Publications

ACCCS members have authored a number of publications relating to collecting credit cards and credit pieces. If you are interested in purchasing any of these, please send us an enquiry and we will forward it to the relevant author. The prices below do not include carriage or customs charges, which will vary by country.

The Origins of Mastercard
(And An Overview of a Global Industry)

Agostinho Campos Ferriera, 2021
Price: RRP €48.00, ACCCS Members €35.00

The Origins of Mastercard is possibly the most complete book ever published about credit card history. Encompassing far more than just Mastercard, the book contains a huge amount of information and many high-quality images across 327 color pages. It is a brilliant resource for anyone interested in credit card collecting.

“I firmly believe this book will become one of the definitive historical references of not only Mastercard but the credit card industry in general.”
Scott Nimmo, President of the American Credit Card Collectors Society

Contents:

  • Credit: A Historical Reference
  • Early Physical Support
  • Credit Cards in the USA
  • Bank Credit Cards
  • Bank Cards: The Context
  • Bank of America: The Expansion of BankAmericard
  • The Banks of Chicago
  • ICA: The Interbank Card Association
  • The First National Bank of Louisville: Master Charge Expansion
  • CBCA/WSBA: Western States Bankcard Association
  • Master Charge Developments from July 1967 to 1970
  • BankAmericard: Struggling for a New Concept
  • Credit Cards in Europe (this section of the book includes Sweden, the United Kingdom, France, Finland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Greece, Iceland and Germany)

Charge Coin Reference Guide

Edmund Tylenda & Chuck Jennings, 2018
Price: RRP $78.87, ACCCS Members $59.00

The Charge Coin Reference Guide contains 314 pages and over 1,500 different coins cataloged and imaged in life sized color. It took six years to create.

Contents:

  • Dedication: American Credit Card Collectors Society
  • Salute to Predecessors
  • Foreword & Introduction
  • Purpose
  • Scope of Guide
  • What is a Charge Coin – Method of Cataloging
  • Taxonomy
  • Listing Syntax Example, Legends
  • Composition, Grading Guide & Valuation
  • Manufacturers of Charge Coins
  • Charge Coin Values
  • Identifying & Dating
  • Mavericks
  • Playboy Charge Tokens
  • Help Finding the Identify of your Mystery Coin: An Index to Manograms
  • ACCCS Articles
  • Listings: General, Firestone, Mavericks
  • Image Catalog: General Firestone, Mavericks

A introdução dos cartões de crédito em Portugal (1960-1975)

Agostinho Campos Ferriera, 2011
Price: ACCCS Members: €25.00

Ten years before authoring The Origins of Mastercard, Agostinho Ferriera published a book written in Portuguese. The title translates to “An Introduction to Credit Cards in Portugal (1960-1975)”. It is a comprehensive description of the beginning of the various card operations in Portugal.

Contents:

  • Prefácio
  • Introdução
  • Os Precursores Americanos
  • A Experiência Portuguesa
  • O Cartão Diners Club
  • O Cartão Sottomayor
  • O Cartão Unibanco Da Unicre
  • A Publicidade
  • Os Cartões De Crédito Na Lei
  • Os Cartões Em 1975
  • Conclusão
  • Fontes E Bibliografia

Agostinho hopes to create similar publications in the future for other countries, such as Spain, the United Kingdom, and Sweden.

2011 Hotel Credit Card Catalog

Jerry Ballard, 2011
Price: $27.00

The purpose of the 2011 Hotel Credit Card Catalog is to guide the collector concerning values and varieties of hotel credit cards.

This is the first hotel credit catalog to be issued. It contains 658 cards.

Jerry Ballard has collected credit cards since 1973, specializing in hotel cards in the late 1980s.

Contents:

  • Order of the Cards
  • Size of the Cards
  • The Cards
  • Hotel Card Grading Guide

2008 Charge Plate Catalog

Jerry Ballard, 2008
Price: $29.00

The purpose of the 2008 Charge Plate Catalog is to show collectors about what the 2008 values are of “Charga-Plates” and what plates are available to collect. There are 473 plated images in this catalog.

This is the first charge plate catalog which is in colour. Jerry published two previously for the American Credit Card Collectors Society. Those were limited in scope compared to this one.

