Collectibles

Collectibles encompass a huge variety of items from cars to comic books, matchbooks and much much more. Baseball cards and beyond come to mind in this intriguing facet of investing as well. Many people find just about anything collectible, if there is an interest there is probably a collector market. That being said it doesn't always equate to an investment grade collectible. Now when it comes to speaking about diamonds, gold, and other precious materials, people tend to call them investments.

Theoretically, these materials—and even stocks—could be termed collectibles because their price is based more on what people are willing to pay for them, known as their market value, rather than their intrinsic value. This is the calculated or perceived value of the good. Precious metals and stocks all have an intrinsic value.​

For metals, this value is based on rarity. If you melt it, burn it, or bend it, you still have the same atomic substance in the end. For stocks, the value is produced by the underlying brick-and-mortar company that the share represents—a company that generates earnings to justify the prices you pay for its stock.

What makes collectibles different is that even a little damage can erase all of a collectible's value. This is because a collectible's value is based on nostalgia and other emotional factors—which can be erratic. Collectibles in pristine condition are valued higher than those that aren't. So, the value of a baseball card that's scratched or torn up is much lower than one still in its original condition.

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Here is a great link to Investopedia which digs a little deeper into this topic,

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/06/contemplatingcollectibles.asp