Action Figures | Animation Cels |
Architectural Ornamentation (e.g. weathervanes) | Arrowheads |
Art | Ashtrays |
Autographs | Balls (e.g. golf balls) |
Bells | Belt Buckles |
Bicycles | Bookends |
Bookmarks | Books |
Bottle Caps | Bottles |
Brochures | Buttons |
Cameras | Candlesticks |
Canes | Cars |
Carvings | Chandeliers |
Clocks | Clothes Hangers |
Coasters | Coins |
Collectible Card Games | Comic Books |
Commemorative Items | Compasses |
Corkscrews | Crafts |
Cultural Items | Decanters |
Digital Collectibles | Dinosaur Bones |
Dollhouses | Dolls |
Doorstops | Electric Lights |
Ephemera | Erasers |
Figurines | Film Memorabilia |
Fishing Lures | Folk Art |
Fossils | Fountain Pens |
Fridge Magnets | Furniture |
Garden Statues | Glasses / Sunglasses |
Glassware | Guitar Picks |
Handbags | Hats |
Helmets | Historical Documents |
Household Silver | Humidors |
Interior Decorations (e.g. wallpaper) | Jewelry |
Jewels & Precious Stones | Key Chains |
Kimono | Lanterns |
Letter Openers | License Plates |
Lighters | Lobby Cards |
Magazines | Manga |
Maps | Marbles |
Masks | Match Books |
Medals & Badges | Memorabilia |
Meteorites | Minerals / Rocks |
Mirrors | Models |
Movie Props | Movie Tapes & Disks |
Music Boxes | Music Memorabilia |
Musical Instruments | Natural Artifacts |
Nautical Antiques | Nutcrackers |
Paintings | Paper Currency |
Paperweights | Patches |
Perfume / Perfume Bottles | Pins |
Plates | Pocket Watches |
Pocketknives | Porcelain & Ceramics |
Postcards | Posters |
Pottery | Prints |
Promotional Items (e.g. cereal prizes) | Puppets |
Puzzles | Quilts |
Radios | Records, Tapes & CDs |
Religious Items | Rugs & Carpets |
Salt & Pepper Shakers | Scientific Instruments |
Screens & Panels | Sculpture |
Seashells | Shoes |
Shot Glasses | Signs |
Skateboards | Souvenirs |
Spoons | Sports Cards |
Sports Memorabilia | Stamps |
Stationery | Stickers |
Stock & Bond Certificates | Surfboards |
Teapots | Textiles |
Thimbles | Ticket Stubs |
Ties | Tins (e.g. cookie tins) |
Tools | Toys |
Trading Cards | Typewriters |
Video Games | Vintage Fashion |
Vintage Tech | Wallets |
Watches | Whistles |
Wine | Wristbands |
Pop Culture Collectibles
Collecting related to popular culture such as movies, television, music, video games and toys. This is an area of much demand such that collectible items such as trading cards and commemorative items are produced at scale for this market. It is also possible to collect rare and one-of-a-kind items related to popular culture such as movie props.
Everyday Things
It is common for people to collect everyday things such as stationery, small household items and natural things. This includes things specifically designed to be collected such as commemorative spoons. However, it is also common for people to start collecting something they develop an aesthetic appreciation for and to pursue this as an odd sort of adventure resembling a scavenger hunt. Philosophically, collecting everyday things can be viewed as cultivating appreciation for the little things in life that others may take for granted.
Home Collectibles
Collecting things that have some purpose in the home. This includes decorative things such as houseplants. In many cases, these collections continue to serve some function in the home such as a home with unique doors on every room because the homeowner is a collector of remarkable doors.
Antiques
Antiques are high quality or rare items that are generally more than 100 years old. These are often collected to be used according to their original function such as a homeowner who uses mostly antique furniture in their home. In other cases, antiques are carefully preserved and curated such that using them would be unthinkable. Both of these scenarios play a role in sustaining and preserving items from the past including important historical artifacts.
Vintage Collectibles
Vintage items are old things that are generally 20-100 years old. Collecting vintage items is associated with several different subcultures such as street fashion enthusiasts who may collect fashions of the past for their distinctive styles. The other big area of vintage collecting is related to old technologies. For example, low technology enthusiasts who collect things like old audio equipment, computers and video game systems. This is often viewed as a lifestyle choice that rejects trend and convenience to live aspects of your life in the old way.
Ephemera
Collecting things that were specifically designed to be temporary with a limited lifespan. These are mostly paper things. Ephemera include everyday items such as business cards that aren't commonly appreciated such that they are seldom preserved. In this context, it is good that someone takes an interest in preserving them because they may become historical artifacts on a long enough time horizon. Ephemera also include one-of-a-kind things like personal letters and copies of screenplays used by a specific cast member of a film.
Other Collectibles
The following collecting pursuits are viewed as specialized domains or interests. For example, stamp collecting isn't viewed as ephemera because there is a large body of knowledge surrounding this this type of collecting.
Summary
Collectibles include well-established domains such as coin collecting based on standardized catalogs of items. However, it is equally common for people to start relatively unique collections that can include common everyday things or one-of-a-kind items that can't be replicated by other collections. The pursuit of collecting is often based on a related interest such as a sports fan who collects sports trading cards. In other cases, collecting is based on a feeling for things whereby individuals cultivate an appreciation for certain physical artifacts of humanity or nature.
