# Future Antiques **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 11, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830 "2012-06-11T17:13:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/1 "2012-06-11T17:13:20Z")
My wife and I like _Antiques Roadshow_. Sometimes I find myself wondering what if anything from these days could appear on the 2115 season of the show. So much of today’s stuff is just junk, to tell the truth. What things or kinds of things will be tomorrow’s valuable antiques? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/2 "2012-06-11T17:24:29Z")
Old/ early computers will be collectible, but mostly of interest to hobbyists. Average people will sometimes like their omniface to look like an old Macintosh, but very few will want to fiddle around with a genuine antique computer. Almost anything with a working internal combustion engine will be sought after but almost no one will be able to afford actually running one on petroleum. In fact, after the oil supply crashes, very few pieces of genuine plastic will be left after most of it being rendered back into fuel stock. Glass bottles, manual razors, and advertising copy from the early years of the ruling multicorps will all be big on the nostalgia market. Printed and bound books. All the things which were common in the lazy, hazy, crazy days of the early 21st but which have been replaced with more useful alternatives. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/3 "2012-06-11T17:24:32Z")
> [@whc.03grady](#): > > My wife and I like _Antiques Roadshow_. Sometimes I find myself wondering what if anything from these days could appear on the 2115 season of the show. So much of today’s stuff is just junk, to tell the truth. > What things or kinds of things will be tomorrow’s valuable antiques? If I had to guess, I would say that in a hundred years or so today’s CRT TV’s will be considered antiques. VCR’s maybe as well. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/4 "2012-06-11T17:31:37Z")
Collectibles like a butterfly Bush ballot. Intact chads increase it’s value. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/5 "2012-06-11T17:43:58Z")
And dangling chads are even more valuable. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/6 "2012-06-11T17:58:47Z")
Seems weird, but perhaps comic books. As a kid, I had the first several Superman and Batman comics along with a couple of feet deep stacks of others. When I turned 18 and was about to go into the Army, my mother wanted to throw them all out. I tried every argument to persuade her to keep them, except the improbable one that some day they would be worth a fortune. Who knew? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/7 "2012-06-11T18:00:04Z")
Look to ephemera (print advertising) because so little of it survives, despite the fact that there are probably billions of pieces of it around. There’s a lively market in [Victorian-era advertising cards](http://doyle.lib.muohio.edu/cdm4/tradecards/) because, even though there were millions of them distributed, relatively few survived in decent shape. A huge part of my dad’s latter-life hobby was collecting these. They show up in a lot of local auctions (especially when an old, old house goes to estate sale) and he had quite a few of them (which are now in boxes in my basement). Unfortunately, I have about 1/10 of his knowledge and expertise on the subject, and with my recent medical saga, I haven’t had the time or energy to start researching what I have. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/8 "2012-06-11T18:01:14Z")
And note that pretty much NOTHING that’s actually marketed as “collectible” today is going to be worth anything in 100-200 years. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/9 "2012-06-11T18:03:13Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > If I had to guess, I would say that in a hundred years or so today’s CRT TV’s will be considered antiques. VCR’s maybe as well. I disagree. Today’s antiques either are still usable for some purpose in a household (albeit not necessarily for the previous one), e.g. writing desks, or they look nice standing around or hanging on the wall. So devices that do not look nice or interesting just standing there, and that rely on infrastructure/supplies that won’t be supported at some time in the future (analog TV signals, video cassettes, even TCP/IP at some point) won’t be antiques. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/10 "2012-06-11T18:16:28Z")
> [@Mops](#): > > I disagree. Today’s antiques either are still usable for some purpose in a household (albeit not necessarily for the previous one), e.g. writing desks, or they look nice standing around or hanging on the wall. So devices that do not look nice or interesting just standing there, and that rely on infrastructure/supplies that won’t be supported at some time in the future (analog TV signals, video cassettes, even TCP/IP at some point) won’t be antiques. That makes sense, I suppose I was thinking more along the lines of ‘look at what they were using way back then’. So in that case, what about houses with fiberglass, blown in or spray foam insulation, central air, rain gutters etc. At some point something will come along to make these things so obsolete that future generations will look back and say ‘they filled the walls with pieces of glass?’ ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/11 "2012-06-11T18:37:24Z")
