Childhood collections that are now worth money

We’re all guilty of getting a little bit carried away during a spring clean.  Favourite toys get caught up in the frenzy, photos, letters, birthday cards – the list is endless.  But have you ever wondered if something you once chucked could now be worth a lot of money?  The answer is, probably!  In recent years there has been a huge revival in collectibles and vintage relics so the chances are you may well have owned something that is now worth a small fortune. 

Without further ado, here are the 10 things you’ll wish you’d never thrown away…

 

1.  Pokémon Cards

Admit it, you’re passionately singing ‘I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was’ in your head and it’ll likely be stuck there for the rest of the day.  Sorry!  But what’s a list about collectibles without Pokémon?  The first ever games were released in 1996 designed by Satoshi Tajiri in Japan.  First edition cards are the holy grail of any collector’s merchandise stash so if you’re lucky enough to still have one or two tucked away in the loft they can fetch thousands!
 

2.  Beanie Babies

You’ve probably heard this before but we’ll say it again – the Beanie Baby you gave to your local charity shop as a teenager could probably be worth thousands now.  A quick eBay search will tell you that the Princess Diana Beanie Baby in particular has a huge price tag on it nowadays, valued anywhere upwards of £5,000. 
 

3.  Barbie Dolls

A vintage Barbie doll can sell for hundreds of pounds, a huge uplift on the original price tags.  Dolls from the 60s are particularly valuable as they’re considered the originals - the dolls were originally released by Mattel in 1959.  By 1961 Ken was born (we’ll always know who was popular first though, ladies) and the rest is history.  Despite recent debate surrounding Mattel’s promotion of a negative body image it’s still a hugely popular brand and will hopefully continue to make dolls for many years to come.
 

4.  Breakfast Cereals

Yes.  You read that correctly.  BREAKFAST CEREALS.  And we hear you – who in their right mind keeps out of date food?  Well, in 2014 a box of unopened 1988 Nintendo cereal sold for $200.  That’s approximately £136 for what was probably a box of overpriced dust.  Something to think about when you next buy a box of novelty cereal…
 

5.  Furby

Furby, the creepiest toy in existence, was first released in 1998 by Tiger electronics.  When they were originally sold in the US they retailed at $35 but now sell for upwards of $500 (that’s over £340!).  eBay has advice dedicated to vintage Furby collecting so you know it’s taken pretty seriously amongst creepy toy connoisseurs.
 
 

6.  VHS Tapes

Since investigating these collectibles it turns out the rarer (and more poorly produced) the film, the more expensive the tape’s value.  Makes sense, right?  In 2011 someone managed to sell a VHS copy of the movie Tales From the Quadead Zone (a 1987 horror movie with a completely terrible plot) for over $700.  It has since been reported that today, five years on, it could be worth $2,000 (just over £1,300).
 

7.  Books

Remember all those lovely books you were bought throughout childhood?  We all have memories of bed time stories and learning to read but it’s fair to say that most of us lost books to younger siblings, charity shops and friends along the way.  A first edition copy of Maurince Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, first printed in 1963, would now be valued at over £13,600.
 

8.  Happy Meal Toys

This is another fairly standard feature on a list like this but the fact remains – McDonald’s Happy Meal toys are collectible items!  A clever marketing ploy to get us to stuff our faces in order to collect toys has now become a profitable business years later as people are willing to pay upwards of £300 for a box of random toys, all in a quest to find the one missing toy that will complete their collection.
 

9.  Rare Vinyl

Originally marketed as ‘Program Transcription’ discs, the first commercially available vinyl record was released in 1930.  The technology developed over time and reached peak popularity in the 60s and 70s when groups like The Beatles were dominating the music scene.  Rare copies tend to fetch the most money such as the 1962 7-inch demo edition of The Beatles ‘Love Me Do/PS I Love You,’ valued at a whopping £3,000.  This particular edition is made all the more special because Paul McCartney’s surname was misspelt ‘McArtney’.
 

10.  Old Mobile Phones

Remember the 80’s and the phones that went with it?  Well those giant old bricks sell for upwards of £300 nowadays, despite the risk that they may not work.  A 1983 Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, one of the first wireless mobile phones on the market, sold at an auction for $550 in 2014.  The only slight issue with this one is the fact that, to buy the phone when it first came out, it would have set you back $3,995 (just over £2,700).  Whilst the phone has depreciated in value, it’s a great way of recycling old technology.
 
In the world of whacky, vintage collectibles is there anything lurking around at home that you think could be valuable today? Let us know in the comments below!