Does Your Favorite Playmate Have a Staple?
One hot debate among collectors of Playboy is if collecting magazines that were published after September 1985 have any value. 1985 is the year when Playboy stopped using staples to bind the magazines and went to a glued binding of their issues instead. Previously, from the first issue until the mid-1980's, most magazines, including Playboy, were constructed using staples in three places on the spine. This created a slight bulge where the staples were and the magazines were best displayed standing up. When Playboy first began making special editions, they were made with glued spines that resulted in a perfectly flat binding; hence their nickname "flats". The two different bindings were used to make telling the difference from the monthly publication and the special editions easy on vendors and consumers alike.
Currently, the issues after the glued binding process started don't have as much value as previous issues, however as time passes these issues too will increase in value. If you make your choices wisely when you collect Playboy magazines you can create a nice little collection that will be worth a pretty penny if you should decide to sell your collection at a later time.
Many collectors go for a particular playmate such as Anna Nicole Smith or Barbi Benton, who was Hefner's girlfriend for many years. Another popular method of collecting Playboy Magazines that goes beyond collecting the issues month by month and year by year is to collect classic one-of-a-kind interviews such as the January, 1981, issue of Playboy Magazine. This special issue features the last published photos of John Lennon and was released after his death in December 1980.
No matter what type of Playboys you enjoy collecting, with a staple or without, you're building a valuable collection with each addition you make.
posted by Just Men's Magazines
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Monday, July 03, 2006
Are My Old Playboys Worth Anything?
In a word: Yes. Since it's inception in December of 1953, Playboy has been a hotly collected magazine for men. It is a way to follow the social and fashion trends of a decade along with changing social attitudes.
Many collectors looking to sell are interested only in issues dated before January 1965 (and, more likely, issues dated before January 1956), although some collectors of Playboy will have specific issues from later dates they're looking for in pristine condition or will purchase entire collections or runs if there are enough valuable issues included. This is another reason it is good to "fill in" those missing issues in your collection as in many cases when you choose to sell all or a portion of your collection, a lot of buyers will buy even years that aren't as valuable as part of a set to get the most valuable editions.
At the time of this writing, a first issue of Playboy (December 1953 featuring Marilyn Monroe on the cover) that is in excellent condition will fetch in the neighborhood of $3500 to an avid collector. If your issue has any problems such as tears, folds, tape repair, watermarks or discoloring, this will lower the value of your Playboy considerably.
Issues from the first two years of Playboy (1953-1955) can sell for hundreds of dollars depending on the date of the issue and the dealer stock. By 1956, Playboy was printing a million copies of their magazine a month so issues after that time period aren't so dear to find. One thing you won't find when you collect Playboys is a March 1955 issue. The staff couldn't meet the deadlines and it became the April issue instead.
posted by Just Men's Magazines
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