> [@Mops](#): > > I disagree. Today’s antiques either are still usable for some purpose in a household (albeit not necessarily for the previous one), e.g. writing desks, or they look nice standing around or hanging on the wall. So devices that do not look nice or interesting just standing there, and that rely on infrastructure/supplies that won’t be supported at some time in the future (analog TV signals, video cassettes, even TCP/IP at some point) won’t be antiques. Agreed; spinning wheels and wash pitchers with bowels were found in every home and are just about worthless today because no one wants to bother using them no matter how interesting they look. I say go for first edition hardbound books with the original covers; having them signed would be a huge bonus. Real books are going to become a rarity due to eBooks. Also, I would think that album art will be huge at some point. It’s just the right size to collect and there are enough of them out there to have several grades of condition to make collecting interesting. Intact 45 rpm covers may in fact be worth more than albums because fewer will have survived and they are easier to store. CD covers will be practically worthless because the are too small to appreciate. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/12 "2012-06-11T18:43:57Z")
Movie posters - the genuine ones only - one-sheets, three-sheets, and lobby cards (although I don’t think they make lobby cards any more). There is already a huge sub-culture around this, and some of them go for shocking amounts of money. Of course, reprints are cheap, but the original ones are highly sought after by (a relatively few) collectors. I think there are some categories of furniture that might be collectible 100+ years from now. Design pieces made by hand or in small batches, by designers whose work remains in vogue at least for a while. Rugs, maybe, that are still made by hand. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/13 "2012-06-11T18:50:47Z")
There is plenty of things created today by master artisans that will become more valuable over time. Such as works of art, and furniture. Such items aren’t sold in stores like Walmart or Target so they’re less well known. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/14 "2012-06-11T18:55:16Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > If I had to guess, I would say that in a hundred years or so today’s CRT TV’s will be considered antiques. VCR’s maybe as well. Anybody got a time machine? I’ve got two CRT TVs (one with built-in VCR) and a separate VCR that I want to get rid of. But it’s hard to find someone who will come to our house to haul them away, and they’re too heavy for Mr. Neville or me to move on our own. We can’t even THROW the damn things away without a lot of hassle… I wonder if people back when had this problem with old-time washing machines (the ones with tubs and wringers), or spinning wheels? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/15 "2012-06-11T18:58:59Z")
> [@KlondikeGeoff](#): > > Seems weird, but perhaps comic books. > > As a kid, I had the first several Superman and Batman comics along with a couple of feet deep stacks of others. > > When I turned 18 and was about to go into the Army, my mother wanted to throw them all out. I tried every argument to persuade her to keep them, except the improbable one that some day they would be worth a fortune. Who knew? Except modern comic books aren’t collectable, for the reason that old comic books ARE collectable. Modern comic book collectors never throw out comic books. So the world is awash with comic books from the 80s and later, it’s only comics from the Silver Age and earlier, back before comic books were collectable, that are worth anything. Anything produced today that people collect “because it’s collectable” won’t be worth anything, because so many of them will be preserved in the future. It’s only things that people throw out today that will be worth something in the future, because only a few of those things will survive. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/16 "2012-06-11T19:16:54Z")
> [@](#): > > I wonder if people back when had this problem with old-time washing machines (the ones with tubs and wringers), or spinning wheels? As an aside, my mom still uses her old tub-and-wringer washer, because they’re more water-efficient. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/17 "2012-06-11T19:24:55Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > If I had to guess, I would say that in a hundred years or so today’s CRT TV’s will be considered antiques. VCR’s maybe as well. I dooubt it. They were made by the millions. Wind up Victrola phonographs aren’t that collectable, because they made scads of them. Same with old cameras; everybody has one. ---
**Author:** ![Yarster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7c8e57/32.png) [@Yarster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yarster)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/18 "2012-06-11T19:53:46Z")
I don’t think you can ever go wrong collecting firearms. They are very rugged and last virtually forever. Obviously a rarer variant that is engraved may only cost a bit more than the standard model now, but could be worth huge amounts of money down the road, particularly after the zombies/alien overlords attack 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/19 "2012-06-11T20:15:48Z")
Let’s move this over to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830/20 "2012-06-11T20:24:19Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > There is plenty of things created today by master artisans that will become more valuable over time. Such as works of art, and furniture. Such items aren’t sold in stores like Walmart or Target so they’re less well known. I agree with this. If you look at the furniture items in museums, they are usually pieces that are elaborately carved and were expensive even when they were new. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/future-antiques/624830.md?page=2)