Commems Collection Exonumia: 1997-98 B R N A Convention Phone Cards

Introduction

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The 1990s saw the development and growth of promotional phone cards and other stored value cards - they spawned a new collecting area that became quite popular for a short time.

Though they never achieved the same mainstream acceptance as coins or paper money, the cards did reach a level of popularity that supported multiple collector's magazines, including Moneycard Collector and TeleCard Collector in the US, as well as a nearly 800-page illustrated catalog, published by Amos Press, Inc. in 1997, showcasing thousands of cards from the US and Canada.

Phone cards were designed to replace the use of coins in pay telephones (remember those?). Calls were placed to a toll-free number which accessed a central service network. Once the phone card was verified, the caller was connected with the desired telephone number. The popularity of the early utilitarian cards soon spawned a market for collectible versions.

An extensive variety of themes and topics were presented on collectible phone cards and other types of "money cards" during the mid- to late-1990s. Just about any thematic interest a collector might have had was likely to be featured on one or more issued cards - sports, comics, American history, art, patriotism, wildlife, landmarks, etc. Depictions of coins and paper money on the cards was fairly common. Popular collector coins such as the Indian Head cent, St. Gaudens Double Eagle ($20) and Morgan silver dollar were all featured on multiple cards from multiple issuers.

For a time, they were a popular souvenir item for coin and stamp shows. One could collect dozens of these cards from shows such as the 1994 American Numismatic Association Anniversary Convention held in Detroit, the 1995 National Silver Dollar Convention in Las Vegas, the 1996 El Paso International Coin Show, the 1996 Washington and Baltimore Coin & Currency Show, the 1997 Greater Cincinnati Numismatic Expo and a good number of others. The majority of these show cards were issued between 1994 and 1998.