President Obama Memorabilia

Everything official! Were you lucky enough to score a few tickets to the inauguration? How about menus for the luncheon, programs, tickets to the balls, posters or campaign memorabilia? These are all things that should be saved and properly stored. Kept in good condition, these are all items that will most likely increase in value in the future.

Also look for literature from the Obama campaigns and inaugural committee, brochures, magazines, anything that commemorates this historical event.

Did you have a picture taken with President Obama at a campaign stop? Frame the picture with corresponding literature or memorabilia for a display that will have meaning in the years to come.

Also see: Rachel Cooper's Inauguration Pictures 2009

Have you saved the newspapers from the day of the Inauguration, election or even the nomination? With thousands of copies printed, most will never significantly appreciate in value, but that's not what it's always about. If you're interested in keeping your copies in pristine condition, read the tips on Storage Methods for Historical Newspapers and Magazines.

Tips:
If you want to enjoy those newspapers, possibly framing the copies or putting them in a scrapbook, consider getting color copies made at a shop that can work with oversize pieces. Put the originals away and enjoy the copies.

Of course you will want to have a copy of the local newspaper, but also look for foreign editions, as well as the papers from the capitol and major cities.

Hopefully you've saved any campaign pins you might have received over the past year. Just know the most valuable ones will probably wind up being from local campaigns, made in limited numbers, not the stuff that was available to everyone with a click or two of a mouse button.

Don't expect those Moveon.org pins to be worth much in the future, with over 2.2 million pins distributed, that's a lot of pins sitting in desk drawers.

I thought there was lots of weird Elvis stuff available for purchase, but I think Obama items are rivaling even Elvis. Garden Gargoyles, action figures, flip flops with Obama heads on them, bobble heads, dolls, limited edition action figures(see picture), dollar bills with Obama instead of Washington. The list goes on and on.

Are these going to worth more than you paid in a few years, doubtful. But if you like them and want to add some kitschy stuff to your collections -- go for it, there's a lot to choose from.

What a difference a year makes in the value of Barack Obama collectible. It was February 2008 when these two items came up for bidding at Heritage Auctions.

From Heritage Auction Galleries:
Barack Obama signed book and signed photograph both having the presidential hopeful's large, distinctive "BO" autograph. The image is an 8.5" x 11" color senatorial glossy, while the book, Dreams From My Father, is Obama's 1995 paperback autobiography. Both items excellent condition.

Sold price: $418.25