Car collectors and restorers often seek out car parts that may be used to retrofit automobiles. Particularly rare examples in good condition (most of the original paint intact) have sold for more than $500. The highest prices are fetched by unique sets of figurines, spatterware, which is characterized by a speckled pattern of brown, green and yellow hues, and pottery with a spiraled glaze. Fans of this colorful and entertaining media and of certain franchises may be willing to pay thousands for a hard-to-find edition in mint condition. The best items in this category will show some telltale signs of aging, but still have their original sheen or luster. Fabric patterns, like small flowers or plaid motifs, are another key to learning about the place and time your quilt was made. The most expensive action figure ever sold was a prototype GI Joe made in 1963, which sold in 2009 for $200,000. Sounds pretty good, right? Walkmans carry different values based on the model, color, and condition. Dig out their old yearbooks because that photograph of a young and awkward star might be worth something! document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Mearto provides quick and affordable online appraisals of fine art, antique and collectible items. Guitars are one of the most common instruments to have and often end up unused and wildly out of tune in a closet or attic. You or a family member may have collected albums of such cards during childhood and could be surprised to find a few treasures among the plastic pages. While . Rather than taking an old pile of packages out to the curb, consider listing some of those in better condition on eBay, where you could expect to sell a collectible Kelloggs corn flakes box for up to $800. The most expensive price paid to date was more than $300,000. A man shopping in a thrift store bought a handbag made by designer Philip Treacy -- and worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. As time passes, their value will probably go up, since fewer and fewer intact models will be available. Lite-Brite, $130-150. Your item may have a special provenance (past ownership) or signature on it. $2,500! You should also test whether it still will play a cassette or CD. It is important that your hat is in good condition to get a high price at auction. If you come across your old Cabbage Patch dolls one day, don't throw them away, as they may earn you some serious cash now. The mustachioed figure in the green Alpine hat can be worth up to $3,000, whereas the clean-shaven man wearing a brown cap is said to be worth much more. 18. Nowadays, cassette culture is making a comeback and buyers are interested not only in vintage cassette tapes, but equipment for playing them. Clothing that is kept clean and free from environmental damage can be very valuable and collectible. It may surprise you, but Antique appraiser Eric Silver said vantage sleds can sell for $100 and blown glass ornaments can fetch as much as $1,700. These tiny dolls in their little compact worlds were wildly popular following their first appearance in stores in 1989. The track of the 1993 signature series by Michael Jackson and the 1998 protection EP by Coldplay are reportedly worth nearly $1,500 these days. There are many different categories of weapons, but the most common are firearms, knives and swords. This company lead the charge on several technological advancements, which ensured that their train sets were on Christmas wish lists for many generations. Modern decoys are often made of plastic but traditionally these items were handmade from wood or cork. Many of the eggs survive today. Three thousand years ago, the Chinese used beeswax and gelatin; today we use various petrochemicals. facebook Even a shoebox full of tiny dollhouse pieces could be worth a lot more than you expect. You can think of the Sony Walkman as the predecessor to todays iPod. Brightly colored unicorn and winged horses with names like Twilight, Princess Sparkle and Applejack have cute identifying motifs on their rumps. Unfortunately, because many of these companies did not sign or otherwise indicate their creation of these lamps, they can be difficult to identify. Still holding on to your old lunch box? Computers. Vintage board games don't sell for as much as other household items, but still may be worth their original price or better. You just became rich if you have any of the following CDs stored somewhere in your house. As with many of the other items on this list, age is less of a consideration when determining value. First mass-produced in the 1940s by the glassware manufacturer Anchor Hocking, Jadeite was commonly found in homes, restaurants and church kitchens for several decades. If you have a full antique dollhouse complete with furnishings and accessories, you could be looking at a small fortune. Now just take out your lunch box and check its value online! You've probably wondered what some of your old baseball cards are worth. Or perhaps the equipment became antiquated. Wow! Modern reproductions also tend to be significantly less expensive. Precious jewels should also be evaluated for authenticity and the quality of the stone. If there is a 1 anywhere in the sequence, or if the date on the copyright and title pages is a match, it is likely to be a first edition. When Mad Men first aired in 2007, it fueled a craze for Midcentury Modern everything furniture, fashion, etc. The demand has become so great that even large international auction houses are starting to get in on the action in an effort to appeal to their younger audience. Mechanical Piggy Banks - Up To $2,500, 13. 1950s bottles have a particular style to them, as do polishes from the 1920s. Board Games. While you are digging through old boxes, you may find yourself asking how much an item is worth. Next . Gotta catch em all! A package of Tyson's Any'tizers Buffalo-style boneless chicken bites, meanwhile, surged from an average cost of $6.62 in January 2021 to $8.39 last montha 26.7% increase. These objects are typically made of hardwood, covered in gold leaf and may feature an eagle standing on a Grecian column at the top. . Shoes are a good example. Another variety of Easter decoration that may be found among your familys collection of old things or stumbled upon at a garage sale is handmade papier-mch or cardboard eggs, which were popular in Germany around the same time. Maybe someone in the family took up a sport for a brief time and lost interest. how to clean a used fabric couch. Be sure that the antenna (if there is one) is intact, and cords or battery compartments are in good condition. Dolls from the Victorian era are prized for their beautiful period clothing and delicate features. 