A lot of the knowledge I have regarding the collectibles trade came from older generations of experienced collectors and dealers who took the time to educate me. I have great respect to anyone who chooses to share a lifetime of knowledge about a particular subject to someone free of charge (especially when that someone is me, who isnt always easy to educate due to my own stubbornness). One of the reasons I write these articles is to help pay back, or more aptly, pay forward the knowledge I have learned over the years. Most of my mentors in the trade were either from what is known as the Silent Generation (those born between the years of 1928 and 1945) or from the Baby-Boom Generation (those born between 1946 and 1964). Sadly, most of my early mentors in the trade have long passed on. I have always had tremendous respect for their passions in collecting, regardless if I liked the collectible in question or not. As someone who is part of Generation-X (the generation that followed the Baby-Boomers), I am fascinated what will happen to a lot of items that were collected by Baby-Boomers when they pass on. Current reports estimate that close to $100 trillion of wealth will pass from the Baby-Boom Generation to younger generations within the coming decades. That said, younger generations shouldnt get too excited, as most of this wealth is in the form of stuff. And unfortunately, some of this stuff very few people will have an interest in. Listed below are some of the most popular collectibles coveted by the Baby-Boom Generation and my predictions as to whether or not younger generations will continue to collect these items long after the Baby-Boomers are gone. You are welcome to disagree with my findings, but just know that I work with a lot of collectors in the trade who are 55 years of age or under, and much like myself, their tastes are drastically different from their parents (and grandparents). Precious Moments, Hummel Figurines, Boyd Bears. Please dont shoot the messenger, but I know very few younger generations who covet these items. There are some truly scarce and in-demand Hummel figurines and Boyd Bears that do command serious sums of money at auction. However, looking over auction results over the last few years, it is easy to see these markets are in decline. Younger generations will not be fighting their parents estate to get their hands on these items. I expect antique marts, flea markets, and auction houses (assuming they even take them) to be overfilled with these trinkets in due time. Collectible Coins, Paper Money, and Stamps. Coins and paper money are actively collected and even invested in by the younger generations. If you have high grade pieces that are or can be third-party graded, depending on the value, several top tier auction houses will gladly take these items on consignment. Even lower quality coins composed of precious metals like silver and gold have value on the secondary market as a result. Unfortunately, when it comes to stamps, unless your pieces are in the top 10 percent of the market, most high-profile auction companies will have no interest in these artifacts. Younger generations are not interested in stamps like they are coins and paper money. The reasons for this will be the subject of a future article. Marx Toys, Lionel Trains, and PEZ Dispensers. Louis Marx & Company was one of the dominant American toy manufacturers operating from 1919 until 1980. The company made many high-quality tin toys, toy soldiers, and playsets. Unfortunately, younger generations are going after the toys that they grew up with. For instance, I love vintage Kenner Star Wars toys and action figures because I have found memories of playing with those toys back in the early 1980s. There are some exceptions here, but for the most part unless your Marx Toys are in top condition and considered a museum quality piece, most of this stuff will struggle to find a buyer. The same fate awaits most Lionel and related toy train sets, although there are some high-profile toy train collectors that occupy the younger generations, but not enough to snap up the amount of supply that will be hitting the market over the next decade or so. PEZ dispensers had a resurgence in the 1990s with the advent of eBay, but that turned out to be a major speculative bubble. And while some Gen-Xers do collect PEZ dispensers, prices have been going south for the past 10 years or so, with few exceptions. Japanese Space Toys and Tin Robots. I purposely made sure to separate these collectibles from the likes of Marx Toys and Lionel Trains simply because we have seen younger generations go after some of these items. With the rise in popularity of Japanese culture infecting the current collectibles trade with the popularity of vintage video games, Pokemon, and even Transformers, there is some opportunity here. However, that opportunity for the most part is in the higher end mint boxed examples. That said, I dont see a lot of these kinds of toys selling for pennies on the dollar either, as the curiosity factor alone makes them quite popular among the younger set. If you check completed auction records from Morphy Auctions you will see what I mean. These pieces still sell, just not as well as they once did. Golden Age Comics Books and 1950s Movie Posters. Golden Age comic books are the clear winner here, assuming they are of the super hero and horror variety. Dell comic books, comic books featuring Western themes, or love stories have very little demand and value today. If, however you come across a stash of golden age (pre-1960s) superhero or horror comics, be sure to get them checked out! Younger generations are still actively pursuing that stuff. In regard to movie posters, classic science fiction and horror movie posters from the 1950s and earlier can be highly collectible and valuable. I dont see this trend changing any time soon due to their perceived rarity, but it really depends on the piece. Vinyl Records. There is a resurgence in collecting vinyl records thanks in part to the music industrys decision to release everything in digital download formats. Music enthusiasts pushed back, and now vinyl records are readily available featuring your current favorite artists. Even Taylor Swifts newest releases are available in vinyl. But dont get too excited yet. Classic rock albums from the likes of The Beatles and Pink Floyd are in high demand. Big Band and related albums have virtually no collector value and demand. Elvis was popular among Baby-Boomers, but Gen-Xers and younger tend to prefer The Beatles. I expect a lot of vintage vinyl to hit the landfill in the coming years. In conclusion, there is one category that I purposely left off this list. That category is vintage advertising. Vintage soda pop advertising along with gas and oil advertising (especially from the 1960s and earlier) deserves its own dedicated article which will be coming soon. There have been a lot of interesting developments in that market over the last few years, so stay tuned! Shawn Surmick has been an avid collector since the age of 12. He currently resides in his hometown of Boyertown, Pa., and is a passionate collector of antiques and collectibles. His articles focus on various topics affecting the marketplace.