This catalog is the culmination of 35 years of credit card collecting.

Contents:

  • History
  • The Plates
  • Differentiating the Plates
  • Plate Values
  • Charge Plate Grading Guide

We welcome new members to the American Credit Card Collectors Society all the time, from beginners to experts and everyone in between.

  • Receive the ACCCS newsletter,
  • Post unlimited adverts in the ACCCS newsletter
  • Access all old newsletters from 1994 to the present day
  • Receive an invitation to the biannual ACCCS Convention
  • Connect with a community of fellow enthusiasts
  • Forge relationships with experienced collectors
  • Gain access to the members-only area of our website

BECOME A MEMBER

If you want to expand your credit card collecting hobby, learn more, and befriend like-minded people, become a member of the ACCCS.
JOIN TODAY!

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Frequently asked questions

You can find out the value of old credit cards by checking how much similar cards sell for. There are several ways to do this.

The simplest way to determine the value of old credit cards is to ask an experienced collector. If you submit an inquiry via our contact form, we can connect you with an expert who can assist you and point out if there is anything rare or unusual in your collection.

Alternatively, you can become a member of the American Credit Card Collectors Society. Membership in our credit card collecting club provides access to resources and knowledgeable members who can help. Benefits of membership include access to a gallery containing thousands of cards with historical pricing information, and access to our entire collection of newsletters, from 1994 through the present day.

You can look at recent sales on auction sites, however, there are some considerations to keep in mind when doing this. Firstly, it’s important to look at selling prices, rather than asking prices. Selling prices are the prices people actually paid, while asking prices can be very different. Secondly, historical sales on some sites are only saved for 3 months, so you may not find something that exactly matches what you have. Thirdly, it is sometimes possible to see rare or unusual cards sell for lower prices than they should have because people do not understand their worth, the ads don't do justice to the card, they're listed in the wrong category, or any combination thereof.

There are always people in our club who are actively buying cards. Collectors tend to focus on a niche, like gas cards or retail cards, or they might focus on a slightly broader area, like bank cards or travel and entertainment cards. Many of the rarest or most unusual cards will exchange hands in private sales. Please contact us if you are thinking of selling your collection.

You can also sell your old credit cards on online marketplaces. You will get the highest price if you sell each of your cards individually, although this approach requires the most effort. At the opposite end of the effort scale would be selling all cards as a job lot, an approach which typically results in the lowest price on a per-card basis. Halfway between these two approaches would be to group cards into different categories and to sell these individual groups, e.g., BankAmericard, Master Charge, oil and gas, retail, and so on.

To join the club, visit the membership section and complete the registration form. You can pay by check or PayPal. We offer annual or lifetime memberships. If you have any questions please contact us via the form on our website.

Credit cards are more worthwhile collecting if they are rare, in good condition, have historical significance, or are associated with famous personalities or events. Valuable modern cards might include those that are difficult to obtain, such as American Express Centurion (a.k.a. ‘black’) cards, while older credit cards might include early independent bank cards, American Express, Diners Club, or BankAmericard (Visa) cards from the 50s/early 60s, or Master Charge (MasterCard) cards from the late 60s. Rare or unusual cards can also be sought after, such as those issued in small numbers, like small independent department stores or gas stations, or cards with appealing aesthetics.

Consulting with other collectors or experts in the club can provide valuable insights. Contact us for more information via the form on our website.

We do not offer an appraisal service in a traditional sense (such services are normally a paid service) but we can connect you with an expert who should be able to assist for free and point out anything rare or unusual in your collection. The simplest way to do this is to submit an inquiry via our contact form.

The American Credit Card Collectors Society accepts donations and is most grateful for any we receive. When donations happen, we strive to find good homes for cards where they will be looked after, matching cards with collectors who will appreciate them. The club may charge members a nominal fee for donated cards, and the proceeds are offset against the running costs of our club. We are a non-profit organization. Running costs include expenses like our convention and website hosting. Donations are most popular for people getting out of the hobby, or when someone has inherited a collection and doesn’t know what to do with it.

If you wish to donate your collection, please contact us via the contact form above.

American Credit Card Collectors Society