From stamps, books and toys to vintage cars—the UK is a nation addicted to collecting. Popular TV programmes like Cash in the Attic and the Antiques Roadshow are testament to our ability to hoard and collect.
“I think there’s a bit of magpie in all of us,” says Robert Read, fine art underwriter at Hiscox.
Unlike the contemporary art market, where prices are falling rapidly after a seven-year bubble, collectibles are proving remarkably resilient to the economic downturn.
“The collectibles market, while considerably smaller in terms of values, has remained reasonably robust compared to the modern contemporary end of the market,” says Read. “In that sense it’s been a much steadier place to put your money and because the values are so much smaller it doesn’t attract speculators.”
Market forces are created by real enthusiasts—people who love collecting and are unlikely to part with their assets just because there is a risk prices could fall.
Stamp of approval
Values are holding up particularly well for stamp collectors. With the advent of email and fewer letters being posted, it might seem logical to assume the hobby is dying out. Not for stamp collectors. They are known to be obsessive collectors and include a large number of wealthy enthusiasts.
Stamps could even replace stocks as a good investment, thinks stamp dealer Stanley Gibbons. Three Bloomberg indexes of rare stamp prices show values have been growing steadily over the past ten years.
“Collectibles are the only asset I own that did not go down in value during 2008,” said Stanley Gibbons' CEO Mike Hall in a recent presentation.
At the higher end, such collections can be surprisingly valuable.
“Most average stamp collections are going to be in the tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of pounds—you can get some that are millions of pounds—but most tend to be small in terms of values,” explains Read.
Nevertheless, such values are generally much lower than those seen in the fine art market. “A fairly modest painting would be £15,000 and that would be a fairly significant stamp collection,” says Read.
Toys, dolls and Barbies
Vintage toys remain a firm favourite at auction and Barbie, who celebrates her 50th birthday this year, continues to fetch high prices.
Dolls from the early years are most valuable. While the original Barbie sold for $3 in 1959, it fetched $3,552.50 on eBay in 2004. An auction at Christie’s set the world record.
A Barbie in Midnight Red from 1965 sold for $17,000 (£9,000) and was just one of a collection of 4,000 dolls, with a total estimated value of £100,000 ($152,220).
According to manufacturer Mattel, Barbies with bubble cut hair, red hair and iconic dolls, such as Malibu Barbie, command the highest prices.
Know the value
While most professional collectors are aware of the value of their assets, underinsurance remains a problem.
The failure to obtain up-to-date valuations is the main cause. These can be a long and drawn out process for those with substantial collections, but are crucial to ensuring adequate protection, says Read. “The one piece of advice I’d give to people is make sure you have a current valuation.”
Valuations can be carried out by most specialist dealers and auctioneers, which will charge a flat rate to provide a valuation for insurance or probate purposes.
Valuers can give guidance over the phone or by email, as well as meeting face to face in their salesroom or at your home.
It will depend on the size and mobility of your collection whether it makes sense to pay a higher price for an expert to visit your home.
Fine art auctioneer Bonhams says it can provide a valuation in nine out of ten cases based on just a photo sent by email.
Lucky find on the bookshelves?
Beyond the professional collectors, there are a large number of novices unaware of the value of their treasured items, who could wrongly assume they are covered under home and contents insurance.
Books are commonly missed. “If you’ve got a first edition of Dr No by Ian Fleming it’s actually worth quite a lot of money—a couple of thousand pounds,” says Read.
“People might not realise that and it might just be just sitting on their shelves.”
A couple who appeared on the UK TV show Flog It was amazed to discover the value of one of their treasured items. A 400-year old ‘passport’, handwritten on parchment and bought as a gift for £100 ($152), was valued at £20,000 ($30,483).
