Vintage 1996 calendars become hot items as dates overlap with 2024

Calendars from the year 1996 have recently gained immense popularity as the dates for the year correspond to 2024, sparking attention and leading to high resale prices on secondhand online platforms.

The sudden surge in sales came after some netizens online noticed that both 2024 and 1996 are leap years that both began on a Monday.

In other words, “you can use a 1996 vintage calendar to spend your 2024,” a seller on China’s secondhand sale platform Xianyu told the Global Times.

China Central Television on Sunday reported that the search volume for 1996 calendars has increased 600 percent compared to last week, setting a new high in the platform’s history.

On Xianyu, many 1996 calendars can be seen being sold at high prices, with many sellers using slogans such as “Let’s celebrate the new year with an old calendar.”

On Xianyu, the Global Times found that the prices of vintage Chinese-style hand torn calendars for 1996 could reach thousands of yuan each.

The most expensive ones have even soared to 30-50 yuan ($4-7) per page, just one day, leading to an entire calendar’s going for a stunning nearly 20,000 yuan.

According to a staff member with another popular Chinese secondhand sales platform, the trade volume of 1996 calendars has been on the rise since the beginning of 2024, reaching its peak on January 9, with over 400 people simultaneously searching for the keyword “1996 calendar.”

However, business insiders are also reminding buyers to be cautious about these calendars’ value as collectibles, as the occurrence of identical leap year calendars is not that uncommon and happens every 28 years.

Fang Xiao, chief editor of a Chinese collectibles magazine, said that the buyers should be careful when considering their value.