Terry Kovel was interviewed for this article that appeared in the March 15, 2012 issue of The Bottom Line/Personal publication. It is reprinted with the permission of Bottom Line/Personal, www.BottomLinePublications.com.
Are you expecting those Hummel figurines to help pay your kids’ college tuition? Better hope the kids earn scholarships.
Collecting is fun, but it is a perilous investment if you choose the wrong collectibles. Here are 10 once-popular collectibles that are now worth much less than people imagine…
Hummel figurines once sold for hundreds of dollars apiece, but the generation that appreciated these little porcelain statues is now downsizing or dying off, dumping Hummels back into the market by the thousands.
Younger generations have little interest in buying them. Most used Hummels now sell for no more than $75 in shops, with prices likely to continue to fall as more Hummels reach the market.
Other cute little figurines have suffered a similar fate. Precious Moments figurines, sold as collectibles, now have very little monetary value.
Exception: Certain rare Hummels, such as those taller than 12 inches or those made before 1949, still can fetch four figures.
Anything made by the Franklin Mint. The company sells a wide selection of “limited edition” coins, plates, medals and other collectibles, but there’s little resale market for any of it. Anyone who wants a Franklin Mint product usually buys it from the company when it is being heavily advertised. Franklin Mint coins and medals typically can fetch their meltdown value when resold, which usually is a fraction of the amount that the company originally charged (though today’s high precious metals prices have lifted those resale values somewhat).
Other companies that make and heavily market collectible coins and plates include the Danbury Mint and Royal Copenhagen. Their products fare no better on the resale market.
Longaberger baskets—handcrafted wood baskets made by the Longaberger Company of Newark, Ohio— became a hot collectible in the 1990s, with some selling for upward of $100. The company then began issuing expensive limited-edition baskets as collectibles. The Longaberger basket resale market soon collapsed, and today you would be lucky to get more than $20 for most of them.
Limited-edition Barbie dolls have been declining significantly in value. As with most other “limited edition” toys, these were toys in name only— most were never played with, just set aside as investments, so they never became any rarer. Meanwhile, Mattel issued so many different limited-edition Barbies over the years that few collectors could collect them all, and most stopped trying.
Exception: Early Barbies dating from 1959 through the 1960s in top condition still can have considerable value. It’s the modern ones, originally sold at high prices as collectibles, that are likely to be worth less than initially paid.
Thomas Kinkade paintings and prints were produced in such huge quantities that they now have very limited resale value. If you paid retail prices for these paintings at a Thomas Kinkade Signature Gallery—there were more than 300 such galleries in the 1990s—you almost certainly will never recover most of the hundreds or thousands of dollars you paid. Scores of Kinkades are available on eBay, and most receive no bids.
Autographed sports memorabilia have declined sharply in value in the past decade. Collectors are disenchanted as it has become clear that many autographs are forgeries. Signed sports memorabilia now have value only if they come with proof of authenticity, such as verification from an authentication company such as PSA/DNA (www.psaCard.com) or James Spence Authentication (www.Spenceloa.com).
Helpful: If you ask an athlete to sign something for you, have a picture taken of you with the athlete as he/ she is doing the signing to verify authenticity.
Vintage metal lunch boxes became a major collectible in the late 1980s, and by the 1990s, some were selling for thousands of dollars. But today, few lunch boxes fetch more than $100, and most bring much less.
Exception: A lunch box still might have significant value if it features a picture of something that is collected in its own right. A 1950s Superman lunch box or a 1960s Star Trek lunch box might bring thousands, for example—but that’s because Superman or Star Trek collectors want them, not because lunch box collectors will pay that much.
Cookie jars became a hot collecting category after Andy Warhol’s cookie jar collection was auctioned for steep prices following his 1987 death. For a while, collectors were paying hundreds or occasionally thousands of dollars for cookie jars that weren’t even very old. Eventually people figured out that Warhol’s cookie jars were valuable only because Warhol owned them, not because cookie jars themselves have any great collectible value. Today, most formerly “collectible” cookie jars sell for less than $50, depending on design and condition. Very few sell for more.
China sets are declining rapidly in value. Many china sets from Royal Copenhagen, Royal Worcester, Lenox and Wedgwood sell at half the price of new china. Others bring $150 to $200 at estate sales, if they sell at all. Sets with flowery patterns, including Haviland china, are particularly unloved.
Collectible plates featuring pictures by artists such as Norman Rockwell or LeRoy Neiman typically are worth less than $5 per plate these days —and that’s if they date to before 1980 or so. Those produced within the past 30 years usually have no value.
