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If you are looking for a sword worthy of battle you want to be sure and choose a blade that is made of high carbon steel or folded steel. What’s wrong with a stainless steel blade you might ask? Stainless steel blades are nice if you’re going to hang the sword on the wall. As a matter of fact, they’re often called “wall hangers”. Stainless steel blades simply are not made to stand up to the rigors of cutting and dojo exercises.

Two very popular makers of blades that are battle ready are Paul Chen and Cold Steel. Cold steel, although and American Company has most of their oriental blades forged in China. They have done well in replicating the look and feel of a well made Chinese sword at a very affordable price. Cold steel has a great video that you can usually get for free that shows professionals putting Cold Steel blades to the test. You can never go wrong with a Cold Steel Chinese sword or weapon.

However Paul Chen swords are quite a bit more popular in the United States and around the world. Most Paul Chen blades are forged with a technique called “differentially tempering”, meaning that the top of the blade is actually stronger then the edge, which means that it’s nearly impossible to break the blade when you’re really putting it to the test. You’ll probably pay a bit more for a Paul Chen sword than a Cold Steel but most people are happy to and believe it’s well worth the extra cost.

Another popular brand of swords is United Cutlery, which are mostly for show or hanging on your wall. United swords are usually much less expensive but are very nice for above the mantle or a great decorative piece for a study or office.

Probably one of the most popular Chinese swords that everybody wants to get there hands on right now is the Chinese Saber which was used by cavalrymen and foot soldiers in the rush of battle.

Whether you’re looking for a battle ready sword like the Paul Chen Zatoich Sword or one just to hang on the wall for decoration, you can be sure that it will add beauty and appeal to any room in your home or office.

Several decades ago, the big insert in a pack of trading cards was a yummy stick of bubble gum. These days, collectors can sink their teeth into a whole new world of collectibles. The stick of bubble gum has been replaced with authentic game-used memorabilia and the trading card industry has soared in popularity. Whether it be a piece of a game-used bat, football jersey, sheet metal from a race car or other rare collectible, trading card companies are always looking for new and better innovations to get a leg up on their competition. This makes for a terrific, and exciting, time to collect trading cards. A game-used event card will always be a good investment as it’s more than just a typical trading card – it’s a unique insert with, what will someday be, a piece of history. And, best of all, it’s guaranteed to be authentic by the issuing card company.

If you are an avid trading card collector, then you know the value potential of rookie cards. Collectors should keep in mind that there is a difference between a true rookie card and a card company who releases their first card of a particular player, which they also call a rookie card. When searching for a true rookie card, you want the first card that the player ever appeared on. Be careful of rookie reprints, which are sometimes nearly impossible to differentiate from the real thing. For example, Michael Jordan’s rookie card was reprinted years ago and it’s nearly impossible to tell a real MJ rookie card, which is worth thousands of dollars, from the reprint. If you’re considering investing a large amount of money in a card, do as much research as possible to make sure that you are getting the real deal. If feasible, have the card authenticated or buy one that’s already authenticated from a reputable source.

Limited edition items also increase in value due to the fact that there are only a certain number of these items available and they are not being mass produced. As a general rule, anything that is produced in limited quantities will always retain a better value than anything that was produced in larger quantities. Special edition and commemorative collectibles hold their value equally as well. These collectibles are released in honor of a special, and usually a rare, event. Such things may include an anniversary, career record achievement or other milestone.

If you enjoy reading, perhaps you are a collector of press kits. These rare information kits are made available to the media, from a company or sports team, to be used for news purposes. More and more sports fans are beginning to accept these kits as collectibles. A combination of press releases, exclusive photos and 35mm slides provide a sports fan with an inside look at his/her favorite sport. In some cases, a press kit may also contain a team or stadium photo.

An important thing to keep in mind when shopping for collectibles is that, if investment potential is of concern, be on the lookout for unauthorized or illegal merchandise. In some cases, items will be reproduced without the consent or knowledge of the sports organization or even the athletes themselves. The best way to avoid this is to look for the symbol that confirms a collectible is an officially-licensed product. If you collect autographs, most athletes will not even sign an item unless it’s an officially-licensed product.
Shop wisely and, most importantly, take the time to enjoy your collection of sports memorabilia. It truly is a reflection of you and, through the years, a collection will become full of memories.

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Bob writes for Go All Out – providing officially licensed NFL jerseys, including NFL hats and caps, NFL memorabilia and other nfl team merchandise. Visit my blog eventoutlet.com to read more on Sports Collectibles.

Have you ever wondered about the meaning of “OOP” in an auction or advertisement for a movie?

Almost everyone is aware that books go out of print (OOP) and become desirable as collector’s items, but few of us ever stop to consider that the same is also true for movies in VHS and DVD format.

Collectors are very familiar with OOP, and frequently use this term to advertise their products. They realize that space in the title bars of products is usually limited to 30-60 characters, so they use the “OOP” abbreviation to save space.

The OOP expression is often used in conjunction with a date and the word “cover.” Collectively, these terms mean the product and the package artwork are no longer being produced.

