You mentioned sports cards - they seem to have gone full circle, not very popular in the 1980s, then really big in the 1990s and 2000s, but not too popular these days.
Back in the day I bought a bunch of Topps complete football sets (boxes with 400 or so cards per year) for the years 1980, 81, etc up to '87. They were dirt cheap back then, around $6-8 per box of 400, with the 1980 set going for $10-12.
Time went by and the rookie cards in those sets went ballistic. The Montana card especially, plus Jerry Rice, Marino, and others. I sold them for a gigantic profit, but then they went on to double again. The Topps baseball sets I bought from that same period didn't do anything though.
I still have a modest collection of individual players from all 4 sports. I think the most valuable are the early Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley cards. I have a Wilt Chamberlain card, but not in great shape. Also a Hank Aaron from the 1950s, Johnny Unitas, Jim Brown, Gale Sayres. Brings back a lot of memories.
Later I got into collecting rock concert posters, programs, vinyl records, and assorted Roger Dean (album cover artist) stuff. Beatles, Doors, Yes, the Byrds, Moody Blues, several Dylan posters, plus some originals from the Fillmore West. I try to justify these as 'investments', but they're really just for fun, although some have gone way up in price.
One vinyl album I bought new for $22 now sells for around $200 and up. A Red Hot Chili Peppers limited edition LP (I liked the cover art) cost $28 and now goes for $125 and up (I've seen it for $250). Some of the prices are pretty nuts.
AI
