|
Feeling good about yourself? You should
be! Whether you have been collecting auto literature
for just a couple of years, or over half a century,
literature has increased in value. Old literature just
sits there and gains in value as long as it is kept
in good condition. You do not have to monitor your investment
as you do with stock or real estate. No worry about
whether prices are going up or down, or outside forces
such as recessions, war or inflation. There is always
a decreasing number of sales brochures and an increase
number of collectors. There is no broker or agent to
charge you fees. And the older literature gets the more
desirable, rarer, collectible and valuable it becomes.
Over the last 50 years stocks, bonds, real estate and
gold have at times been excellent investments but not
always. While they have had their ups and downs, old
car brochures have continuously increased in value.
Investment advisers always lecture clients to have a
well balanced, diverse investment portfolio. If they
could figure out how to make a commission on it there
would be a literature mutual fund.
So what would a literature mutual fund consist of? The
same criteria that make a collector car desirable.
Historic literature - The "blue chip"
brochures that have weathered the value test of time.
Although expensive now, they will be more expensive
in the future simply because they are the rarest and
most desirable. They are the "Classic" period
and (designated by the Classic Car Club of America as
the years from 1925 through 1948) and the "Brass
Era" (just prior to World War I). Rolls-Royce,
Packard, Lincoln, Cadillac, Pierce-Arrow and Chrysler
are all examples. Name recognition is important because
fewer collectors remember the orphans such as Doble
or Itala. For examples:
| |
| Click on image for description |
| |
 |
 |
 |
| |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Nostalgia literature
- The makes of our youth that we saw but could not afford.
The lust for the cars carries to brochures. Performance
and styling are critical. Consisting mostly of the mid-1950s
to 1974 models like the Corvette, Chrysler letter cars,
Ferrari, Firebird, Barracuda, Cadillac and Mustang.
Here the selection is plentiful and diverse. For examples:
| |
| Click on image for
description |
| |
|
 |
 |
| |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
Future collectibles -
In the last 30 years there have been, and still are,
cars built that became collectible soon after they were
built and which will not be forgotten in the future
DeLorean, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Viper, Rolls-Royce,
and all of the other low production, expensive and exotic
cars which will become nostalgia for the current generation.
| |
| Click on image for
description |
| |
 |
 |
 |
| |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
Should you decide to expand your collection
beyond your personal interests into a collection for
investment? That is really up to you, but the potential
is there and it comes as close to a sure thing as you
can get. Just think about it and whether or not it makes
sense to you. You will be in good company as thousands
have done it and, come retirement time, it will pay
off. Meanwhile, what a phenomenal amount of fun you
will have building this "portfolio"!
|