When distributors sell out their stock of a particular item they become difficult to find. Hard-core collectors and sellers usually know where to find items, but it’s more difficult for the average collector. Brand new and factory sealed OOP movies can quickly become highly prized collectibles, just as OOP books and music.

Lately, there has been a real boon in auctions and e-stores offering OOP titles. Items are usually listed in the seller’s inventory or are available through some indirect source.

As a word of caution, most collectors have learned to pay close attention to an items catalog number. This important piece of information is the number listed on the items cover, jacket or box. The catalog number is an easy way for collector’s to identify the studio’s authenticity, proving that the item is genuine and in fact is out of print. This is especially important where foreign items are offered because some versions are not OOP at all and these are intended to fool the average collector.

Some collectors who bid at auctions are not collecting for financial gain, but just want an item for the pure enjoyment of owning the item itself. They can curl-up with their favorite book or watch their favorite movie knowing the experience with their OOP item will be a truly unique experience.

Whatever your reasons for purchasing OOP items, you can rest assured that sellers will include all the information you need for making an informed and wise decision when you do decide to buy.

Whatever your motivation when making a purchase, be it as an investment or just for the pure enjoyment of watching one of your favorite movies, you are sure to find collecting of OOP movies both interesting and rewarding.

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Host, Sintilia Miecevole loves collectibles and now has a resource site you can visit at www.ucollectibles.com. There are topics from auctions, barbie, cards and cars to comics, gifts and much more. Be sure to visit www.ucollectibles.com for further information.

If you walk accross a street and you see a quarter on the ground would you pick it up ? I bet you would. Now, what if the coin you saw lying there was a penny, would you still pick it up ? Some folks would say, if it was lying face up I might, otherwise picking up a coin that is lying face-down may bring bad luck. How come folks don’t say this saying if it was a quarter or a dollar bill lying on the ground, face-down. It all comes down to the value of the money, whether it gets picked up or not. I think most children would pick up a penny, to them a couple pennies can still buy a piece of candy, and to a collector of lincon cents, a penny face down or face up may be a rare find just waiting for an owner.

It’s strange how the poor little penny gets such a bad rap from folks, when your in line at a store folks get mad if your counting through a bunch of them, and they seem to be in everyones vehicle ash tray, or glove compartment like there a piece of trash. But to me it’s always been the same as having a nickel, dime or anything else. I mean come on folks, you wouldn’t throw a nickel away, so why a penny. It’s getting so bad that now days many stores keep some on the counter in a container and folks can have a couple for free if they need them for change, I hope they get to the point where they do that for dollars someday. I remember a time when my wife and I was happy to have a jar of pennies, so we could roll them and take them to the local bank for some badly needed money, now I am happy to say those desperate days seem to be gone for me, but I bet there are still a lot of folks that save, and roll their pennies for cash when hard times come along

The Lincoln Cent has been around since 1909, it is the oldest minted design of any U.S. coin. The Lincoln Cent was the first regular minted U.S. coin that used a portrait on it. A sculptor named ‘ Victor David Brenner ‘, was selected because of his talents, by president Theodore Roosevelt to design the Lincoln Cent portrait. In fact President Roosevelt saw a plaque that Brenner had made several years earlier that had the image of President Lincoln on it.

Indian Head Cents, Flying Eagle Cents, and Large Cents, did not have the motto ‘ In God We Trust ‘, on them, in fact The Lincoln Cent was the first U.S. penny or cent that had the motto ‘ In God We Trust ‘, placed on it. In 1909, the first year of the Lincoln Cents release the pennies had the designer’s initials on it ‘ VDB ‘, but after the coin was released a lot of folks complained that the designers initial’s detracted value from the coin, so the large letters ‘ VDB ‘, were removed, later in 1918 they were placed back on the penny, but in very tiny print and hidden under the shoulder of Lincoln. From the cents release in 1909 until 1958 the reverse side of the Lincoln Cent showed two wheat stalks, one along each side of the coin. In 1959 a new design was released for the reverse side of the Lincon Cent, this design was the ‘ Lincoln Memorial ‘, which is still on the coins today. In 1943 copper became scarce and was needed for the military, so the mint produced Lincoln Cents from zinc-coated steel, these coins are gray or chalky colored.

With almost one hundred years of circulation, the Lincoln Cent has many key-dates and error varieties that make some of them prized finds for coin collectors. Some of the sought after lincoln cents wanted by collectors are: ‘ 1909-S V.D.B. ‘,’ 1914 – D ‘,’ 1922 Plain ‘,’ 1944 D over S ‘,’ 1955 Double Die ‘, other Lincolns that have double die errors are on the obverse of some cents dated 1936, 1972, 1984 and 1995 and on the reverse of some cents dated 1983.

There is computer software that is made for collecting Lincoln Cent Pennies. ‘ Lincoln Cent Collector Software ‘, lets you record detailed information about each of your Lincoln Cents, such as: Source Aquired from, including name, address, telephone info, email, date, coin condition, cost, value, mint mark, errors or other info, notes, and much more.This is the most easiest to use software of it’s kind, and it is made 100% for collecting Lincoln Cents. The software is described in detail and you can download a free demo version of it at this website address:

http://www.rb59.com/lcc

By Robert W. Benjamin
Copyright © 2006

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