Is there anyone out there who grew up in the 90's? How about anyone who remembers Pogs?
Pogs were a game where you tried to flip circular disks of cardboard that had fancy images on them by hitting them with a larger slightly heavier disc made of plastic or metal. If you never played it growing up then it probably sounds pretty stupid, but I assure you that it was all the rage back in the day when I was a kid. It was like "figgit spinners" or whatever other silly toy that kids play with today. Do kids even play with toys or any sort of non-electronic games anymore?
Anywho, where I'm going with this is that I recently found a box of my old Pogs that I had stored away in a box in a closet. As soon as I opened it I was washed in the glow of that beautiful feeling of nostalgia. You know what I'm talking about - that warm and fuzzy endorphin endused feeling of emotional memories.
The last time I felt it was when I found my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the time before that was my Goosebumps books.
I had quite a few Pogs growing up, some of which I bought and some of which I won. At some point though, as the fad began to fade, I stopped collecting all of the Pogs that I could and began focusing on a select few sets. I collected ones that I thought were cool or ones that I thought may end up being worth something down the road. I'd trade like 5-10 ordinary Pogs for just one that I really wanted, that I saw value in. As kids I'm sure that both myself and the other thought that they were getting the better deal and that the other was an idiot for making the trade. But that childhood for you.
Anyway, let's take a look at what I saved!
World Pog Federation
First and foremost I started collecting "official" Pogs. These were the ones put out by the World Pog Federation. The WPF were the ones who started it all so my little kid brain figured that they would be worth hanging onto. They tended to be a little more expensive than some others and for that reason a little more rare to see on the "playing field."
The Pogs themselves were of a good quality and the pictures were always pretty cool too. They tended to be very detailed, have raised graphics on some and shiny parts on others.
Okay pause...
Who wants to hear something hilarious?
As I'm writing this I discovered that the World Pog Federation is in the works of bringing Pogs back as digital collectibles and of course this is all going to be done...wait for it...on the the fucking Blockchain... 😂. Pog NFT's here we come! I suppose that it was obvious that this was going to happen though and to be honest, Pogs would make for excellent NFTs. Here is the website.
I picture myself as a wrinkled old man one day talking to some kid about Pog NFTs,
"you know, back in my day, Pogs were real objects. You used to hit a piece of paper with the piece of plastic and we called that fun. Of course that was back when there was paper and... well... trees for that matter."
I plan on being very crudge mundgeny when I get old you see... Then the kid will probably laugh maniacally and say "I know gramps! The history of humankind was downloaded into my brain in the first grade. Before you, kids used to push wheels down the street with a stick. They were morons too!"
Okay moving on. Lets see what else I saved!
Gargoyles
Pogs based on the cartoons of the time were very popular and tended to be more expensive and better quality than some other brands. These versions of the game had teamed up with the World Pog Federation and were considered official Pogs as well. Most Pogs were released as a series and were numbered, but official Pogs always had their logo and number printed on the back. In my opinion a printed back meant better quality than a plain white one. I don't think that I have any full sets of any of the types I saved. I'm still working on that.
Some kids would write their name or initials on the backs of their Pogs and I really hated that since it damages them and essentially makes them worthless. I have a bunch in my collection today with writing on the back and anytime I come across one I get that brief feeling of disgust and disappointment that comes from having damaged goods.
I didn't focus on collecting slammers so I don't have many of them. Here are a few I saved. Slammers tended to come in ratios of approximately 6 Pogs to 1 slammer. They are also numbered on the back and add to a complete set.
Once I stopped actually playing the game I found slammers to be a little boring because their images were much plainer. Regrettably, I tended not to collect or trade them so I only have a few in each set that I collected.
Lion King
Lion King Pogs were popular at the time because the movie had recently just come out. Supposedly they are among the more valuable Pogs right now, though I use the term valuable very loosely here. Pogs right now aren't really sll that expensive. You can buy full sets for around $30-60 USD using online auctions and marketplaces.
The most expensive Pogs I've seen so far is the complete Jurassic Park set with 6 hologram Pogs. That is going for approximately $340 USD. That's is actually pretty expensive but the rest are mainly well under $100, like I said. On the other hand though, I have seen some folks selling them in very small batches of 6 for $20, so it seems that some people are really testing the waters on interest here.
The Simpsons
Simpson Pogs are among my favorite. I loved the TV show growing up and actually really like the simple consistent design of the Pogs and the funny handles of each of the characters.
The Simpsons show is pretty terrible now but the first 8-12 seasons, when all of the original writers were working on it, were really clever and hilarious. After that the writers began stepping away and the show basically went down hill from there. If you live long enough you eventually become the villian, as they say. At the time of Pogs though it was still going in full force at its peak of popularity.
Pocahontas
I have quite a few Pocahontas Pogs but not a complete set. Nonetheless these Pogs are revaltively common.
I like the fun vibrant colors, shiny details and raised graphics, like so many others.
I have a few slammers as well but most are very similar and boring, as slammers tend to be. Still I would like to eventually get them all to complete the set.
Animaniacs
Animaniacs was a cartoon show when I was a kid that was put out by Warner Brother Company. It was a sort of modern day Looney Toons.
I happen to really like the Pogs and they seem to be a little more rare than some other types.
Casper
I have quite a few Casper Pogs though they are my least favorite of my entire collection.
I liked the movie as a kid but the Pogs themselves are pretty boring. They are dark rather than colorful. Its to fit the haunted ghost theme but that makes them a little boring to me. I find them all to look very similar as well.
Nonetheless I would like to complete the set at some point if possible so if I happen to see them for sale I'd buy them just as readily as any of the others.
Disney
I held onto anything by Disney because... you know... it's Disney. These ones are all non-official Pogs, non-numbered and with plain white backs. They are a little strange in that Disney did have official Pogs out there for some of their more popular movies but they also had unofficial pogs like these for their older less popular movies and shows? Nonetheless, I have a lot of them.
Random
I came across a few random Pogs I saved, some official and others not. The Toy story ones came later when the trend was fading so I didn't have many of them. The cat you see is an interesting one put out by Subway restaurant. It's one of those 3D motion images that changes when you move it up and down. I don't know what that's called. It's like a hologram but not really. Someone tell me what they are called in the comments if you know what I'm talking about.
Anyway, those are all of the Pogs I collected and saved and im currentlyon the hunt for more to complete the different sets. What about you - did you collect or play Pogs? What other toys did you save from when you were a kid? Let me know in the comments.