Over 50s make a mint

Britain's over-50s are becoming serial collectors in the hope their hobby will provide a nest egg for the future, according to research from Direct Line.

The report has uncovered that, over the past five years, this age group has spent a whopping £2.5 billion on collecting everything from royal memorabilia to comic books and antique glass.

As well as buying collectibles for fun, a third of those interviewed see their stash as an extra asset to hand down to the kids, while a quarter believe they're hoarding tomorrow's antiques and see them as an investment that will increase in value over time.

The Direct Line research reveals that almost one in ten of the over-50s considers spending money in this way as more worthwhile than investing it on the stock market.

Top 10 most popular collectibles owned by the over-fifties

1) Out of circulation money (50 per cent)
2) Commemorative royal memorabilia (27 per cent)
=3) Pop memorabilia (26 per cent)
=3) Advertising merchandise from the 50’s and 60’s (26 per cent)
4) Antique glass or ceramics (22 per cent)
4) Toys (21 per cent)

Owners of coins from the early twentieth century can expect to receive up to £150 for a five-pound note from 1907, while royal memorabilia such as plates or mugs from Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation could be worth over £200.

Pop memorabilia is a particularly hot collectible among this age group – for example, some early Beatles records are estimated to be worth over £4000. And these new assets seem to be paying off, with the average collector saying they’ve quadrupled their money over the last five years.

With people sinking their cash into buying up collectibles and antiques of all shapes and sizes, Direct Line's research has also revealed a worrying statistic that 66 percent of collectors haven't updated their home contents insurance to reflect the value of their growing assets. And of these, almost a third claim it’s because they just haven’t got around to it.

Andrew Lowe, Direct Line’s home spokesperson, commented: “We are witnessing an increasing trend towards putting money into alternative investments such as collectibles and antiques. It is vital that people keep home contents insurance up to date or they run the risk of seeing their assets vanish should disaster strike.”

Jamie Breese, ITV’s collectables and antiques expert, added: “Alternative assets are a valid form of investment, and this research proves just how popular they’ve become. We’re starting to see the new generation of antiques emerge in the form of comics and pop memorabilia from the 60s which many people may have lying around in their attics gathering dust.”