8:39 am

I recommend a focused newspaper collection of pre-1870 newspapers because they were printed on very durable rag linen paper - made from the linen in clothes and ship sails. Surprisingly, most newspapers printed prior to 1870 can be found in better condition than yesterday’s newspaper, which is probably already yellow and brittle because it was printed on wood pulp. The big linen-to-wood change-over happened around 1870 to 1875 with improved paper-making and printing technologies.

Once you have your historic newspapers, the best way to preserve and store them - or any old paper for that matter - is to 1) keep them flat and unfolded, 2) keep they away from sunlight and moisture, and 3) keep them in archival-quality, acid-free storage containers that can be bought at most hobby or art supply shops (i.e., Blick Art Materials). Presentation cases and portfolios with acid-free, non-stick polyprophylene protective sleeves are the best.

Many folks frame their papers. Rest assured, most professional framers know exactly how to handle fine art and historic documents, so just ask a few questions of your local framer before using them. Make sure they use archival or museum-quality materials and UV-filtered glass to protect them from sunlight. Unfortunately, framing is expensive and you may end up finding that you paid more for quality, archival framing than you did for the historic newspaper itself.

truman on March 14th, 2008 1:01 pm

[...] strangely silent, even defensive when it comes to Obama??s religious bedoctorbulldog.wordpress.comDiversify Your Investments with Historic Newspapers Between your 401K, IRA and those Apple shares you??re sitting on, you have most of your money in [...]

Finance Issues » Diversify Your Investments with Historic Newspapers on March 14th, 2008 7:43 pm

[...] Diversify Your Investments with Historic Newspapers Between your 401K, IRA and those Apple shares you’re sitting on, you have most of your money in securities and equities. You’ve got a shrinking cash cushion and the value of your house is tanking. You may want to further diversify your portfolio. Instead of scratch-and-win lottery ticket… [...]

Daniel on March 15th, 2008 7:54 am

Thanks for the tips. If I get my hands on one of those “Dewey Defeats Truman” papers, I’ll keep it in mind.

Actually, I should do that with my NY Giants Superbowl win papers. (I had the NY Daily News sent out to me here, and I picked up the Post a few blocks away.)

links for 2008-03-22 — Auction Gadgets and electronics on Ebay on March 27th, 2008 4:57 pm

[...] coins, fine art and sports cards are the most common collectibles, but the most appropri source: Diversify Your Investments with Historic Newspapers, ..:.:.. Todd And = Marketing + Media [...]

Investments on The Finance World For News and Information Around The World On Finance » Blog Archive » Diversify Your Investments with Historic Newspapers on March 30th, 2008 11:43 am

Ky on September 9th, 2008 4:44 pm

http://www.nambour-chronicle.com archives the Nambour Chronicle & North Coast Advertiser first published in 1903.

Got something to say?

You must be logged in to post a comment.

MY ONLINE FOOTPRINTS

CATEGORIES

ARCHIVES

BLOGROLL

ADMIN

Diversify Your Investments with Historic Newspapers

Comments

SEARCH

VIDEO OF THE MOMENT

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORED LINKS

RECENT COMMENTS

HOW MY POSTS RANK

RECENTLY WRITTEN

MUSIC FOR MARKETING

BOOKS FOR MARKETING

TWITTER UPDATES