There's no question that advertising is the lifeblood of sales. Take the Super Bowl. Unless two popular teams are playing, most of the people I know watch because of the ads. They can be funny or serious, but they need to get your attention. They also need to be true.

I received a serious ad recently. It was attached to a magazine. A few days later, I got an ad for the same product in the mail. Each advised me that the "Historic 50 State Quarter Program Set" is about to end, "FOREVER!" That's true. It also said, "These are the Final Days" for the U.S. Statehood Quarter. We have until the end of the year, but I'll acquiesce to that also being true. The ads claimed, "The interest in State Quarters has been staggering since day one of the Delaware issue in 1999." According to the U.S. Mint, tens of millions of people collect the coins, so that's definitely true.

The ads were promoting a set of all 50 State Quarters — actually two each from both the Philadelphia and Denver Mints. So, 100 quarters in all. Each coin was said to be in "uncirculated" condition. I've no doubt that, too, is true.

The coins are shown attached to a two-sided page with historic information about the state and the design on the quarters. Included on each page are several postage stamps honoring the state's history. From the photos in the ads that, too, was clearly true. Finally, those who ordered also received "A deluxe collectors album" for the pages at "no extra charge." That's nice.

Naturally, things like this cost money to make. And, the advertising is surely expensive. From what I can tell, that's reflected in the price. The cost per page is $17.95 (including shipping and service). That's where, for me, it got serious.

At $17.95 apiece, for all 50 of the quarters the total cost comes to $897.50. The face value of the included quarters is $25. Then again, there are also the stamps. Each is said to be in "mint condition," so, in fairness, that adds value. But, how much? According to the ads I didn't have much time to find out. If I wanted to reserve my collection, I needed to "Respond today before it's too late!" It advertised, "There are only 14 days left to respond," and "If we don't hear from you soon, we'll have to offer your collection to someone else." True? I suppose I could wait until day 15 to find out.

Neither of the ads promoted the coins' investment potential, which was refreshing. Too often, ads for modern coins hype "future profits" and the like. Still, there is the price. Maybe it's worth it. The only way to find out was to ask coin dealers. After all, they would be the likely ones to repurchase the sets down the road.

Each dealer I spoke with and showed the ads to agreed the product looked nice. But, all stated they would only pay the face value of $25. Of course, the stamps may add more value. Who knows? Everything in the ad surely seems to be true. But, when there's such a difference between the price of a product and what dealers say they would give for it that warrants serious consideration.

*Editor's Note: A JPEG visual of the 1999 Delaware State Quarter has been sent with this column.

To find out more about Peter Rexford and to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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