10. So, the next time you peruse the aisles and shelves of a resale shop, keep your eyes peeled for these potential gems, which you could potentially resell for a profit. Keep your quilt in a safe place, free from mold or moths, and be sure to find out if your quilt is valuable before performing any repairs or alterations. Hand tools from the past did not use electricity as many do today. Depending on the year it was manufactured and the brand, it could be a collectible. Originally released in 1967, the first set is worth the most to collectors, typically selling for a few hundred dollars. From baseball cards to rare and unique items, toy collections in good condition can quickly go from collecting dust to earning you money. The yearbooks of certain literary and historical figures like former U.S. presidents are in high demand and may be worth hundreds of dollars to the right collector. According to Mental Floss, One of the earliest cards to come out of thePokemon franchise was this promotional card of Pikachu that was given out to winners of an illustration contest in 1998. So what are you waiting for? Many households have $400 to $800 worth of cash in the form of unused laptop computers, said Michele Perry, a consumer tech expert at electronics resale site Gazelle.com. The publisher may indicate with the words first edition or first printing, or you can check the sequence of numbers. Because of their rising popularity as a decorative item in the home, Mearto was recently interviewed for Today.com about the process of valuing and shopping for a quality antique rug. 4. Rumor has it that the Donald Duck comics were the most popular. Besides the above-mentioned list, you can also sell off TVs, gadgets, phones, laptops to earn some fast cash in bulk amounts. 6. Top 10 unwanted household items that could make you a small fortune. However, bone china, which contains ground up ox bones, was produced in England in 1796 and later in France (Limoges) and Germany (Meissen). In 2020, Mearto appraised online one of the most expensive collectible items that weve valued to date. Even things like the free toys you'd get in a Happy Meal could be worth a couple of hundreds of dollars. Its tempting to toss them, because who needs tapes when we have the internet? The most expensive Penny Black was sold by Stanley Gibbons and features rare 'T L' lettering and a fragment of the sheet inscription. If you had a Tupperware Lady in your family in the 1950s or 60s who held onto her collection, youre in luck! In the 1800s, Ball manufacturers included the element Manganese (Mn) in their compound and found that when it was exposed to sunlight, the glass became violet in color. Others collect tapes that are rare, such as misprints or editions with particular, perhaps discontinued, cover art. Just like any kind of fashion item, nail polish styles change through time and can be highly collectible. An estimated 20 to 39 copies were issued.. Consoles, sofas, chairs, highboards and lowboards there is no satiating the appetite that collectors and decorators have for Mid-Century furniture, which refers to an item made sometime between the mid-1930s and 1960s and, according to the Spruce, meets the following criteria: While works by well-known designers tend to have the highest price tags, even those items which may have been mass-produced have a certain amount of appeal to collectors seeking to add this classic look to their home. What if your artwork isnt signed and you have no idea who the artist might be? Early models of cellphones may be worth more than you may think. Look for the use of different materials, like mother of pearl, rare metals, or ivory. Unfortunately, because it was common to use water-based paint, it is difficult to find them with their original illustrations intact. Even flip phones from the 90s may be worth some money. These items have only become more rare with time, driving up their value higher t. Today, there are many rare collectibles and childhood toys worth a fortune. Unusual shapes, references to pop culture icons and, of course, the rarity and condition have a positive impact on value. Best Easy, Cheap Dinner Ideas for Your Family. 29. Dana Ashbrook, Sheryl Lee and Kimmy Robertson meet 30 years on From baseball cards to rare and unique items, toy collections in good condition can quickly go from collecting dust That old penny you've been hanging onto your whole life might actually be worth a small fortune. It's time to start thinking like a collector would. 5. In the next decade, Mattel, Commodore and IBM entered the scene. Traditional quilters used leftover fabric from dressmaking to create patterned tapestries or blankets. One of the most sought-after lunchboxes was sold in 1954. If you have an old cellphone, its worth looking into the brand and model to find out its rarity and historical significance. For example, Star Trek featured prominently on lunchboxes throughout the 1960s, which are now prized by modern-day Trekkies looking to add some unique memorabilia to their collections. A poster from a 1966 Beatles concert sold for $137,500 at Heritage Auction several years ago. The postmark date can give you some idea, but the postcard may have been in production for many years before it was purchased and sent. If it reads "10 9 8 7 6 5 43 2 1," you just hit the jackpot. As with many of the items on this list, rarity is a bigger determinant of value than age. He was intrigued, and bought it for around $30. If your grandparents ever took a road trip across the American Midwest or to the Ozarks, theres a pretty good chance that they may have this item stashed away among their treasures collected over the years. Action Figure: He-man, Power Rangers, Transformers and GI Joe. The quintessential brick phone, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x, can now fetch hundreds of dollars at auction. 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