Phone Cards That Have Collectors Calling

Delegates to the 1992 Democratic National Convention in New York didn't realize their goody bags contained a small fortune. It came in the form of a plastic card from Nynex, with a rendering of the Manhattan skyline and "D92" on the face. At the time, it was worth $1 in long-distance calls. But today, collectors are scampering for the cards, one of which sold recently for $1,700. "They just disappeared," says Luis Vigdor, a New York dealer.

The Nynex card is one of hundreds of phone-debit cards--many originally issued as promotional gimmicks--that are now hot properties among collectors. Not surprisingly, the craze started in Europe, where phone cards have been in use since they were invented in Italy in 1976. Only in the past five years has it spread to the U.S., where there are now an estimated 5,000 fanciers.