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 Have you ever considered collecting antique maps as an investment? Look at the benefits: You can enjoy the antique maps as fascinating displays while they increase in value. And this value is not volatile like property and stock prices.
The map illustrated here, an extremely rare wall map made in 1754 and still in superb condition is available for around £80 000. But you don't have to invest such a large amount of money. We can help you build a collection of maps of a geographic region of your choice whose total value will outstrip the value of the individual maps that comprise the collection. For example, we offer 'Starter Collections' such as five North Polar maps of the 17th and 18th century (including the first N. Polar map) for only £3500 (individually marked at £4700.)
Today it is reckoned by researchers that about 80 per cent of all antique maps have been destroyed over the years, through fire, flood and obsolescence.Furthermore, more than 60 per cent of maps that have survived are in public collections, and this percentage continues to grow, mainly because universities all over the world are seeking to enhance their map collections.
What strikes one the most if one looks at dealer catalogues for antique maps over the past sixty years is the dramatic decline in supply. This has consequently pushed up prices in inverse proportion, with few years that have been flat - unlike the art market, which suffers as much as the stockmarket from time to time.
Unlike other antique collecting fields it is easy to compare prices of antique maps because multiple copies of any given map almost always exist. One of the most popular English map makers today with collectors is John Speed (1542-1629), whose Atlas of the World contains 96 maps, and which went through several editions between 1627 and 1676. Not only is this atlas popular, but also individual maps from the atlas.
The table below shows a few auction prices (excluding buyer’s premium) for the complete atlas, in fine condition, between the years 1946 and 2001. Also shown are retail prices of John Speed’s world map, which comes from the same atlas and is the most valuable single map by John Speed. (It is the first map of the world to show California depicted as an island, a mistake that was copied by other map makers for the next hundred years.)
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Year
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Auction price of atlas
(Pounds Sterling)
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Retail price of world map
(Pounds Sterling)
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Average house price (UK)
(Pounds Sterling)
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1946
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200
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10
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N/A
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1969
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1,800
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150
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4975 (1970)
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1988
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16,500
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2,200
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49355
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1991
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26,000
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3,000
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62455
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1996
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35,000
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5,000
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70626
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2001
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65,000
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10,000
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112835
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As can be seen, the retail value of the world map (and all other maps) is increasing at a faster rate than the atlas as a whole. For example, in 1946, the world map was 5 per cent of the price of the total atlas, whereas today it is more than 15 per cent. This trend indicates that the investment potential of atlases in general is underpinned by an increasing demand for individual antique maps.
Why is this happening? Partly because the economic status of many countries throughout the world is improving, so triggering an increasing demand for antique maps of these countries, not only from private collectors but also from institutions. The future therefore looks especially bright for individual antique maps.
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