I didn't believe it myself, until...
Our team of analysts look at the collectibles markets on a daily basis.
They analyse auction results, popularity, growth of interest, emerging markets etc.
All the things that can give us clues to which direction the markets are taking... and most importantly 'where we should be putting our money.'
It was only a few months ago that they highlighted a potential growth market.
As far as they were concerned it was undervalued and we should be stocking up.
And I have to say, they've got it spot on.
In the last week these items have sold for over three times their estimate at auction in America.
And then at a South African auction they went for six times their estimate.
Now, I have to admit to being a bit sceptical at the time.
But, boy, have I been proven wrong...
Our analysts had said "buy Schulz".
They explained that Charles Schulz was big business, really big business.
So I started to do my own research.
What I found out is extraordinary...
At its peak, the Peanuts comic strip appeared in more than 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries... with a readership of 355 million people.
Schulz himself was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honour the United States legislature can bestow.
There are over 78,000 members of the Peanuts fan club on Facebook.
There are Peanuts computer games licensed to Nintendo and Playstation.
In short: there is a seriously large and passionate collector base still devoted to the works of Charles Schulz.
I decided to call our friends at Forbes Magazine to see what the story was.
They confirmed it.
Charles Schulz appears in the Forbes Magazine 'top earning dead celebrities list'. In 2009 he was in 6th place with earnings of $35m. Way ahead of Andy Warhol, John Lennon and Albert Einstein.
In fact Schulz is believed to have made $1.1bn income from his comic strip creation.
Our analysts had convinced us...
So we "bought Schulz".
We bought original Snoopy drawings... we bought signed books... we bought signed books with original hand-drawn sketches.
But the thing is: none of this is freely available. We struggled to find items of quality; there just isn't much available on the market.
Now, this really got our attention, and also an 'I told you so' from the analysts.
We figured: here's a market with a huge following and a limited supply, but by way of contradiction it is also a market where prices have remained static for a number of years.
Well, that was until last week. That's when it started to move.
On February 24th 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa, a "sketch in wax crayon on paper" of Snoopy, signed by Charles Schulz went up for auction at R14,000, approximately $1,876.
After a few minutes of frantic bidding the auctioneer hit his hammer at R85,000 - that's nigh on $11,500.
And that wasn't a one-off.
Last week in Dallas, Texas, an original Peanuts sketch 'Snoopy and the Red Baron' went to auction with an estimate of $30,000.
The $100,000 comic strip |
Bidding was equally brisk and it sold for $101,500.
So, thanks to our analysts getting it right (again) we managed to secure some fantastic Charles Schulz (and Snoopy) items before prices started going crazy.
And that's very good news for you.
In Wednesday's newsletter I told you we'd highlighted a market where you can buy unique items for as little as £495 ($815).
Well, you still can...
"Sketch in felt-tip on card" - our price £1,950 ($3,200) |
You see, we're sticking to our valuations, and those valuations were in place before the two recent auctions.
That gives you a superb opportunity to buy into this market at a very low price.
info@paulfrasercollectibles.com
+44 (0) 117 933 9503
And in full knowledge that the items are genuine - they all come with our guarantee of authenticity.
It's not until I read one of these wonderful books, signed and inscribed by Charles Schulz, with a hand-drawn Snoopy image, that I remembered the joy they brought to my childhood.
The characters seem like old friends. Charlie and Marcie, Lucie and Linus, and of course, Snoopy himself.
You can't buy nostalgia like that... well, not till now.
Even if you're not buying, take a look at the link below. I'm sure it will bring back some happy memories.
View stock
Regards
Adrian Roose
www.paulfrasercollectibles.com
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