Future Antique

In the past, a series of events have taken place that take a collectable or group of collectables into a high value category. As a result, prices increase for the series and/or one item in the series.

These are the prized objects referred to as collector’s items. These items are rare, discontinued or in such short supply that a set cannot be considered complete until the last piece is in place. The age of the collection or piece is not always the criteria for demanding substantial amounts of money for an item.

Below is a partial list of this type of collectible. This list will grow over time, as we at Future Antique are reminded of these ‘favorites’.

Collectable Plates
Souvenir Spoons
Cigarette Cards
Coin Collections
Comic Books
Dolls (Vintage to Controlled Runs)
Figurines (Royal Daulton, etc.)
Hot Wheels
Music and Jewellery Boxes
Scale Models and Kits
Stamp Collections
Trading Cards (all sorts)
Zippo Lighters

Here’s a few more hot collectables to consider when shopping for future antiques…

Speciality perfume bottles are quickly becoming a collectable of choice in both North America (USA and Canada) and the UK.

Although there are a wide variety of personal favorites and lots of speculation, the current trend is in the ornate and shapely bottles of the premium brands. Have a look at the current Jean Paul Gaultier brands (I’ll try to post a few photos here tomorrow for you). Jean Paul Gaultier also designed an aftershave bottle that you will quickly recognize if you know his style at all - it has a stripey top that will remind you of his signature outfit!

Update: The Gaultier bottles are not showing below, but are some examples of this type of collectible. Gaultier collectable perfume bottles can be seen specificially here.

You can search for others in the US, Australia and Canada here, or in the UK here.

Deciding What You Should Collect

Objects of today become collectable antiques of the future for a few reasons. They may just sum up the era so well, or are made in limited quanties. They might be items commonly tossed of after normal use (think of comics, newspapers or special magazine editions). Future antiques might also be innovative designs of an era and of any sort.

Collectables of yesteryear are some of the hottest money makers in the antique industry of today, so let’s take some time discussing and defining a ‘collectable’.

First collectables to hit the market were items that were included as an incentive to a product purchase for consumers. Much like the ‘free prize inside’ so common today in cereal boxes.

Back then however, this wasn’t just products targeted to children as the market. Collectables that have grown to be future antiques were cigarette cards in a pack of cigarettes UK, or miniature animal statues in boxes of tea. These free incentives soon became a secondary ‘craze’ where the items were sold or traded amongst others with a similar interest. (more…)