Crazy Collectables
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday December 23, 1998
They are silly but fun and may make you rich. LEEANNE BLAND and PETER GOTTING report.
COLLECTIONS of beer cans, $5 pins and Transformer toys are objects few people would expect to make money from. But perhaps it's time for a reassessment.
Not only are people having a lot of fun acquiring these and all manner of unusual collectibles, amazingly, they are making money.
TRANSFORMERS
For those not in the know, Transformers are children's toys that change shape, maybe from a robot to a tank or a plane.
Transformers used to be marketed with the slogan "More than meets the eye", and this pretty much sums up their collectible value as well.
They have been around since about 1984, says Michael Smith, who runs the Toy and Comics Internet site The Collectors (www.thecollectors.com.au), and there have been a lot of different transformers released since then.
Generation one figures, the term for the original Transformer toys, are the ones that bring the most money, he says.
In fact, a generation one Transformer sold for $US1,100 ($1,776) at a recent auction in the United States, says Smith. "This would have been in its box in mint condition," he concedes.
He recently bought the Ultra? Magnus? Transformer from the US Internet auction site ebay? (www.ebay.com) and he believes it would be worth about $400 in Australia.
Part of the reason for the value of the generation one models is their scarcity - they have been superseded by a new breed called Beast Wars.
"Beast Wars have only been out for about one and a half years," Smith says. "Now, the next generation of new Beast Wars is being released and you can no longer buy the old ones."
In time, he believes these, too, will become collector's items.
Transformers aren't the only action figures making money. G.I. Joe is a popular collectible, especially in the US, says Smith.
Star Wars action figures are another. "The rarest Star Wars figure is the Jawa with a vinyl cape. This is worth about $2,500," he says.
BEER CANS
Homer Simpson has done no service to beer can collectors.
Duff Beer, Homer's favourite, was produced for a limited time by a South Australian brewer before the producers of The Simpsons mounted a Federal Court challenge. When production stopped, some traders valued the cans at up to $2,000 each. However, Duff beer cans are not rare and have very little true value - about $2 each, according to John Garland, the vice-president of the NSW division of the Australian Beer Can Collectors' Association (ABCCA).
Since then, ordinary cans have regularly been overvalued by some traders. The beer can market has been flooded by cans that are virtually worthless.
However, some beer cans are extremely valuable. Courage, a former beer manufacturer in Melbourne, released a commemorative set of cans in 1973 featuring AFL stars. A case of this beer cost only about $8 at the time, but a full set of these cans is now worth up to $4,000.
John Garland's most valuable beer can is worth about $US5,000 ($8,000), but he is careful to emphasise that only a few in his collection are valuable. Out of the 9,000 cans he owns, only about 1,000 are worth anything more than their recycling value.
OLYMPIC PINS
These are a hot collectible at the moment, for obvious reasons. According to Bob Roberts, at the Wynyard Coin Centre, they will only get hotter in the lead-up to the 2,000 Games.
Pins range from 15mm to 60mm in length and feature mascots and logos from both summer and winter Olympic Games. The largest pins are more like belt buckles and are hardly wearable, though most collectors would not even think about donning their Olympic pins, as any damage significantly reduces their resale value.
Olympic pins date back to the 1896 inaugural modern Games and range between $8 and $50,000 in value. Roberts says that this value is measured by three main factors: rarity, quality and demand.
The most popular pins in Sydney are those of the 2000 Games. "Time passage" pins, which count down the number of years, months, weeks or days until the Games begin, are extremely popular. The 1,000-day pins for the Sydney Games were initially sold in 1997 for $10 each and are now valued at between $350 and $400. Only 3,000 were released and Roberts suggests that about 10,000 people want to buy them.
After 2000, the pins could become even more valuable. An American dealer took 20,000 Atlanta pins to the winter Games in Nagano, planning to sell them for about $US5 each. He sold them within two hours for $US20 each.
KEROSENE LAMPS
If you ever come across an old kerosene lamp in grandma's attic, don't throw it out. Chances are it is worth something.
