收藏(Collectibles)

collectibleshavebeenapartofalmosteveryculturesinceancienttimes.whereassomeobjectshavebeencollectedfortheirusefulness,othershavebeenselectedfortheiraestheticbeautyalone.intheunitedstates,thekindsofcollectiblescurrentlypopularrangefromtraditionalobjectssuchasstamps,coins,rarebooks,andarttomorerecentitemsofinterestlikedolls,bottles,baseballcards,andcomicbooks.

interestincollectibleshasincreasedenormouslyduringthepastdecade,inpartbecausesomecollectibleshavedemonstratedtheirvalueasinvestments.especiallyduringcyclesofhighinflation,investorstrytopurchasetangiblesthatwillatleastretaintheircurrentmarketvalues.ingeneral,themosttraditionalcollectibleswillbesoughtbecausetheyhavepreservedtheirvalueovertheyears,thereisanorganizedauctionmarketforthem,andtheyaremosteasilysoldintheeventthatcashisneeded.

someexamplesofthemoststablecollectiblesareoldmasters,chineseceramics,stamps,coins,rarebooks,antiquejewelry,silver,porcelain,artbywell-knownartists,autographs,andperiodfurniture.otheritemsofmorerecentinterestincludeoldphotographrecords,oldmagazines,postcards,baseballcards,artglass,dolls,classiccars,oldbottles,andcomicbooks.theserelativelynewkindsofcollectiblesmayactuallyappreciatefasterasshort-terminvestments,butmaynotholdtheirvalueaslong-terminvestments.

onceacollectiblehashaditsinitialplay,itappreciatesatafairlysteadyrate,supportedbyanincreasingnumberofenthusiasticcollectorscompetingforthelimitedsupplyofcollectiblesthatbecomeincreasinglymoredifficulttolocate.