Collectibles As An Investment

Do you have a curio cabinet full of Hummel or precious moment figurines?  If you do, you are not alone.  Many people in the 70s, 80s and 90s started collecting them and were paying a lot of money for them.  Today, unfortunately, they are only worth a percentage of what people paid back then.  Hummel figurines that were going for $200-$300 back in their heyday are now bringing in $50-100 if you are lucky.  The same holds true for many other collectibles and the reason is simple, they were made to be collected.

Most collectibles that are made specifically for collecting purposes are a fad.  People become interested in collecting them, build a huge collection and then most people lose interest.  Such is the way with Beanie Babies, cabbage patch dolls and gum cards.  In the 1960s gum cards were imprinted with photos of the Beatles and an “autograph signature.”  Everything Beatles is collectible right?  You are lucky if you can get a buck or two for the cards in today’s market.

In today’s market, what is selling are collectibles that were not made specifically for collecting, but had a functional and specific purpose.  Some examples are coins or stamps, which had a specific use.  In our recent NOVA-Antiques Newsletter, we wrote about a Leica camera that sold at a record auction price; other things that can bring in top dollar include memorabilia, such as Elvis’ jumpsuit or Michael Jackson’s glove.  These things were not only functional but due to the fact that they were not mass produced, they are rare.

So if you have some extra money, not many of us do in this economy, and you want to invest in collectibles, what is the best bet?  The best bet is to stay away from the mass produced collectibles: Hummels; prints from Thomas Kincaid; and Pokeman cards are probably not good investments.  Memorabilia, especially autographed items; political or historical objects or even vintage automobile hood ornaments are probably good investments.