Hallmark Keepsake Ornament Value Guide: Second Edition 1973-2006

I think this book is a great way to keep track of my Hallmark Ornaments and give me a current value of each one. However, because values change from year to year, it could be a lot of work transferring them to a new book each year. I think every couple of years would be fine to keep track of what you have unless you purchase numerous ornaments every year. I would, however, like to know where the values come from. If the values listed are to sell, I don't think you could get the amount stated. However, if it's for insurance reasons, I think it would be a great book to have.

I just love this book. It gives you a picture for all ornaments, including miniature ornaments too. Plus, other specialty hallmark products. The book also gives you a market value of the ornament and is nicely organized. I would recommend this book for the novist collector and the serious collector!

This book lists all Hallmark ornaments in pictures and prices. It is helpful to find some of my ornaments and know their value. I would recommend it to any collector of Hallmark.

This guide is very useful for determining insurance values for a person's ornament collection. It is not as useful for determining sale prices as sale prices almost never equal value guide prices. It is easy to use and has good pictures of virtually every ornament and merry miniature Hallmark has produced. I highly recommend it to any serious collector.

My wife and I do have quite a few Keepsake Ornaments that we've bought over the years for each other to be placed on our Christmas Tree but we're not collectors in the true sense. But I found out full well the value of Hallmark ornaments when I found five pieces in the Frosty Friends collection at a garage sale a couple of years ago for a few bucks. These were numbers 3 through 7 in the series and those few dollars resulted in quite a tidy profit when sold at eBay. Since then we've made it a point to look out for Hallmark ornaments at garage sales and flea markets but the problem was that we really didn't know which ones were really valuable. That all changed when I got this fantastic book by Bangzoom. I have owned a lot of collectible price guides in my life and this is easily one of the best. Their fantastic original price guide has now been updated with a second edition that goes through 2006. What makes it so great? Simple...how about a picture of every Keepsake ornament from 1973 through 2006...in full color, with the ornament name, retail price, item number, and current value. Add to that the pictures are color coded if they happen to be series or club/event releases. Add to that are outstanding articles on the history of Hallmark, special issue ornaments, protecting and insuring your collection, and an excellent article called "Hallmark Collecting 101" which is a valuable resource whether you are a veteran or novice collector. There's even a list of Hallmark related websites that provide even more resource material. While the bulk of the book is dedicated to Keepsake ornaments, Bangzoom doesn't stop there. You'll also find sections on the Miniature ornaments introduced in 1988, ornaments for other holidays like Easter and Halloween, special issue ornaments such as the Ambassador Holiday House Collection, and Tree Toppers. There's also a comprehensive, alphabetical index that can double as a collector's checklist, and finally profiles of the Hallmark artists and sculptors. It's truly a complete package and one-stop source for Hallmark collectors. I had a lot of fun thumbing through the book and finding out just how much all of our ornaments were worth. Of course, my wife won't let me sell any of the ones we bought for each other, but now when we hit the garage sales, we'll have the perfect, take-along resource. My highest recommendation! Reviewed by Tim Janson