Asklemmy

44149 readers

1306 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy 🔍

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

Open-ended question
Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

Lemmyverse: community search
sub.rehab: maps old subreddits to fediverse options, marks official as such
[email protected]: a community for finding communities

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_[email protected]~

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

160

What item do you own that has an unexpectedly high value? (self.asklemmy)

submitted 9 months ago by ObsidianNebula to c/[email protected]

141 comments fedilink hide all child comments

This could be something that you bought for a higher price than what most people would guess based on the item, or it could be something you bought for a normal price that has gained significant value as time has gone on.

What made me think of this question is a LEGO minifigure I got with my "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" disc. It is Bilbo Baggins in a blue coat that was apparently only sold in that movie box only at Target stores. Even considering the exclusivity, I would have guessed maybe $10-20 for such a tiny piece of plastic, but there are sold listings on eBay from $80 to $225. I could possibly even get towards the higher end of that number since I still have everything in the original box in good condition. It's not worth a ton compared to some other items people may own, but I think most people would not expect nearly that amount.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 42 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The single most expensive item I own is a gold coin from Imperial Rome, an Aureus of emperor Antoninus Pius. I bought it about three years ago when I was just starting to collect ancient coins. I came across this particular coin on a "regular" gold & silver bullion site in my neck of the woods, for 3K. Not knowing too much about it, I bit the bullet (which is actually an incredibly stupid thing to do, akin to gambling). Turns out it's very real, mint state, and worth about 2K over what I paid for it right now. I have since continued collecting ancients, especially Romans, and by now know the entire history of Rome and all its emperors in detail. Which again underscores how incredibly stupid it was to buy something so expensive without decent prior research. I was just incredibly lucky that an actual reputed bullion dealer apparantly had come across this coin and got rid of it far under what it was worth.

I don't expect to be able to repeat this feat, but I'm definitely on the lookout...

[–] ObsidianNebula 3 points 9 months ago

That's awesome! I've collected a few coins but none worth that. I only have one ancient coin of the Gallic Emperor Tetricus II that's in rough condition, but I only purchased it for $10. The only surprising coin I have is an 1809 US Capped Bust Half Dollar that is apparently a rare variant with some markings along the edge, and PCGS says there are only an estimated 900 of that variant that are still around. Unfortunately, there was already a deep scratch on the front when I bought it that likely lowers the value to that of the normal variant, but I still love the history and rarity of it.