Annabell Sands, from Lawson's auction house at Annandale, says: "It can be worth up to $300 or $400 if it is an old one in good condition."
The most desirable Kerosene lamps are those with ruby coloured or hand-painted glass. The best ones are decorative and are in good condition with no chips or cracks, she says. Although it seems to be an unusual collectible, they are a pretty popular option.
When you consider the number of people who have period houses, it is not that surprising.
People like to buy objects that will match their house, she says. "Victorian wash basins and jugs are also popular with period houses.
But a sure sign that something is becoming popular is when reproduction copies hit the market.
"There was a huge production of kerosene lamps before electricity. It was a fairly basic Victorian household good," says Sands. "Nevertheless, there are now a lot of reproductions around."
She believes this bodes well for collectors. "When someone bothers to make a reproduction, you know there is a bit of a market there."
MOVIE POSTERS
A relatively new collectible, the age of posters has a lot to do with their value. The older posters are more valuable, particularly the earlier lithographic versions (rather than the more recent offset-printed).
Older movie posters come in a number of sizes. Lobby cards are slightly larger than A4 size and are on a thick paper - almost cardboard. They often come in sets of eight or 10. Day bills are larger - 70cm high and 34cm wide - and printed on thinner paper. Larger still are one-sheets, about one metre high and 75cm wide. Three-sheets can be extremely valuable (sometimes about $1,500), consisting of three one-sheets pinned together.
The value of posters depends on their age, condition, artwork, the artist and the reputation of the films and their actors or directors. Posters advertising a Hitchcock film will attract a greater value than those for an unknown director.
James Bond films are one of the most popular subjects for collectible film posters. Last month, a Goldfinger poster was sold for #1,750 ($4,762) in London. Another copy of that poster, in slightly better condition, is to be auctioned by the Weemys Gallery in Sydney, with an estimate of between $3,500 and $4,500.
Movie posters begin at about $40 and many sell for about $600. The most valuable can be worth thousands of dollars. It's a pretty good deal for a kid who simply asked for the poster in the cinema window and paid nothing for it.
COMICS
Comics are another popular, and profitable, collectible for those in the know. It is all a matter of knowing what to look for.
"It's got a lot to do with the artist's drawings and the writer's story line," says Michael Smith of The Collectors (www.thecollectors.com.au).
"Two comics that were released recently have gone up in value. One was called Battle Chasers and one was called Danger Girl."
For some reason, retailers decided they wouldn't be popular and only ordered in small quantities of them, he says. This wasn't the case, however, and now they are in demand.
"They could be bought for about $4.50 six months ago and now would be worth $30," he says.
Comic producers also cater to the collector's market by producing comics with varying covers, explains Smith.
One in four may have a different cover by a different artist, and then one in 25 will be different again and one in 125 will be different again.
"A really hot comic is Witch Blade 25," he says. "It has a holo-foil cover and was a one-in-125 issue. A retailer would have paid about $3 for it, and it would be worth at least $110 now," he says.
He has copies of Witch Blade 1 and Witch Blade 2, which were released in 1995, and they are now worth about $70, he says.
Also of value are the Golden Age and Silver Age comics. These are the classic comics, and they can sell for a fortune. One example is Detective Comic Number 27 from 1937, which has the first appearance of Batman.
"Only about 30 of these exist and that would be worth $US155,000 ($250,000)," says Smith.
Similarly, the Action Comic Number One from 1938, which covered the first appearance of Superman, would fetch about $US180,000, he says.
BAKELITE RADIOS
For those looking for a collectible option with "blast-from-the past" appeal, bakelite radios would have to be it.
Dating from the 1930s and 1940s, there were a lot around in their day.
"Everyone around the world listened to the radio," says Lawson's Annabell Sands. "We get a lot of bakelite radios. We get bakelite telephones, too. You can get up to $150 for an average-grade radio in good condition."
They are a popular collectible and she believes nostalgia for another era accounts for this. "From a design point of view, some have very nice shapes," she adds.
As with all collectibles, people should only collect those that are in good condition.
© 1998 Sydney Morning Herald