With any type of market, there are cycles, and these cycles, while not always the same, are apparent in antiques and collectibles. There are a variety of factors that will influence these cycles. Some are obvious and others are a little more hard to see out in the open. Let’s explore!
To understand how these cycles work, let’s start out with a very specific market cycle, Ford Model Ts. To be clear, we will be talking broadly about all Model Ts, not one variation specifically. The following will be estimations because there is likely no real easily accessible data on this price action up until the last 20-30 years.
Below you will see a chart of estimated prices for Mode Ts from 1910 to 2020. As you can see shortly after the introduction of the Model T when new models of Ford cars were released, the Model T became obsolete, thus lowering their value. Over the next several decades, prices would continue to decline until the Model T shifted from being seen as obsolete to being nostalgic. “Hey, remember those old Model Ts? That would be fun to drive around town!”. Along with the value of them declining, the quantity does also due to scrapping, damage and other means of destruction.
As people who have forgotten about the Model Ts, maybe their parent’s had one, or it was their first car as a teen, start to remember the Model T, the demand increases for used Model Ts. Collectors begin to buy them up, restore them, and trade them.
At some point, the collectability will peak and eventually start to decline when collectors start to age out. The next generation of collectors may or may not be as interested in Model Ts because they, for the most part, have no relationship with them. The next generation would be more interested in 50s and 60s cars, and the generation following may be interested in 70s and 80s cars.
This is the natural flow of something like a Model T. However, this exact cycle may not apply to all collectibles and antiques.
Do you have something you’ve had for years, or a collection of antiques or collectibles that you feel you are ready to move to a new home? Give us a shot at buying the collection! Contact us to see if we are interested, we are always looking for new antiques and collectibles.