Following the results of the recent events at Heritage Auction Galleries, Morphy Auctions and the just-concluded auction at Hake’s Americana & Collectibles, it seems apparent that there are some distinctly positive trends for collectors of popular culture.

With each of these three sales, it is becoming progressively clearer that new money is entering the market. This notion, of course, is not new. At many stressful junctures in our history, including the Great Depression, people have sought out entertainment. This time is no different.

A key component driving sales presently, though, is the shrinking value of the dollar. With the U.S dollar currently trading at or near record lows against the Euro, the situation is not likely to improve drastically in the near term, as the Federal government is scheduled to pour nine billion new notes into circulation in the coming year – ranging from $100 on down. That’s enough to keep the Bureau of Engraving employees in Washington, D.C. and Ft. Worth, Texas occupied for three shifts, five days a week.

At the same time as the dollar has dipped, the Euro has climbed, as have prices for high end collectibles. There have been numerous record prices in a wide variety of categories.

The result, unintentional or not, is some fantastic buys for Europeans. And just because the dollar has lost some of its luster, that doesn’t mean the allure of American history and popular culture has done likewise.

“Our hobby has evolved to a whole new level of historic investigation,” said John K. Snyder, President of Diamond International Galleries. “Not to discount nostalgia as the first impulse for many collectors, but more and more we’re seeing people very quickly move beyond that stage.”

Both within the industry and outside of it, people are beginning to take this personal access to history more seriously, he said.

“Last week, when Steve Geppi received the prestigious Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship, it marked a point of departure, even vindication for popular culture. Can you imagine even just a decade ago an organization that is part of the Smithsonian Institution recognizing someone from the comic industry in such a way?” Snyder asked. “And DC Comic’s Paul Levitz was one of the co-chairmen of the event!”

He said that Geppi’s award, coupled with the continuing auction results and the general public’s hunger for information had made this hands-on investigation of history accessible.

“As information gets disseminated to the public at large, market forces take over. The supply of historic, high-grade collectibles is low compared to the number of people who now know of them,” he said. “Demand is going to continue to significantly outpace supply.”

He also said that perhaps this era would finally put to rest the notion that interest in a particular niche, genre, or character would die out when the generation that collected it originally as children or young adults passed away.

“On October 27, 2007, one of the finest cast iron mechanical bank collections ever assembled will go on the auction block. By and large, these fine items were manufactured from the 1880s to the 1890s, so there are not exactly a lot of their original owners around to be bidding on them,” Snyder said. “But let’s watch and see what happens. I hope my fellow collectors will join me in watching the results.”

The auction will take place live at Morphy Auctions, 2000 N. Reading Road, Denver, PA17517 on October 27, 2007 at 12:00 noon. Bidders can participate in person, via telephone, or, you may watch the auction on eBay Live by clicking here. Please tune in to see what happens during this exciting collectors’ event!

For more information, please visit www.morphyauctions.com, or call (717)335-3435.

Learn more about the Steckbeck auction by checking out the June 2007 online issue of ToyCollector Magazine, or this article by Mark Moran at AntiqueTrader.com.