Collectors pay shockingly high prices for rare versions of otherwise common things. This can range from coins and stamps to bobblehead dolls and Beanie Babies, and they can sell for impressive amounts.
Related: Sorry, but These 'Collectibles' Are Actually Worthless Clutter
Dunes Casino Red and Blue Decks
The Dunes hotel and casino in Las Vegas was demolished in 1993, but some of its playing cards are still around. In 2018, a set of two decks sold for $2,500 making them worth $1,250 each.
Related: Princess Leia's Bikini and Other Clothing Auctioned for Big Bucks
Post Ten Variety Pack
Kellogg's and General Mills offer variety packs of different cereals, but what you can't find anymore is the Post Ten pack. One surviving pack from 1961 fetched $2,550 on eBay. Let's hope the buyer didn't eat it. Another sweet item satisfies two sets of collectors: Beatle maniacs and cereal collectors. The Beatles were featured on boxes of Rice Honeys cereal to promote Yellow Submarine. If you saved one of those boxes, they're going for over $1,000. In 2014, someone sold one for $1,430.50 at Heritage Auctions. The 50-year-old cereal was not included, but it did include the prize inside, a set of rub-ons. There were originally eight total, but this collector had six.
Nasty Nick #1A
In the '80s, Cabbage Patch Kids were the doll craze that sold out toy stores and made retail history. Now the most valuable of those are worth a mere $995, but the trading cards that spoofed them could be worth exponentially more. Topps continued to release new series of Garbage Pail Kids cards through the 2000s, but one card sold for nearly $8,000 on eBay. It was the first card in the first series, and because of its placement, it was often cut in such a way that the centering would be off from left to right, making finding a perfect card incredibly difficult.
Charles Lindbergh Matchbook
Many restaurants and bars used to give away free matchbooks. For those lucky enough to have a matchbook from a Charles Lindbergh celebration dinner in 1927, you could strike it rich, so to speak. One went for $6,000 in 2015, and it was almost complete. Only four matches had been used.
Hidden Mickey 1971
Disney pins from recent years already fetch thousands on eBay, so if you obtained a pin from a long-past limited batch, you could be sitting on a fortune. A Hidden Mickey pin from 1971 with the iconic mouse ears emerging from the top, one of a batch of only five, sold for $12,000 in 2018.
Superman
This lunchbox was made in 1953 when George Reeves was Superman on TV. Fifty years later, MastroNet sold one for over $13,000. It was in mint condition, so it probably did not smell like bologna sandwiches.
"Beauty and the Beast"
Decades after the world moved on to DVD and Blu-ray Disc, some people still collect VHS tapes. Disney's Black Diamond editions of its animated films are among the most sought after, and a pair of "Beauty and the Beast" tapes sold for $9,000 on eBay in 2018. But before you start rummaging around your closet for old videos, Snopes says much of the buzz about Black Diamond videos is because of unrealistic postings — and rarely do videos sell for more than $25.
McDonald's 'Mulan' Szechuan Sauce
When the animated sitcom "Rick and Morty" made a joke about McDonald's 1998 Szechuan-flavored Chicken McNugget sauce tied to the movie "Mulan," fans became obsessed with tasting it for themselves. So when a packet of sauce from 1998 (said to have been found unopened in a used car) sold on eBay, the final bid was $14,700. If the bidder had only waited, they could've paid much less: McDonald's ended up producing the sauce again after the "Rick and Morty" episode aired.
1968 Hot Pink Beatnik Bandit
Aside from the 1969 Pink Rear-Loading Volkswagen Beach Bomb, of which only one exists and was sold for $70,000, the most rare mini car possible to find is the 1968 Beatnik Bandit in hot pink. Back in the '60s, boys didn't want to play with pink cars. Now they're so collectible, one sold for $15,000, according to Mental Floss.
