The Franklin Mint

This long established 'collectables' company have been struggling of late. The growing popularity of internet auction sites such as e-bay, have highlighted the true worth of these knick-knacks. As I type, a limited edition 'Holy Cats' collector's plate is about to go for £3.70, and there is a 'beautiful' porcelain cat with 18 hours to go, and one bid of 99p. According to Tuesday's Daily Telegraph, the company, which used to just do commemorative coins, expanded to include plates, teddies, dolls, figurines and models in the boom years of the nineties. They were previously very successful, but the advent of e-bay has shown these items to no longer be desirable. The Limited Editions apparently run to tens of thousands at a time. As people realise the true worth of their dust-catchers, they are no longer buying them and Franklin Mint now does most of its business in model cars and planes. The company has also cut its international marketing and is no longer seen advertising on the back of weekend supplement magazines.

Also according to the Telegraph, people are still collecting, but the money is in cigarette paraphernalia (due to rarity), costume jewelry and 20th Century Glass. Plus fan based collectables such as Star Trek or Elvis souvenirs.

However, the Franklin Mint was sued a few years ago by the Princess Diana memorial Fund, claiming they did not have the rights to her likeness. However this was not the case in California law, and the Fund lost with a £4m legal bill. Subsequently, the Resnicks, who own Franklin Mint have now sued the Fund for $25m for damaging their reputation. This has been settled out of court with neither side making any money, but one of Diana's charities benefiting.

Alos, from the Telegraph newspaper, an excellent quote 'Eric Hobsbawn once said that the less educated the population, the greater the taste for ornament' (Stephen Bayley, Design museum)