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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:
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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:
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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.
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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"!
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