Re:Apple founding papers sold at auction for nearly $1.6m
by jonnathanson on Wednesday December 14, 2011 @08:15AM
(#3351673)
"It's hard to imagine vibrant aftermarkets for these founding papers..."
Is it so hard, though? From reading the article, one gets the sense that there's already been a very vibrant aftermarket for these papers to date. From an initial selling price of "a couple thousand dollars" in 1994, they've risen in value to $1.6MM. Assuming the original price was $2000, that's a 79,900% increase in value in 17 years. (For the sake of comparison: the price of Apple stock has increased by about 921% between December 12, 1994 and today).
Memorabilia, antiques, and artifacts -- even the seemingly random ones -- can be extremely lucrative investments. True, there isn't always an obvious aftermarket; many of these items are purchased as curiosities or personal bragging tokens. But if one is able to create an aftermarket for them, the sky is the limit.
Who would purchase these papers from Mr. Cisneros at a sum higher than $1.6MM? It's tough to say, but I can see quite a few possibilities. Other rich guys, museums, charitable foundations, corporations, and hell, maybe even Apple itself. Maybe Woz gets sentimental one day, can't find his own copies, or decides he wants more copies, and buys them from this guy. Who knows? There are a lot of potential buyers.
Is it so hard, though? From reading the article, one gets the sense that there's already been a very vibrant aftermarket for these papers to date. From an initial selling price of "a couple thousand dollars" in 1994, they've risen in value to $1.6MM. Assuming the original price was $2000, that's a 79,900% increase in value in 17 years. (For the sake of comparison: the price of Apple stock has increased by about 921% between December 12, 1994 and today).
Memorabilia, antiques, and artifacts -- even the seemingly random ones -- can be extremely lucrative investments. True, there isn't always an obvious aftermarket; many of these items are purchased as curiosities or personal bragging tokens. But if one is able to create an aftermarket for them, the sky is the limit.
Who would purchase these papers from Mr. Cisneros at a sum higher than $1.6MM? It's tough to say, but I can see quite a few possibilities. Other rich guys, museums, charitable foundations, corporations, and hell, maybe even Apple itself. Maybe Woz gets sentimental one day, can't find his own copies, or decides he wants more copies, and buys them from this guy. Who knows? There are a lot of potential buyers.