Terry Kovel, author of more than 100 books about collecting. Based in Cleveland, she has a nationally syndicated newspaper column that appears in more than 150 newspapers and is coauthor of Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide, now in its 44th edition (Black Dog & Leventhal), www.Kovels.com.
Copyright © 2012 by Boardroom Inc., 281 Tresser Blvd., Stamford, Connecticut 06901-3229.
www.BottomLinePublications.com
Reprinted with the permission of Bottom Line/Personal
My mother had a 500 piece Amber rose cina set what would you say is value
Hi Terry. We talked a few times over the years. Hope you are well. I have all your books. I’m Retaired now. I was Flashback Antiques for 45 years. I miss it. I want to sell all my books. Any idea’s how or where? Have about 300 price guide’s.
I found a set of 6 square dessert plates and a matching set of 2 small lamps with no shades (electric, candlestick style, small night-light bulbs) All are in perfect/very good condition. They were in my late mother’s attic and were given as a wedding gift in 1950. Any value?
I have saucer that is Noritake saucer that reads Florian in red then underneath above wreath it reads Noritake then the wreath w/M inside wreath , just below says NIPPON underneath the wreath it reads MADE IN JAPAN i& just below that that it reads in red BASSETT
My mother was an antique hoarder. I am disappointed to see pieces she bought for $5 25 years ago not fetching much more than that in today’s market. And pieces she paid $50 for fetching 1/2 that. Most especially since she insisted that her antiques would pay for her final expenses, and refused to pay for life insurance. Boy was she ever wrong.
Having been in the estate sales & retail antiques collectables business for over 45 years, there are some changes in these areas that should be addressed and recognized. There have always been collectors and what they collect varies with the times and in cycles.
However, currently what we are seeing is a social phenomenon and entering a cycle where the newer so described “throw away” generations are apparently disinterested in wanting or accumulating “things” . They do not want moms or grandmas treasured nesting possessions, collections, brown furniture nor a multitude of other items once deemed as solid investments to pass on to heirs.
Currently in our shop, we are seeing more customers coming in to find out how to dispose of their collections that their descendants do not want, than customers coming in to by antiques or fine collectables. It is a sign of the times to be aware of for those that are purchasing as an investment
Hi.
How about the capodimonte figurines? My mom has a few of them and seem rare as I’ve search amd can’t seem to find similar as hers.
Can someone help me with more info or to discuss?
Many thanks!
I have a complete set of the Hallmark Rocking Horse series which ran beginning in 1981(?), in original boxes, including special editions and the anniversary edition. Are these still collectable? I have my mother’s china, which was sent by my father’s brother from occupied Japan — service for 12, now with a few missing pieces. Is it worth replacing the missing pieces?
I am wildly collecting mismatched dessert and salad plates in old and newer China patterns. I am starting an Event Planning Business / Rental Business. I try to get my pieces for less than a dollar. Young women who are getting hitched are seeking outdoor barns and parks with tents. Economic reasons have sent our young people out to seek interesting ways to get hitched into a destination with velvet love seats…old china…dishes – vases – statues – props galore spouting vintage or retro. I am eating up my finds. I pray the quest does not end like a pop culture plunge…before I can arrange my collection by color – style – design. China is hot. Yes, not a big drawl or fancy fund maker but, a use worthy way to say I Love YOU Forever.
Things designed as collectibles tend to be the ones that are never worth very much in the future. Beanie Babies, Barbies, all those things are very rarely worth anything because people keep so many of them and in such great condition. Simple Supply and demand.
Nowadays thanks to the joys of the internet you can see which collectibles no one else has thanks to websites like CompleteSet( https://www.completeset.com). It’s getting easier to find which ones are actually worth collecting thanks to technology.
My friend is looking for a seamstress form to sell clothing online and, the prices on different sites for a used, basic one are averaging $100! Crazy! I used to see them at every yard sale.
AVON
Ultimately, the resale or worth or a cherished antique or vintage collectible is what someone is willing to pay. The value guides are just that, guides to be used as a starting point. In my opinion, value guides are good resources for information regarding an item, but for pricing, it really depends on your market and what people are willing to pay.
I think the article was mostly aimed at antique / vintage collectible dealers and pickers buying for the resale market. These guys don’t want to waste their time or money buying items that have no resale value. After all, they are in the business of making money. By all means people should buy those items that they enjoy collecting regardless of resale value.
