I recently read an article about
Neil Woodford’s frozen flagship fund and had to look up illiquid assets, which was what the fund manager had been buying:
https://investinganswers.com/dictionary/i/illiquid
Illiquid describes an asset or security that cannot be sold quickly due to a shortage of interested buyers or a lack of an established trading market. Illiquid assets cannot be easily converted into cash without potential for losing a significant percentage of their value.
Liquid Asset: A liquid asset is cash or securities that can be converted to cash quickly.
I consider firearms an illiquid asset due to all the laws making it difficult to transfer them. You have to pass through a maize of Federal and Local laws, and those laws are getting only more Byzantine by the day. Yes, you can make money, but you are going to have to work at it. And those of you who think your heirs want a rack of strange and obsolete firearms, or would appreciate them, don't count on it. They want the liquid assets, that is cash. They will sell your guns for a song as they don't want to bother with them. Their greed will be more than their patience and perseverance.
It is my opinion that you should buy what you like, what you want to shoot. If you find you have too many firearms and they are cluttering the house, sell a few. You will probably regret that in time. I really am upset I sold a pinned and recessed S&W Combat Masterpiece in 38 Special. Should have kept it, but at the time, 357's were all the rage. It was a fine revolver, nice adjustable sights, and did not create fireballs in the front of the muzzle. But I wanted fireballs, and now I don't have the thing.
Also, the type of middle class collectables we buy, they don't increase in value as much as the stuff the plutocrats buy. I knew people who bought "Hummels", and Franklin Mint Collectable plates. Take a look on ebay, thousands of them selling for less than half of what the original owner paid. For all his sins, being a stupid investor was not one for Bill Cosby. Take a look at the value increase in his art collection. One artwork he bought for $105,000 in the 1970's, is estimated to be worth $14 million at auction.
You think you have seen the height of absurdity when Basquiat's skull painting sells for US$160.5 million at auction.
Well, that is chump change to the prices now.
List of most expensive paintings
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_paintings