Write about everything to do with collectibles in less-than 1,000 words.
It's harder than it might sound...
From the joy of holding Robert Burns' personal bible in your hands, to handling an Apollo 11 training suit worn by Buzz Aldrin, there's just so much to cover.
But this was the challenge presented to me by the excellent financial publication Money Observer, earlier this week.
Money Observer kindly offered Paul Fraser Collectibles a chance to contribute an article to their magazine.
 The joys of collectibles are a long |
They wanted a piece on how you can profit from the collectibles, why you should get involved, and why people around the world are already so passionate about collecting.
To begin the article, I didn't need to look far for inspiration. Once again, the mainstream financial markets like the FTSE 100 have been enduring the usual ups and downs.
And, if you've been reading the headlines, you'll know the recent dips and rises have been even more severe than usual.
As ever, fear, uncertainty and hidden politics dominate mainstream investments.
That's why it's always nice to have the opportunity to extol the virtues of collectibles to an investment audience.
You only need to look at the indices tracking the values of collectibles to know that the proof really is in the pudding.
As I cite in my Money Observer article: "The PFC40 Autograph Index, which tracks the 40 most sought-after autographs, has risen by 335.9 per cent over the last 11 years."
And: "Between 2000 and 2010, the values of the indices tracking fine wines and gold coins have risen by 175 per cent and 300 per cent, respectively."
No ups, no downs. Just consistent returns. And that's not all...
What I really hoped to convey in my Money Observer article isn't only the financial benefits of collectibles - although these benefits are numerous.
Examples cited in my Money Observer article include this rare Oscar Wilde autograph from his 1882 American tour. We sold it for £8,000, and it later re-sold for £20,400 – a return of 155% in 12 months
I also wanted to put across the sheer pleasure that comes with personally owning these items. These utterly unique pieces of history.
In turn, this passion drives the worldwide collectibles markets and leads to all the auction successes we report on here at Paul Fraser Collectibles.
The sort of passion that sees the World Record price for a Chinese postage stamp double from $333,862 to $712,500 in the space of just three months.
So, did I successfully convey the immense passion, pleasure and profit of collecting to Money Observer's readers? You can take a look for yourself by reading my article here.
And, if you'd like to find out more about how collectibles can enrich your life, we're always here to speak with you about it.
Contact us at:
+44 (0) 117 933 9500
info@paulfrasercollectibles.com
All the best, until next week
Paul
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