Most expensive collectables in Australia revealed including number plates, LEGO and coins
As crazy as it may seem, the random knick-knacks hidden around your house might be secretly worth thousands of dollars. Here are the collectable items that fetch big bucks in Australia.
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As crazy as it may seem, the random knick-knacks hidden around your home might be secretly worth thousands of dollars.
While vintage pieces and memorabilia still hold prime position in the auction house, strange new items have also started to bring in the big bucks.
According to the 2023 State of Collectibles report produced by eBay and Deloitte Access Economics, Australia is a nation of collectors, with one in four invested in the growing industry.
Here are the items that surprisingly make Aussies a killing.
LEGO SETS
LEGO has well and truly stood the test of time as the second largest collectable in Australia.
From the classics, to castles, space themes, Star Wars, and tiny mini-figures, love for Danish plastic building blocks has spanned across decades and generations.
That Vintage Shop owner Brett Nimmo said vintage sets could fetch tens of thousands of dollars depending on what condition they are in.
“Last week I sold an unopened 1977 ‘375-2’ set, a yellow castle, for $13,000,” Mr Nimmo said.
Although the set is fairly rudimentary compared to the LEGO available today, the castle was snapped up by an overseas buyer who wanted to beat out locals to the chase.
Mr Nimmo said unboxed versions can fetch up to 1000 per cent more than their assembled counterparts.
COLOURED TWO DOLLAR COINS
Although coins could be considered the “bread and butter” of the collectable world, Aussies have well and truly fallen in love with one particular type of mint.
Imperial Coins and Roxbury’s Auction House Director in Brisbane Scott Waterman said coloured coins naturally capture “the interest of the collector mindset”.
“The Royal Australian Mint struck the first coloured coin in 2012 and they weren’t really that popular to begin with,” Mr Watermans said.
“But once it became a trend it built up some momentum and really snowballed.”
Mr Waterman, who is also the current president of the Australian Numismatic Dealers Association (ANDA), said coloured coins have attracted new and younger generations of collectors, hobbyists, and “noodlers” into the trade.
“Professional ‘noodlers’ will withdraw $10,000 worth of two dollar coins from the bank and look through them to try and find something more valuable than its face,” he said.
Collectors will also line up for hours to get their hands on the latest release, as seen outside of the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra recently when a kilometre-long line of customers queued up for the “35th Anniversary of the $2 Coin” collection drop.
The coin set originally retailed that day for $235, immediately skyrocketed to $700 online, and then levelled out at $400 days later according to Mr Waterman.
Coloured coins struck with errors also fetch unusually high prices.
A “bullseye error coin,” in which the paint or coloured image is wrongly applied to the Queen’s face or heads side, can sell for thousands of dollars.
Mr Waterman sold a 2015 Australian “Lest We Forget” bullseye coin for more than $12,000 in 2018, while a 2020 Australia Firefighter bullseye is asking for $13,000 on eBay.
HERITAGE NUMBER PLATES
The lower the number, the higher the price when it comes to heritage number plates – the first 285,000 plates produced in each of the states between 1932 and 1939.
Ramy Attia specialises in auctioning Victorian heritage number plates through his business Heritage Only and said the plates have not only become a status symbol but can fetch up to millions of dollars depending on the digit combinations.
“People are now looking at the plate more than the car, as the plate can be worth significantly more than the car,” Mr Attia said.
“It’s rare to come across a heritage plate collector that only has one plate. Some of them never put them on their car, and we have many people who have 30 to 40 plates worth in excess of $10m that are stored at home or in a safe storage facility”.
While three digit number plates typically sell for between $300-450,000, two digit plates can fetch between $1.5m and $2.5m.
A one digit number plate can sell for millions, with the numbers six and eight highly sought after because of their cultural connotations of wealth and prosperity.
In May, Mr Attia sold the VIC number plate ‘6868’ for $370,000.
TRADING CARDS
When it comes to collectable items you can’t go past the trading card.
Small in size but mighty in value, gaming and sports cards from Pokemon, the NBA, and local sports such as the AFL and NRL can bring in thousands of dollars.
eBay Australia’s sneaker and trading card expert Alaister Lowe said the obsession with cards comes down to nostalgia.
“People re-evaluate what is important and things that have nostalgic value, or that they care about from a passion standpoint, still hold value,” Mr Lowe said.
“Surprisingly Pokemon cards were the top selling item ahead of Christmas, but we’ve also seen a growth in local domestic sports like the NRL and AFL.”
The 1999 Pokemon Base Set Charizard 4/102 unlimited holo trading card was selling for $300 but will now fetch as much as $2400 – a staggering 790 per cent increase.
Meanwhile the most expensive trading card ever sold on eBay Australia was a Michael Jordan Autographed 1st Championship 1991 Commemorative Card, which sold for more than $100,000 in NSW.
SNEAKERS
Expensive footwear is nothing new but the big bucks are in the humble sneaker.
“Sneakers have become much more than footwear, they are a mix of the cultural relevance of sport and music,” eBay’s Mr Lowe said.
“They’re a melting pot of interests that mean people see them as more than just fashion items.
“If you look at some of the most expensive sneakers they are often collaborations linked to a particular cultural icon or collaborator.”
LeBron sneakers regularly sell for more than $12,000, while the Louis Vuitton Air Force One by Virgil Abloh collection is also valued in five figures.
Australia’s sneaker market is now worth more than $2 billion annually with several collectors across the country in possession of collections valued in the hundreds of thousands.
Sneaker collector and KICKSTW owner Steven Wei started buying shoes 10 years ago and now owns two of only 17 Nike Air Jordan 1 x OHSU “What The Doernbecher” shoes in the world, graded at $100,000 each.
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Originally published as Most expensive collectables in Australia revealed including number plates, LEGO and coins
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