Collecting News Briefs

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Comic book action figures collector: passion into profits - Connecticut Post

Image by simononly via Flickr

Collector of figurines and statues of comic book and movie heroes, villains and more, turns passion into profits - Connecticut Post:

"Though he has a wide variety of almost every popular collectible character, from the grotesque to the beautiful, Emmi is the first to say, 'I'm just scratching the surface of what's available.'

His mania for collecting -- his 'obsession' -- he said, took hold when he was no more than a 10 year-old in Queens, N.Y.

He purchased an 'Uncanny X-Men #175' comic book and was hooked.

Now, besides the more than 400 figures, Emmi has more than 50,000 comic books, each of which is stored in clear, acid-free plastic slips, and more than 900 DVDs, with all the shows in a series counting as one disc."

Successful investing in collectibles | advice #How-to | Moneylife Personal Finance (India)

Collecting: Madness method & money - Moneylife Personal Finance site and magazine:

"a passionate collector will never make a good investor, because he would rather die than consider selling something he holds so dear. Having said that, “An investment in collectibles is no different from investing in markets or financial products. You study the object thoroughly, know its scope, the past record of price escalation and decide how much you want to invest, which is the best auction house to deal with and make an estimate of expected returns over the years,” he says."

Related articles

Hot Wheels: Greatest collector in USA | die-cast cars | The Daily Item, Sunbury, PA

|Hot Wheels fanatic lives in Valley | The Daily Item, Sunbury, PA:

"Mike Strauss, who is considered the greatest collector of the die-cast cars in the country.

He made friends with the folks at Mattel, who started making the cars in 1968, and put together books featuring hundreds of photographs of Hot Wheels cars."

A boy named Matt Delbaugh, who was not even 10 years old, bought a Hot Wheels car and, using the proof of purchase from the back, sent away for the 1989 edition of Strauss’ collector’s guide.

As part of the Snyder County Historical Society’s museum program, Delbaugh spoke Sunday about his collection of redline Hot Wheels, which were in production from 1968 to 1977. Some of the hundreds of cars and other Hot Wheels collector items he has remain on display at the museum.

The cars are referred to as “redline” because of a distinctive red stripe painted, like a white wall, on the wheels of the cars. In California, where Mattel was based, the feature was popular on many cars, Delbaugh said.

Phoenix Marathon Auction Ring 4 - Saturday May 7th, 2011 9:00 am ITEM 2244

Collecting #Bookends in Sydney Australia - exhibit | Greg Currie

Collecting bookends | Greg Currie:

"'I gave my sister one for Christmas,'' says Donna Braye, the curator of the Bookends: Another Chapter exhibition, which is at Mosman Library in Sydney. This was the defining moment that made her think that these almost-forgotten objects were perhaps worthy of celebration.

The exhibition includes prized examples borrowed from Australiana collector Greg Currie and former business journalist Trevor Kennedy, among others."

Decorative bookends had became especially fashionable in the 1930s, when the Brisbane Courier reported these had taken over from toast racks as the most popular wedding gifts.

These objects are now classified as extremely desirable and increasingly valuable, especially if signed by noted ceramic artists such as Grace Seccombe, Merric Boyd, Marguerite Mahood and Eric Bryce Carter.

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