Did you know Charlie Sheen recently sold Babe Ruth’s World Series ring and transfer contract to the Yankees from the Red Sox? He made more than $4 million! Forbes gives us some tips to emulate his investment strategy here.
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Collectors Corner
Check this out! The first official stamp used in the United States – a “wonderfully preserved” pine tree stamp – was recently sold for $19,200! Read more here.
This family found hundreds of unopened sports card packs, ranging from a 1961 Fleer Basketball unopened box of wax packs to a 1948 Bowman, in their aunt’s attic! The collection is expected to top $1 million! Read more here.
Why insure with Collectibles Insurance Services? We are uniquely focused on the needs of individuals like you – people who collect for the love of it. That’s why we offer a collection of benefits that less specialized insurance doesn’t often provide. This includes:
- A full range of protection, including (but not limited to): accidental breakage, burglary, fire, flood (except in zones A & V), loss in the mail, natural disasters, and theft or other causes of loss, unless specifically excluded from the policy. See exclusions.
- We provide coverage for any scheduled location in the United States, including transit coverage for collectible property that is temporarily away from the scheduled location (subject to policy sublimit). We also provide optional insurance coverage for collectibles kept in a public storage facility (up to $100,000).
- We typically have more affordable rates than a standard homeowners policy.
- Unlike homeowners insurance, we do not require a schedule or appraisal for most items; however, you are responsible for maintaining your own inventory for insurance purposes (in the event of loss). The only exceptions are individual items or sets valued over $5,000 apiece, and individual stamps and philatelic items or sets valued over $25,000 apiece – both of which would have to be scheduled.
- We’re proven and trusted. We have been protecting collections since 1966. And all coverage is provided by a carrier with a group rating of “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best – the leading rating agency for the insurance industry.
- And much more…!
What are you waiting for? Get a quote or call us toll-free at 888-837-9537. Or, if you already have a quote, retrieve a saved quote.
Why Collectibles Insurance Services? The reason is simple: we do what homeowners insurance can’t.
Homeowners insurance is great for every day, easily replaced personal property. But what about your prized possessions you may have spent a lifetime collecting? Homeowners insurance just doesn’t go far enough.
Below are some reasons why:
- Homeowners coverage is typically based on the actual cash value of your collection. With Collectibles Insurance Services, your coverage is based on its current market value.
- Homeowners insurance can limit coverage of all contents in your home to a percentage of your home’s total value (typically between 50% and 70%).
- It may not cover losses caused by flood, hurricanes, or earthquakes.
- It may have limited or no coverage for valuables like silver, guns, stamps, and other collectible items.
- You may be required to appraise and schedule all items individually. And new items must be reported and scheduled within 30 to 90 days of acquisition.
Get a quote or call us toll-free at 888-837-9537 today!
Howard Delo doesn’t consider himself a gun collector. Sure, he may have some firearms here and there, but that doesn’t mean he’s a gun collector… or does it? Read more for yourself. From what we’re reading, we would say Howard is most definitely a gun collector!
Vinyl is one of the hottest new items! If you’re in Madison, Wisconsin, go to Agrace Thrift Stores, which is now home to this 21,000 vinyl collection. Genres include country, classical, and rock music. Records sell anywhere from $1 to $60. Be sure to check it out for yourself!
“I didn’t mean to collect over four bookcases of Sailor Moon, but here we are…”
Sarah Forde’s love for Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon began in high school. “I managed to scrap together enough money to buy the comic books, and I used to record the TV episodes on VHS tapes,” she shares.
After college, Sarah began working full-time while selling her artwork online. The majority of her collection was built between 2006 and 2021. It started with DVD box sets and dolls, and has grown to include over 600 licensed items.
The series is experiencing a revival with its 25th anniversary, a new animated series, and stage musicals in Japan. Some of the items in this collection were purchased in Japan in 2014, a trip that Sarah describes as her, “greatest Sailor Moon experience!” She had the opportunity to meet other collectors and fans – all while doing a lot of shopping! “Most of these friends are people I’ve known online for years, so it was really incredible to hang out with them and share our love of Sailor Moon.”
In recent years, Sailor Moon collectibles have been in strong supply. “There’s been an avalanche of new merchandise coming out in the USA and Japan,” Sarah explains. “It’s been challenging to keep up with the new stuff while also keeping an eye on collecting the vintage merchandise. The prices for the older items have also skyrocketed! This means a lot of my wish list items are unaffordable for me right now, but I’m in it for the long run, so I’m hopeful.”
After giving birth to her daughter in 2014, Sarah has been less focused on merchandise news. “Though I don’t have as much time and money to dedicate to my hobby, I love waking up every day to my sparkling, shiny collection!”
Collectibles Insurance Services was founded in 1966 by Horace Harrison, a celebrated stamp collector and active member of the American Philatelic Society. Harrison saw that conventional insurance companies couldn’t fully serve the needs of stamp collectors like him. So he created an agency that could: Harrison & Associates. In 1983, he sold the agency to his fellow collector and friend, Dan Walker, who expanded the agency’s coverage. Eventually, the agency name was changed to Collectibles Insurance Services.
Dan has been working since the third grade when he and his classmate started a stamp company called the JimDandy Stamp Company. After his classmate’s father helped them legally register the company, the boys started advertising in The New York Times while selling stamps to their schoolmates.
Years later, Dan, a former Wall Street securities analyst, exhibited at his first stamp show. It was at this show in 1979 that Dan met Patricia Stilwell, a veteran postal history exhibitor who would soon become Dan’s wife. You could say the couple were stamp fanatics. The stamp lovers’ wedding cake was decorated with Grenadian and Irish postmarks from both of their collections. And to send them off on their honeymoon, their wedding guests tossed used stamp hinges instead of rice!
Dan’s collections have covered British Borneo, Romania, and the Civil War era U.S. Revenue stamps. He is best known for his research and published work on the West Indian island of Grenada. A winner of the American Philatelic Society’s Champion of Champions Award, Dan soon became actively engaged in the collection and study of the Feudatory States of India, including multi-frame exhibits of Barwani and Soruth. In 2014, Dan was elected to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists, an honor conferred on just 369 philatelists in the world since the Roll was established more than 90 years ago.
For the past 34 years, Dan has played a huge part in making Collectibles Insurance Services what it is today. A few weeks ago, Dan announced he would be retiring. Dan has whittled down his stamp collecting to two major collecting areas and has been accumulating and storing his material. Dan is looking forward to getting his material sorted and studied. He even purchased a relational database program that will help him organize his thousands of stamps.
While we are sad to see Dan retire, we know the future of Collectibles Insurance Services will stay true to the values and traditions set forth by Dan more than 30 years ago. Dan, we thank you and wish you nothing but the best in your future endeavors.
Sincerely,
The Collectibles Insurance Services Team