"Want to know where the billionaires are putting their money?"
Here's a question for you...
What makes a $6 pack of cigarettes worth $4,608?
Or a Beanie baby worth $7,985?
Or a Playmate poster worth $17,511?
I can tell you they're not famous Andy Warhol works, nor are they items signed by a famous celebrity.
Here's the answer:
"Half a century ago the idea that the world's leading fine art auction houses would one day be selling space memorabilia might have been dismissed as science fiction..."
- The Financial Times
That's a direct quote from one of the world's most respected financial newspapers, written in July 2009.
The three items I'm talking about are all pieces of space memorabilia.
The cigarettes flew aboard Wally Schirra's Sigma 7 flight on October 3 1962.
The Beanie baby flew aboard flight 17P of SpaceShipOne on October 4 2004.
The Playmate poster was onboard Apollo 12.
These three items all sold at auction last week...
As impressive as the sale figures are what's even more impressive is the extent to which these items exceeded their auction estimates.
Space memorabilia is so popular that the auction was packed. Hundreds of bidders fought over the few lots available.
The cigarettes sold for 164% more than the estimated value.
The Playmate poster sold for 1,651% more than the estimate value.
The beanie baby sold for 3,892% more than the estimated value.
I think you'll agree that's pretty good going.
We've long advised clients to get involved in this market...
- There's limited availability
- There's a huge, and growing, demand
If you're not convinced then consider these points...
China successfully launched its first moon probe in October last year to collect data for future Moon landings. The Chinese government make no secret of their determination to put a man on the Moon.
And aside from Government agencies there are a number of billionaires involved in private space travel projects.
Former Microsoft guru Charles Simonyi was one of the first private space travellers, paying $25m for his flight in 2007.
Microsoft's Paul Allen provided the initial funding of $25m to get the SpaceShipOne project off the ground.
Google chief Sergei Brin is holding out a $20m carrot to the team that can build a rocket to land on the Moon, roam across the surface and beam video images back to Earth.
Paypal founder Elon Musk is also in on the act, diverting a large part of his fortune to space projects.
Then there's British billionaire Richard Branson. He hopes to launch his Virgin Galactic space taxi this year. Tickets are $200,000 each, and Stephen Hawking and actress Sigourney Weaver are among a number of celebrities to have paid upfront.
These guys are going to keep space travel in the news in the years to come.
Got the superyacht, what can I do next?
I guess it's become the billionaire's plaything.
It all adds up to a fascinating market for collectors.
- There's limited availability
- There's a huge, and growing, demand
And, now
- The worldwide media will be writing about the exploits of these billionaires and keeping space travel on the front pages
No matter what happens, Apollo 11 crew will always be recognised as the first when it comes to Moon travel.
We're recommending a strong buy on Apollo 11 memorabilia. And we think the sheer demand will filter through to the later space missions, too.
But be careful - there's a lot of forgeries and fakes out there.
On average we reject eight forgeries for every genuine space memorabilia item that we buy.
If you want to see those absolutely genuine items please click here.
Regards
Adrian Roose
P.S. If you are interested in this market please email me at adrianroose@paulfrasercollectibles.com and we'll put you on our list to receive instant updates when new space memorabilia stock arrives.
P.P.S. Don't forget that with our unique Build a Collection service any of these items can be reserved for you with just a 25% deposit - the balance to be paid over 12 months.
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