Tucked away in your loft could be that old comic book you treasured as a child or that classic video game that your aunt bought for you, but you never got out of the box, let alone played. Little do you know it, but that forgotten item could earn you some serious cash!
In fact, as reported by Metro, even a full Italia 90 sticker book in good condition could earn you up to £500.
This isn’t an isolated case either. There are plenty of wine and whisky markets happening regularly and many Pokémon playing card collectors will know first-hand just how popular playing card auctions are in 2023.
Whether you’ve been intentionally collecting, or you have plenty of long forgotten about treasures tucked away, you could be sitting on a potential windfall. Read on to discover 10 of the most profitable and surprising collectibles.
1. Ty Beanie Babies
If you grew up in the 90s, or you have a child that did, the chances are that there is a Ty Beanie Baby in your home somewhere. These stuffed toys, created by Ty Warner, were one of the most popular collectibles in the late 90s and became one of the world’s first Internet sensations in 1995.
They were not only collected as toys but also as financial investments, as particular ones had high resale values. For example, a rare “Valentino” Beanie Baby sold for thousands of dollars on eBay. Similarly, a “Princess Diana” commemorative Beanie Baby from 1997 sold for $10,000 (around £8,000).
2. Disney VHS tapes
If you either were born in or lived through the 80s, the chances are that you will have plenty of VHS tapes tucked away somewhere. But what you might not realise is that many of those old classic tapes that you just can’t bring yourself to throw away could be worth something some 40 years on.
If you’re a Disney fan, or you had children growing up in the 80s and 90s, you could be sitting on a tidy sum of money! For example, The Rarest reported that a Black Diamond edition Clamshell 101 Dalmations VHS tape sold for $14,000 (around £11,300) on eBay in September 2021.
3. Pennies
Among their respondents, The Royal Mint reported that coins were the second most popular collectible after stamps.
For those that love collecting pennies, it doesn’t come more interesting or expensive than the 1933 George V penny. Only 11 were ever created, with seven made for ceremonial purposes, including two that were distributed to the Royal Mint Museum and the British Museum respectively, and four that never even made it to production.
While none of these coins have ever come up for sale, according to Truly Experiences, the estimated value of one of these pennies is around £72,000.
4. Action figures
If you collected action figures as a child, it’s likely that many of them will still be tucked away in a dust-covered box somewhere in the attic or garage.
For serious collectors, that old He-Man figure that you’ve forgotten about could be the last one they need for their collection. For that reason, they could be prepared to pay above what they think it’s actually worth.
As of 2022, the most expensive action figure ever sold at auction was the rocket-firing Boba Fett Star Wars action figure that sold for $204,435 (more than £165,000).
5. Vintage computer games
Some of the retro video games may look incredibly dated now but that doesn’t stop them from being incredibly valuable, especially if they are still boxed. With video games being incredibly popular collectibles among young and old alike, it’s no surprise that there is a huge demand for some of the more classic titles.
For example, Tetris on Sega Genesis or Mega Drive has an estimated value of between £2,000 and £13,000 and a signed copy by the developer was put up for sale in 2011 for $1 million (around £800,000). Similarly, one of the first printings of Super Mario 64 was sold at a Heritage Auction in July 2021 for $1,560,000 (more than £1.2 million).
6. Vinyl records
Between the 1950s and the 1990s, vinyl record players were common in homes across the UK. Now, in 2023, vinyl records are making a comeback in popularity once again despite the rise of CDs and latterly, online music sources.
In fact, figures revealed by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) showed that sales of vinyl records overtook that of CDs in 2022, the first time since the late 1980s.
So, while dusting off that old vinyl record player to listen to your favourite tunes could be a great journey down memory lane, it could also be unlocking some potential funds for you too! Indeed, Carrington Dean revealed that the 1963 vinyl record of Please Please Me by the Beatles went for around £5,100 on eBay in 2022.
The most expensive vinyl record ever sold was ‘Wu-Tang Clan: Once Upon a Time in Shaolin’, which was sold for $2 million (£1.6 million) in 2015.
7. Wine
Collecting wine has become a popular pastime with many adults in recent years, with many seeing it as an investment opportunity. Others just see it as an opportunity to collect, and enjoy, some of the world’s finest-tasting wines.
Whichever camp you fall into, if you’ve been storing up your wine collection for a while, you could have some stored away that could fetch a pretty penny.
For example, the most traded vintage as of July 2022, according to Liv Ex, was the Tignanello 2018, with it going for around £615 per case of six bottles. So, take a look in your wine rack (or fridge) and see if you have a rare bottle tucked away!
Meanwhile, the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold was a Mig-designed ape-clad Magnum of Avenue Foch 2017 Champagne. It was sold, along with an NFT, at auction in July 2022 for $2.5 million (£2 million).
8. Comic books
Comic books have always been popular among collectors and opportunists alike. While fans enjoy the stories and the nostalgia that the comic books provide, those looking to make money are able to take advantage of the rareness of some vintage editions.
For instance, the demand for certain comic books is so high that many editions have sold for over $1 million.
The most expensive comic book ever sold was the Action Comics #1 CGC 9.0 edition, sold for $3.2 million (£2.5 million) in 2014. The comic, featuring the debut of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s Superman, would have sold for just 10 cents when originally released!
9. Trading cards
In recent years, trading card games like Pokémon, Magic The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh! have dramatically risen in popularity. With that, comes a significant demand for the cards themselves and a huge jump in value too.
For example, one rare Yu-Gi-Oh! card, called “the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon” was listed for $400,000 (around £323,000). Even lesser-valued cards have sold for more than $700 (£566) each.
Similarly, the most expensive trading card sold at an auction was a Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps card that sold for $12.6 million (£10.1 million) in August 2022.
10. Stamps
According to The Royal Mint, stamps are still the most collected items in the UK, so if you have some tucked away in an old stamp book that you’d forgotten about, it might be worth taking a look for them. They could be worth a fair amount!
With many stamps going for thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of pounds, demand is incredibly high. Indeed, the most expensive stamp ever recorded was the Mauritius Post Office One Penny red stamp that was affixed to a ‘Ball Cover’ from Lady Elizabeth Gomm. It sold for around $12.7 million (£10.3 million) in 2021.
Get in touch
While we can’t make you thousands from a rare coin, we can help you to reach your financial goals in more conventional ways. So, speak to our experienced financial planners today by emailing us at mail@delaunaywealth.com or call 0345 505 3500.
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