Fewer and fewer letters are being sent through the mail. Stamp collectors must be sad, but most of us have turned to email. So our “Letter to Lee,” named for our son, is joining the 21st century. It will now be titled “Words of Wisdom.” Not really a big change, because we hope all of our past letters were just that—words of wisdom.

Everyone is talking about the economy these days, and collectors have a special advantage. Collectors have physical assets (collections are investments) that can be sold for cash. It may take longer to sell a mechanical bank than bank stocks, but both represent wealth. We are not financial advisors, but we do know collectors who retired with the help of the money they got when they sold a collection. It was a sort of savings account.

But TV ads encouraging you to “invest in gold” can be misleading. Gold recently hit $1,800 an ounce ($1,952 on August 10, 2011, for a short time). It was $800 in the summer of 2008, and the official price in 1971 was $35. (The price of gold was controlled by the government before that.) If you have a 24-karat gold necklace you bought in 1990, it’s worth just as much as the gold coins, bars and certificates the ads offer to sell you. In fact, your necklace may be worth more because of its historic value or workmanship.

Most gold jewelry is 18K or 14K; 24K gold was mixed with another metal that made it harder and more durable. So when you sell gold to be melted, the price is adjusted for the karat value. You get less than the 24K price. Our advice is to look carefully at your jewelry, especially your gold and silver jewelry. Consider selling anything that’s damaged. Sell good pieces only if you need the money now.

Antique jewelry has been in demand for years. Many old pieces with original stones have real stones, not the synthetic or man-made or color-enhanced examples found today. These old pieces are worth money, but you lose the value of the stones if you sell for meltdown. Instead, enjoy knowing that while banks are paying low interest rates, gold jewelry is like “money in the bank.”

 

Nancy Saada, the editor of Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles from 1976 to 2007, died on July 30, 2011. Her writing talent and eye for a story made our newsletter unique from the very beginning. Nancy was interested in everything—music, art, skiing, cooking, flower arranging, photography, travel, her family and of course collecting. Every Christmas she decorated at least two trees, one with family-made ornaments and the other with amazing antique ornaments. She recorded her trips to each of the seven continents with photographs and a journal. After retiring, she continued to help out here when we were proofreading our annual Price Guide. Nancy is survived by her husband, Tony, two children and four grandchildren. She was a good friend as well as a colleague and we miss very much.