09/17/2026
Before PokĆ©mon cardsā¦ before fidget spinnersā¦ there were POGs. š„
But the story actually starts decades before the 1990s craze.
The name POG came from a Hawaiian juice drink made with Passionfruit, Orange & Guava. Kids in Hawaii played a game using the round cardboard caps from milk and juice bottles, stacking them up and trying to flip them over by throwing a heavier disc, later known as a slammer.
Then the early ā90s happenedā¦ and POGs absolutely exploded. š„
Suddenly these little cardboard discs were EVERYWHERE. Schools, toy stores, comic shops, flea markets, you name it. There were sports POGs, cartoons, superheroes, holograms, skulls, celebrities, advertising pieces and thousands of wild designs.
Kids traded them like currency, collected tubes full of them, and battled at recessā¦ until some schools actually banned POGs because games were getting a little too serious. š
Like many ā90s crazes, the boom didnāt last forever. By the late 1990s, POG mania had largely faded, but millions of them survived in closets, attics and old childhood collections.
And today?....
Collectors are digging through them all over again. š
Because while most POGs are still inexpensive, certain rare sets, limited releases, unusual slammers, early pieces and hard-to-find designs can be surprisingly collectible.
So before you throw out that tube of old POGsā¦
You might want to look through it first.
Who remembers playing POGs at recess? š
