How much is the 1888 first National Geographic worth?

A genuine original October 1888 first issue is a serious four-figure-and-up rarity because only about 200 were printed. Be careful, though: facsimile reprints of the first issue are common, so the key question is always whether a copy is the real 1888 printing rather than a later reproduction. Have it authenticated before assuming.

Where can I donate or get rid of old National Geographics?

In the Albuquerque metro, the New Mexico Literacy Project takes National Geographics free in any quantity, with free pickup and a 24/7 drop box. Elsewhere, teachers, artists and crafters, homeschoolers, and Little Free Libraries are the people who actually want them. Most thrift stores and used bookshops will not accept them.

Do you take National Geographic magazines?

Yes — National Geographics are welcome along with books, DVDs, CDs, and vinyl, in any condition and any quantity, with free pickup across the Albuquerque metro and a 24/7 outdoor drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, Unit A. Anything genuinely old is pulled and identified before it goes anywhere.

What do you do with the magazines you can't rehome?

I try to route usable issues to teachers, artists, care facilities, and Little Free Libraries, and anything genuinely old is identified and kept out of the recycling stream. For common mid-century runs, where supply far outstrips demand, the remainder is responsibly paper-recycled rather than landfilled. It is a for-profit reuse business, not a charity, and donations are not tax-deductible — but nothing useful is wasted.

Are Old National Geographic Magazines Worth Anything? The Honest Answer

By Josh Eldred · New Mexico Literacy Project · May 31, 2026 · Last verified May 2026

Here is the answer you probably do not want but should hear first: the stack of National Geographics in your garage — the yellow-spined run from the 1950s through the 2000s — is worth almost nothing on the resale market. I sort donated print for a living in Albuquerque, and no single item gets brought to me more often, with more hope attached, than boxes of old National Geographics. The hope is understandable; the magazine is beautiful, it feels important, and people saved it for exactly that reason. But that is precisely the problem: everyone saved it. For most of the twentieth century the magazine printed in the millions, and a thing that survives in the millions has almost no scarcity value. This page tells you the honest truth about which issues are the rare exceptions, how to tell what you have, and — the part most people actually need — what to do with the rest.

The short version: if you are in the Albuquerque metro and you just need the stacks gone, I take National Geographics free, any quantity, no judgment — and I will flag anything genuinely old before it goes anywhere. Text 702-496-4214 or use the free pickup form.

The hard truth about your stack

National Geographic is the most-saved magazine in American history. Its readers treated it like a library rather than a magazine — they shelved it, they kept complete runs, they passed boxes down to children who also could not bring themselves to throw it away. The result is that the ordinary twentieth-century issues survive in staggering numbers, and the resale market reflects that brutally: common mid-century issues sell, when they sell at all, for pocket change, and most of the time they are not worth the cost of shipping. Used bookstores generally will not buy them. The chain thrifts will not put them out. Even the recyclers are particular, because the clay-coated paper and the glossy covers are harder to process than ordinary newsprint.

So if you have inherited or accumulated a few hundred issues from, say, 1948 to 2010, the honest market value of that stack as collectibles is essentially zero. That is not a knock on the magazine — it is a consequence of how beloved and how saved it was. Knowing this up front saves you the disappointment of hauling them to a dealer who will wave you off, and it lets you make a clean decision about what to actually do with them.

The issues that genuinely are worth something

There are real exceptions, and they are worth knowing because they are easy to miss in a big lot. The value lives almost entirely in the earliest decades:

The very early issues — before about 1905. In the magazine’s first years it printed only a few thousand copies, and survivors are genuinely scarce. Issues from the 1888–1905 window are the ones that command serious collector interest and reach the four-figure range and beyond in good condition.

The first issue — October 1888. The inaugural issue (Volume 1, Number 1) was printed in a tiny run of roughly two hundred copies. A genuine original is one of the rarest American periodicals there is and a true trophy — though be aware that facsimile reprints of it exist and are common, so the first thing any buyer confirms is whether it is the real 1888 printing.

A few famous later issues. Two twentieth-century issues get asked about constantly: April 1913, which carried the first published photographs of Machu Picchu, and December 1988, the centennial issue with the hologram cover. These are more interesting than they are valuable in most conditions — the print runs were still enormous — but they are the ones collectors look for in a later lot.

The other thing that creates value is completeness and condition: an unbroken early run, clean and intact, with the fold-out map supplements still bound in, is worth far more than the sum of scattered worn issues. Damage — torn covers, water stains, a removed map, a mailing label torn off the front — cuts value sharply. Which leads to the single most important rule: never tear the maps out. The map supplements are part of what makes an early issue collectible, and a great many old National Geographics were quietly ruined by someone harvesting the maps to frame.

