Memorabilia as an investment

[aelefson]

In the early 2000s, I decided to collect memorabilia with an eye towards future value but mostly because I prefer memorabilia to cards. Over the past twenty years I have built a collection filled with lemon peel balls, ring bats, tin types, and other early equipment and ephemera. I am very happy with my collection but for investment purposes, I definitely chose poorly. I skipped buying relatively cheap Goudey Ruths and T206 Cobbs (I thought 500 for each was too much as they are so common!) and instead spent the same money on memorabilia. In general, the memorabilia I collected has stayed the same price in the past twenty years and some items have lost value while cards have skyrocketed.

I still think memorabilia is very undervalued but I no longer believe it will get anywhere close to cards like I once did. I assumed most people collecting cards would want actual historical pieces like early bats, balls, and ephemera but that is not the case. I am disappointed in that but am still happy with the collection I have put together.

Alan