My mother recently passed away and she left many things that I am sure she thought were of value – like the autographed Gibson Girl plate with discoloration and crackles all over, the antique doilies, the first edition books that are not in good shape or else are remote titles, and the china, crystal ware, and sterling silver. I was discouraged to see the last comment about adding tea sets, china, and silver to the list. So will the value of these things ever return – even a little bit? Is it worth trying to get any kind of value out of them or do I just garage sale the stuff?
Most likely the fact his stuff would certainly be considered kitch and less than ‘art’ has contributed also.
Cookie jars are still be very collectible, the problem is the ‘Value Guide’ were ridiculously inflated. Even eight years ago, “$400” jars could be purchased on ebay for $40.
Other downward-trending collectibles– anything sold as a collectible, especially porcelain dolls, teddy bears (with the exception of Steiff) and the like. Milk Glass. Carnival glass. Vaseline glass. Fenton. Anything being widely “reproduced.” Any kind of memorabilia produced in the last twenty years by companies like Coca-Cola and Harley Davidson. Anything “primitive” or “country,” unless it is a very, very good piece.
I definitely agree with the comments so far, and I think there’s been a slow and steady corruption of what the word “collectible” should mean.
In the past, objects were collectible on their own merits: craftsmanship, utility, artistic appeal and so on. But over the past couple of decades, “collectible” has been used as a label on objects whose sole reason for sale was that you could then sit around and just, well, _have_ them. That may convey some personal satisfaction or reward, but doesn’t make them of interest to anyone else who didn’t want to buy them in the first place. Take a look at some of the overpriced rubbish being sold (in many cases in installments and with multiple payments) in tabloids and newspaper supplements such as Parade magazine, and ask yourself who’s going to want that as a family heirloom.
If its market value collapses and it has no other reason for being, it’s probably not something that was worth buying in the first place.
SHOULD CORDEY BE INCLUDED IN THE LIST OF COLLECTABLES NOT WORTH COLLECTING? I HAVE A LARGE COLLECTION BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SELL IT IF I COULD FIND SOMEONE INTERESTED IN BUYIING THE COLLECTION.
I retired about a year ago and spend alot of time on the internet. I got interested in online Auctions decided to give buying for resale but I really don’t know the right resources for selling. Any feedback is appreciated.
Trends come and go; the plastic horses I had as a child now sell on Ebay for upwards of $25 each! Who would have ever though that? But I do agree with Terry, most of the things that were created for very commercial purposes initially, once out of “fashion” are of little value later on.
But, I’m surprised Terry did not include sterling silver tea services, fine china, and other “decorative” silver pieces. Young folks today buy from Crate n Barrel, Ikea, etc. and just are not interested in fine pieces from yesteryear.
Maybe this is just another trend, and there will be a loop back to appreciation to these beautiful things from our past, but I think I will not be around to see it. What a shame.
I agree with the earlier comment that there is a big difference between collecting something one loves as opposed to collecting something in order eventually to make money! Longaberger is an American, family-owned company making baskets, wood products and plastic basket protectors HERE IN AMERICA. It is too bad that your focus on the monetary end of collecting doesn’t consider the quality, desirablity, and functionality of this beautiful product. Additionally, the contributions this company makes to the American economy as well as its awesome, yearly fundraising for the American Cancer Society through the Longaberger Horizon of Hope breast cancer research and awareness campaign must be mentioned. Please don’t dismiss these handcrafted “collectible” pieces with your harsh comment “lucky to get more than $20” which I believe is not a fair statement.
I don’t usually say much. However, I was compelled to say something about the statement “10 collectibles Not Worth collecting”. Really! There is a difference between collecting and investing. What I mean by this, is that if you enjoy certain things, by all means collect them, not just as an investment. The title, maybe, should have read “10 collectibles Not Worth investing in”. Thank you for letting me
say my piece..
Due to his untimely death, Kinkades have doubled in value at every gallery I have been to. I definitely don’t agree with this being in the top 10 collectibles NOT worth collecting. I guess P. Buckley Moss prints would be the same??? Beanie Babies I agree with, but I think Boyd’s Bears, etc. should have been on this list instead of Thomas Kinkade!
My daughter and daughter-in-law were crazy for Beanie Babies. They paid $30 and more for toys that now sell for 50 cents at garage sales.
If you collect because you enjoy the items you are collecting they are still WORTH collecting regardless of price changes. In fact ifthe prices have gone done it is that much easier to collect what you like.