20-Sided Roman Die
The 20-sided die is a necessity for modern role-playing games, but this one is out of the price range of most collectors. Christie's sold it for $17,925 in 2003 for a Maryland professor whose father got it in Egypt in the '20s. It doesn't use regular numbers anyway, so those 20 symbols are probably meaningless when it comes to hit points or dexterity rolls.
1933 Zippo
In 2008, Zippo sold one of its original 1933 lighters for $37,000 for the company's 75th anniversary. But for classic lighters you could have actually bid on, another 1933 classic went for $18,000 on eBay.
Golden Brick
Lego building bricks seem like they're a dime a dozen. But from 1979 to 1981, Lego gave out 10 gold bricks to its partners and employees of 25 years. In 2017, the auction house Catawiki sold one for almost $20,000. Compare that to the priciest complete set of Legos, the Taj Mahal with 5,922 bricks valued at $2,900, according to Catawiki.
Loveless Delaware Maid
Historic daggers, swords, and other blades can go for millions, especially if wielded by historical figures. Bob Loveless was a prestigious blade-maker and one of his class knives fetched more than $20,000 (though not the full $30,000 the seller had asked). The blade was made in the 1950s during Loveless' time in the Merchant Marine.
Princess Bear
Beanie Babies were the collectible toy craze of the '90s, and their specialized varieties made many collector's believe they would be wise investments. But most Beanie Babies don't sell for much more than you paid in the '90s today. One variation of one special collectible, however, reportedly went for $22,222 in 2018. It was a Princess Diana memorial bear from 1997, but if you look on eBay, you'll see not all Princess Bears sell big. Beanie Baby aficionados are looking for the one with PVC pellet stuffing, not PE pellets. The stuffing makes all the difference.
Original 1959 Barbie
Most kids are lucky if their Barbie dolls survive with their heads intact. A mint-condition 1959 original once sold for $27,450, according to Mental Floss. Distinctions of the first edition Barbies feature round holes with copper tubes in the feet, and eyes with white irises instead of blue, according to The Richest. Special-edition Barbies with actual diamond jewelry have sold for hundreds of thousands at charity auctions.
The First Christmas Card
In 1843, 1,000 of these cards sold for a shilling apiece. Now only 12 remain, and one was sold for £20,000 in 2001 (or about $28,000 back then). Sir Henry Cole sent this one to his grandmother. John Calcott Horsley drew the pictures of a family enjoying festive drinks and doing good deeds for the poor.
1982 World's Fair Edition
Who doesn't love Pez, candy dispensers with heads in the shape of your favorite characters? This example may seem generic except for its history. Only two of the astronaut dispensers were made for the 1982 World's Fair making them extremely rare. One sold for over $32,000 in 2006. Now, where's the other one?
1927 World Series
In 2014, Heritage Auctions sold a 1927 World Series ticket for more than $41,000. It was untorn meaning the original owner never even got to see the game. Torn stubs from Mickey Mantle games and others have still gone for thousands. If you prefer concerts to sports, a rare 1964 Beatles ticket once fetched over $16,000, according to What Sells Best. A $3.50 Bob Dylan ticket stub from 1966 went for $1,135 on eBay in 2013, according to Ultimate Classic Rock.
1978 Darth Vader
It can be difficult to assess the record for a Star Wars collectible, since they're often lumped in with actual movie props. This 2018 eBay auction item has to be up there, nearly $45,000 for a Darth Vader figure, still in the original box from Kenner's toy line one year after the film became a sensation. A Vinyl Cape Jawa was once listed for $53,000, but didn't sell for that price, though one did sell for £21,600 ($27,998) in 2017, according to BBC News.
Theodore Hook, Esq.
OK, so the postcards you pick up in gas stations on the road probably won't be worth much. But the first postcard believed to be ever sent, mailed by Theodore Hook to himself in 1840, fetched £31,758.75 ($45,370.60) in 2002, setting a Guinness Record for the postcard sale.
