In a sense, many adults are actually newspaper collectors. How many of us, when a major event happened, put that day's newspaper aside for future keeping -- End of WWII, FDR Dies, JFK Assassinated, Moon Landing, etc.? Hardcore newspaper collectors refer to these people as "casual collectors". Hardcore collectors actually seek out historic newspapers to purchase and often pay much more than "cover" price.

Before proceeding futher, there are three myths that surround the hobby that need to be cleared up.

First, many people assume that any newspaper over 100 years old or so, is extremely brittle, highly yellowed, and very delicate. This is NOT the case. For the most part, newspapers produced prior to the Custer massacre, were printed on paper made from cloth rags. Thus, it contained NO ACID. It is the acid that causes a newspaper to become brittle and turn yellow. Without acid, the paper does not become brittle or turn yellow. Newspapers published prior to the Custer massacre are often found in clean, solid condition. They are not the least bit brittle or delicate.

Second, many people assume that ANY newspaper from the early 1900's, or earlier, is quite rare. For example, sometimes when remodeling an old house, under the floorboards or in a wall, people may find a few pages of an old newspaper. They assume they are now "rich" as a newspaper THAT OLD certainly is rare and a "museum piece". This is NOT the case. Old newspapers are actually quite abundant -- even going as far back as the 1600's. Do you recall in economics class the "supply and demand" theory? There are actually more old newspapers around than people that collect them. Thus, values are much lower than most people assume. For example, original historic newspapers from the early 1800's can be purchased for under $15 each -- imagine, owning a newspaper nearly 200 years old for less than $15! However, there ARE some old newspapers that DO have a high value though -- into the hundreds, and in a few cases, thousands of dollars. to learn more, click the "Primer on Collecting" link at the left.