It’s a question I’m often
asked - ‘What’s collectible’? And it’s a
good one in this seemingly soft marketplace where supply outweighs demand. In working with clients and downsizing and estate
professionals alike I’ve been asked numerous times to put together a
list of stuff to watch for when you are sorting through a home and its lifetime of
accumulation; so here it is. Most people know that fine jewelry and Group of
Seven paintings are going to hold value, so this is really a list of unexpected
items that you may overlook or wouldn't think of.
Old Toys
Often times in going through an estate I find a stash of children’s toys
from the 1950s. Vestiges of the baby boomers being babies, it may be a
collection of dinky toys, or Barbies or a stuffed Punkinhead. They sit in the
closet - to precious for parents to throw out but not something their original
owners want anymore. If still in good condition, these items have a collectible
value.
Costume Jewelry
Yes everyone knows to grab the jewelry box because gold and diamonds
have value, but I’m talking about costume jewelry like rhinestones and plastic
stuff. Just because something isn’t made from ‘the real thing’ doesn’t mean it
isn’t valuable. Don’t dismiss these pieces, there have been whole books written
on the subject and fortunes made in buying and selling costume jewelry. A month
ago a plastic pumpkin brooch sold on eBay for $8,400.
Militaria
Still desirable are military items. The further away we get from WWI and
WWII the rarer this stuff becomes, and the fascination and thus the demand
grows. In this category the more the better, a single pin may only bring a few
dollars but if it’s part of a larger collection of stuff that belonged to the
soldier then it creates a story, and this is what collectors will pay a premium
for.
Christmas & Halloween
This may or may not catch you off guard. Halloween actually supersedes
Christmas in some ways as the most collectible holiday. It may be due to the
fact that there is a lot more Christmas stuff than Halloween which is a
relative minor holiday by comparison but both are certainly hot collecting
fields. I’m talking old paper decorations to glass ornaments, postcards to
figural pieces. The key here is the older the better.
Photos
Yes, photos. And I mean snapshots. Photography was invented in
about 1820 so by 1900 virtually every household had a camera. Flash forward 5-6
generations and what we’ve got is tons of photos that we have no attachment to
or memory of, this creates the supply, all these photos are now coming into the
market. As for collectability, they are a cheap thing to start collecting and
intensely personal and thus fascinating for a whole variety of reasons to the
collector. For more info you can click here to visit a blog entry I
wrote about photography.
Buttons
Yes another surprise. They are something that virtually every house has
and they often get thrown out or sent out for donation, but buttons can
collectible. This is a bit of a needle in a haystack because it’s only one in a
thousand that are worth good money but they’re worth more than a toss.
Dress Patterns
Sought after by collectors and designers and dressmakers alike, vintage
women’s dress patterns are hot. Again these are things that are found in many
homes and often end up in the trash but
groupings regularly go for good money, while the odd
desirable single patterns have been known to go in the high hundreds.
Silver
Namely sterling silver. Whether it's flatware or larger pieces, it’s really important to know if what
you’re dealing with is sterling or silver plate. Most North American pieces
should be stamped ‘Sterling’ or ‘925’ and European often ‘800’ so that’s
helpful. It gets a little trickier with British sterling because of the
hallmark system they use. Hallmarks are a series of little square marks, but be
careful because silver plate companies got smart early on and started using
similar markings. Go to www.925-1000.com for more information.