Pikachu Illustrator
If you want to catch 'em all, this one will cost more than many workers' annual salary. Though each Pokemon card has different values and attributes, this rarity was the prize of a 1998 CoroCoro Comic Illustration Contest. Fewer than 40 exist, and only 10 are in top condition. This example sold at Heritage Auctions in 2016 for nearly $55,000.
New York Yankee 1961-62
Bobbleheads are fairly common tchotchkes in the likenesses of celebrities. Sports bobbleheads even more so, as many are given away as promotions to ticket holders. In 2014, a 1961 Yankee bobble sold for almost $60,000 at Heritage Auctions. It wasn't even a famous player, just a general Yankee. The dolls were bigger then, standing 14 inches tall.
Original Levi's 501
Many people like to wear their jeans until the holes in the knees rip all the way up to the thighs. Randy Knight landed a pair of the very first 501 jeans, found in an abandoned silver mine in the Mojave Desert and still wearable. A collector in Japan won an eBay auction by bidding $60,000 for them.
London Bridge Corkscrew
In 2014, a corkscrew sold for £40,000 at auction in Essex, England, which amounted to more than $62,000. Why such a princely sum? A piece of the original London Bridge, constructed in 1209 and demolished in 1832, was used to make the corkscrew, making it a truly antique bar utensil.
Black Lotus
Pokemon's got nothing on Magic: The Gathering. The first printing of the card-collection game included the black lotus card and only 1,100 were produced for the initial run. In 2018, someone paid $87,000 for one of the black lotus cards to "add 3 mana of any single color of your choice to your mana pool." Maybe it was more for sentimental value.
Steiff Teddy Girl
Aside from a Louis Vuitton bear designed to be expensive (selling for $2.1 million at a charity auction), the record for a teddy bear at auction still stands from 1994. Prolific teddy bear manufacturer Steiff began making the Teddy Girl in 1904. As a newborn, Robert Henderson was given the bear and kept all his life even when he served as a colonel in World War II. After he died in 1990, Christie's sold it for £110,000 ($171,600), and the bear was placed in a Tokyo toy museum.
G.I. Joe
The G.I. Joes you played with in your backyard probably wouldn't qualify, but the very first G.I. Joe ever made sold for $200,000 in a private deal after a Heritage Comics auction in 2003. Creator Don Levine himself sold the G.I. Joe prototype after keeping it for decades.
1951 Vincent Black Lightning
What makes a motorcycle worth almost a million dollars? In this instance, it's the rarity of the bike involved and the celebrity who owned it. Just 31 Vincent Black Lightnings were made from 1948-'52, and this one example was owned by Australian racer Jack Ehret, and it was the one he used to break a national land speed record in 1953 (141.509 mph).
This bottle of Allsopp's Artic Ale was brewed for Sir Arthur Belcher in 1852 to celebrate his Arctic expedition. The bottle was originally bought on eBay for a paltry $304, but a misspelling in the listing (a missing p) prevented many interested collectors' from learnign about the auction. When the bottle of ale was relisted by the new owner with the proper spelling — Allsopp's — activity intensified, culminating in the spectacular final selling price of more than a half-million dollars.
1945 Romanée-Conti
Wine collecting is a costly hobby as evidenced by the current record holder for most expensive bottle of wine sold at auction. A 1945 bottle of Romanée-Conti, of which only 600 were made, sold for $558,000 in 2018. A second bottle went for $496,000. Who's got the other 598 bottles? At those prices, let's hope they didn't drink the money away!
"Metropolis"
Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" was a landmark science-fiction film, conveying a dystopian future in silent format. An international version of the 1927 film's poster, without German text, made it more valuable. You'd have to be a movie star yourself to afford it, and Leonardo DiCaprio was rumored to be the proud owner. But, hey, you can still get an "Inception" poster for under $20.