How to tell, in three minutes, what you actually have

You do not need an appraiser to sort the wheat from the chaff. Run this quick check on the lot:

1. Read the dates. Pull the oldest issues and check the year on the spine or cover. If your oldest is from the 1920s or later, you almost certainly have a common run with little resale value — which is completely fine, and the “what to do” section below is for you. If you find anything from before about 1905, stop and set it aside; that is the rare zone.

2. Look for the famous exceptions. Glance for April 1913 and the December 1988 hologram issue. They are the two most-asked-about later issues, worth pulling out even though most copies are common.

3. Check condition and the maps. Are the covers on? Are the fold-out maps still bound in? Is there water damage or a musty smell? Condition decides everything, and intact maps matter. Keep any loose maps with their issue.

That is the whole triage. If nothing predates the 1920s and there are no special issues, you have a common lot — valuable to a reader or a classroom, not to a dealer. Here is what to do with it.

What to actually do with the stacks

This is the part most people are really asking about, because old National Geographics are genuinely hard to get rid of. They are heavy, the thrift stores turn them away, and throwing a beautiful magazine in the trash feels wrong. Here are the honest options, best first.

Give them to someone who will use them. National Geographics have a real second life that has nothing to do with resale value: teachers use them for classroom projects, artists and crafters use the photographs and maps for collage and decoupage, and homeschoolers and Little Free Libraries take them for reading. If you know a teacher or an artist, they are often delighted to get a box.

Let me take the whole load. In the Albuquerque metro, this is exactly the problem I solve. I take National Geographics free, in any quantity, with no judgment and no sorting required — the same free pickup and 24/7 drop box I run for books. I go through what comes in: anything genuinely old gets pulled and identified before it goes anywhere, the usable issues I try to route to teachers, artists, care facilities, and Little Free Libraries, and the rest is paper-recycled responsibly rather than landfilled. I want to be straight about that last part — for a common mid-century run, recycling is often where most of it ends up, because the supply so far outstrips the demand. But nothing useful is wasted, and you get the stacks out of your house in one trip.

Recycle them yourself. If you would rather handle it directly, National Geographics can go in mixed-paper recycling in most curbside programs — though the volume and weight are why most people would rather hand off a pickup. Do not put them in the trash if you can avoid it; the paper is fully recyclable.

Just need the National Geographics gone?

Free pickup across the Albuquerque metro, any quantity, no sorting. I'll flag anything genuinely old before it goes anywhere.

Call or Text 702-496-4214

Frequently asked questions

Are old National Geographic magazines worth anything?

For the most part, no. The twentieth-century issues most people have — roughly 1910 onward — were printed in the millions and survive in huge numbers, so they carry almost no resale value, and most dealers and thrift stores will not take them. The real value sits in the early issues, especially anything before about 1905 and the October 1888 first issue.

Which National Geographic issues are valuable?

The earliest ones — before roughly 1905, when only a few thousand copies were printed. The October 1888 first issue (Volume 1, Number 1) is the rarest, printed in about 200 copies. Two later issues get asked about constantly — April 1913 (first Machu Picchu photos) and the December 1988 hologram cover — but most copies of those are common. Condition and intact map supplements decide the value of any early run.

Where can I get rid of old National Geographics in Albuquerque?

I take them free across the Albuquerque metro — any quantity, no sorting, free pickup, plus a 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, Unit A. Anything genuinely old gets pulled and identified first; usable issues go to teachers, artists, and Little Free Libraries; the rest is recycled responsibly. Text 702-496-4214 or use the pickup form.

Can I recycle National Geographic magazines?

Yes — they are fully recyclable paper and can go in mixed-paper recycling in most curbside programs. The only real obstacle is the weight and volume, which is why many people would rather hand off the whole load for a free pickup than haul boxes of them themselves.

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Is my old family Bible worth anything? — the honest answer, and why the genealogy pages inside are the real treasure.
What To Do With Old Encyclopedias — the same honest answer for the other great “is this worth money?” estate find.
Books Found in New Mexico Estates — for the books in the same boxes, how to tell a treasure from a reading copy.
Old Books Worth Money — what actually has value when you are clearing out print.
Free Book & Media Pickup — Albuquerque — schedule a pickup for the whole load.
The Complete Albuquerque Donation Guide — everything I take, and how it works.

Cite This Guide

Eldred, J. (May 2026). Are Old National Geographic Magazines Worth Anything? The Honest Answer. New Mexico Literacy Project.

https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/what-to-do-with-old-national-geographic-magazines

Content is original research by Josh Eldred. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Cite with attribution.