We’re now ten months into his presidency, and I’ve been reading a lot about those Barack Obama collectibles and memorabilia items that were vastly out-selling those of his two major political foes, Hillary Clinton and John McCain, last year. Here’s what I found…
The image on the famous Barack Obama collector coins issued by the American Mint was taken from the official presidential photo portrait below. (Incidentally, Barack Obama is the first commander-in-chief to have his official portrait taken with a digital camera. Just a fun fact you might want to impress your friends with…)
Official presidential portrait of Barack Obama
The tiny island nation of Vanuatu in the south Pacific has a 10-vatu coin denomination with the likeness of Barack Obama.
10-vatu coin obverse side
Why would the people of that country put him on their currency? That’s hard to say.
Maybe (and this is pure speculation, but I feel it’s an educated guess) Mr Obama is a bit of a legend in that area of the world. He did spend 4 years of his young life in Jakarta, Indonesia which is not that far removed geographically from Vanuatu. Consider the fact that he is quite famous in most corners of Africa since his father hailed from one of that continent’s nations.
If you’re into collecting all things Obama, a 10-vatu coin might be a worthy addition to your Barack Obama collectibles and political memorabilia set. But I don’t know if you should really expect its future value to go up: even though the coin is rare in this country (the U.S.), it is still considered legal tender in another country and widely circulated in Vanuatu…
Now, though there were lots (let me re-word that: looooooots) of Obama buttons created for his presidential run, his campaign buttons that are most likely to hold the most value right now are those associated with his earlier career bids for government office. For example, the pins created when he ran (unsuccessfully) for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000. Or the pins produced when he pursued and attained the Democratic Senate seat for the state of Illinois in 2004…
Also, if you’re into collecting buttons, a button from a single-day event – maybe even one with a date-stamp on it, ala the one below (obviously not associated with Obama) – versus one for a season or year-long campaign would fetch you more money…
Carter-Jackson dinner, 06/02/1979
Products (buttons, magnets, coins, plates, etc) sold that are “Limited Edition” or are unique by virtue of not having many copies made, might also prove to be valuable keepsakes…
If you’re looking for the Holy Grail of Barack Obama memorabilia and collectibles, try getting your hands on official, government-sanctioned items from his Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009. That means paraphernalia put out by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies for that day’s events (e.g. the swearing-in ceremony, the luncheon), bearing the Obama-Biden inauguration seal: items include invitations (like the one below), coffee mugs, glassware, and event programs to name a few.
Obama-Biden Inaugural invitation
Needless to say, the appropriation of the official stuff is not easy…
This is by no means an exhaustive list of ideas, tips, and good-to-knows as far as Barack Obama political collectibles and memorabilia are concerned. But considering his place and significance in American history (being, of course, the country’s first African-American president), there are bound to be several items, official or otherwise, that appreciate remarkably in the years to come.
You just have to know where to look…