The Beatles' White Album
Collecting vinyl has made a comeback since true audiophiles prefer the physical media to digital-only recordings. Though first pressings of classic albums can be worth a lot, you really can't beat the very first Beatles' White Album owned by Ringo Starr himself. (A copy of Wu-Tang Clan's "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin" sold for $2 million, but there are no other copies of that album.)
Macallan Peter Blake 1926
Now that's a stiff drink. Macallan only made 12 bottles of this Scotch in 1926. For their 1986 release, Peter Blake, who worked on the Beatles' iconic Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band album cover, designed the bottles' labels. When Bonhams put bottle No. 8 up for auction, one wealthy bidder paid 7,962,500 Hong Kong dollars ($1,014,343) for it.
Super Mario 64
Just days after a near-pristine copy of the popular retro Nintendo game The Legend of Zelda sold for a record $870,000 at auction, a mint 1996 copy of Super Mario 64 changed hands for almost double that amount. The sealed video game sold for $1.56 million at a Heritage Auctions sale that took place July 11. Prior to these record-smashing sales, the previous highest price paid for a video game was $660,000 for a sealed copy of Super Mario Bros.
Mark McGwire 1998 70th Home Run Ball
In 1998, baseball fans were watching every St. Louis Cardinals game to see if Mark McGwire could break the record for most home runs in a season. One of the fans was "Spawn" creator Todd McFarlane. Lucky for him, he had the $3 million to win the ball and enough to also snag Sammy Sosa's second-place record ball.
Honus Wagner ($3.1 million)
Mickey Mantle ($2.88 million)
The oversize Wagner card still holds the record at $3.1 million, but Mantle's 1952 card is closing in. In 2018, Heritage Auctions sold a Mint 9 grade card for former Carolina Panthers offensive lineman Evan Mathis. There are apparently three Mint 10 grade Mantles out there.
Action Comics No. 1
The debut appearance of Superman was truly a landmark for the comic book industry. In 2014, a copy of this historic issue sold on eBay for over $3 million, topping the previous sale of another copy for $2.1 million. Both were graded a 9.0 out of 10 by the Certified Guaranty Co., which is as close to mint condition as a 1938 comic book is likely to be in nearly a century later.
1933 Double Eagle
Inflation is a killer, ain't it? We know the dollar isn't worth what it used to be, especially when the very first U.S. dollar sold for $10 million, and now the $20 double eagle from 1933, which was never released into distribution, has sold for a whopping $18.9 million. Owned by shoe designer Stuart Weitzman (who is donating the proceeds of the sale to charity), this gold coin was pressed in 1933 but never released because President Franklin Roosevelt had banned Americans from owning gold the same year in an attempt to end the nation's banking crisis. Somehow 20 of the coins survived and are hot items when they come up for auction.
1856 1-Cent Magenta Stamp from British Guiana
Stamp collecting is a popular hobby, the value of such items determined by their scarcity and history. So you don't get much rarer than this example. In 1856, a postmaster in British Guiana (now Guyana) ran out of stamps. A local newspaper printed some emergency stamps and this is the only known surviving 1-Cent Magenta today. Add to that its history of changing hands in the ensuing 150 years, and the anonymous Sotheby's buyer ended up with a $9.5 million treasure. In 2021, the stamp's current owner, shoe designer Stuart Weitzman, sold the stamp for $8.3 million (along with four "Inverted Jenny" stamps for $4.9 million) with plans to give the proceeds to charity.
"Birds of America" by James Audubon
Though true rarities like Da Vinci's "Codex Leicester," the actual Magna Carta, the first Gutenberg Bible and others are one-of-a-kinds that sell for more, perhaps the most valuable mass-produced book was James Audubon's "Birds of America." First published in 1827-1838, Audubon drew more than 400 pictures of more than 1,000 birds.
Abu Dhabi Plate No. 1
In 2008, businessman Saeed Abdul Ghafour Khouri paid 52.2 dirham ($14.3 million) for a license plate at auction, just so he could have the number 1. Now, did anyone save the U.S. license plate number 1?
