These 10 Antiques and Collectibles Will Be in Huge Demand in 2025
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When it comes to what to collect, we here at Country Living could talk your ear off for hours. From classics like creamy white ironstone pottery to more niche interests such as vintage fishing memorabilia, our love of all things old dates all the way back to our very first issue in 1979.
And, we think, the start of a new year is the perfect excuse to start a new antique collection! (Don’t you agree?!) Want to know what antiques and vintage collectibles will be trending hot for 2025? Keep scrolling for our trend report—then keep your eyes peeled the next time you hit the local antiques mall. Happy Collecting!
1. Perpetual Calendars
Patented as an automatic wristwatch mechanism by Patek Philippe in 1889, perpetual calendars display a properly paired weekday and date, no matter the year. Manual versions became popular desktop accessories in the early 1900s and are seeing a resurgence today thanks to younger generations’ penchants for flip phones and other analog devices. While you’re on the hunt, know that the presence of push levers indicate the calendar was likely made midcentury.
How much are vintage perpetual calendars worth?
The stately Edwardian wooden turn knob styles (bottom left) of the era can cost up to $1,000, while midcentury brass pieces run $50 to $200. Sold as travel mementos, flip calendars typically ring in under $40.
2. Scarab Bracelets
The 1922 discovery of King Tut’s tomb sparked an international craze for all things ancient Egypt. Scarab beetles, a frequently occurring symbol of protection and resurrection, subsequently became a popular jewelry motif, with carvings etched into semi-precious chalcedony cabochons and linked together as bracelets. Resurrected in the 1960s, alongside a deluge of Egyptian-themed movies (including Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra!), bracelets from both eras are trending yet again thanks to their rich color palettes.
How much are scarab bracelets worth?
Brass and gold-filled styles can be found for under $200, but 14-karat pieces command up to $1,000.
3. Stick and Ball Hat Racks
Characterized by spherical finials intricately interlocked with wooden rods, stick and ball detailing was incorporated into everything from fretwork to accent tables during the Victorian era, a period when ornate embellishment was considered a marker of wealth. Hanging racks were a functional way to add the aesthetic to a front entry, and their charm continues today.
How much are stick and ball hat racks worth?
Expect to pay $100 to $500 for pieces from the late 1800s, with costs increasing according to size, condition, and level of detail.
4. Bank Deposit Bags
After patenting the Arcolock locking mechanism for zippers in 1933, Pennsylvania garment manufacturer A. Rifkin & Co. went on to dominate the bank deposit bag industry. Labeled with chainstitch embroidery, they now serve wonderfully as storage pouches for desk drawer ephemera, toiletries, and more.
How much are bank deposit bags worth?
Rifkin bags from the 1930s through the 1970s now fetch between $30 and $300. To gauge value, which increases according to age and condition, look for a key and working lock, and note that canvas predates vinyl. Finds from smaller regional institutions are also highly coveted.
5. Mahjong Sets
Developed in the late 1800s in China’s Yangtze River Delta, the strategy game of mahjong first caught hold in America in the 1920s, thanks in part to Indiana businessman Joseph Park Babcock, who imported the game and offered simplified rules. Shuffling, or “washing,” the tiles between rounds allows just enough time for casual conversation, and the game is now enjoying a big revival as a way to connect beyond phone screens. A traditional Chinese set, shown here, has 144 bone or bamboo tiles, while American-style sets—produced after the National Mah Jongg League standardized game rules in 1937—introduced the joker piece and include 152 tiles (typically originally made of Bakelite).
How much are vintage mahjong sets worth?
Vintage mahjong sets can be found for $150 to $500. Complete games in their original case cost on the higher end.
6. Restaurant Ware
A catchall for vitrified china used in commercial settings such as hotels, clubs, and university dining halls, vintage restaurant ware provides a graphic, family-friendly alternative to plastic and melamine plates. To kickstart your collection, seek out pieces by Buffalo China, Tepco, Homer Laughlin, and Anchor Hocking.
How much is vintage restaurant ware worth?
Prices range from $3 for unbranded butter pats to $75 for high-end hotel platters. Western motifs are also especially sought-after.
7. Newspaper Tubes
Affixed underneath mailboxes as a dry home for the daily delivery of regional broadsheets, midcentury metal newspaper tubes speak to nostalgia for the days of paperboys and printed headlines. Older tubes are often more cylindrical, while those from the 1960s onward expanded into rounded rectangles to accommodate additional pages and inserts.
How much are vintage newspaper tubes worth?
Values typically range from $75 to $250, increasing with age and good condition. Collectors also prize locality and pieces with intact end coverings.
8. Navajo Saddle Blankets
Created to provide cushion and absorb sweat beneath a horse’s saddle, Navajo saddle blankets were handwoven on large vertical looms without a predetermined pattern and traded with other Native American nations as well as frontiersmen. To determine authenticity, look closely for diagonal “lazy lines” in the weave, which indicate the artisan moved positions while working on the design, and beware a double warp. This results in a denser, less pliable feel to the weaving, and typically indicates its a reproduction.
How much are vintage Navajo saddle blankets worth?
Blankets from the 1890s through the 1930s, the golden age of the art form, are valued between $500 and $5,000 in today’s market.
9. Children’s Rush Chairs
Made from the stalks of grassy rush plants and cattails, materials well-suited to both wear-and-tear and indoor-outdoor living in warmer climates, woven rush seating became common in Mexico in the 1500s during the Spanish colonial period. Adorned with colorful folk art motifs and typically no taller than 20 inches, children’s rush chairs from the 1960s and ’70s are often used today as plant stands and as display bases for other decorative items.
How much are vintage children’s rush chairs worth?
Pieces from the 1960s and 1970s can picked up for $60 to $300. Condition and colorway increase values (red and yellow chairs are more common than green and white), as does complexity of the frame design. Rarer lathe-turned spindle frames, shown here, often bring top dollar.
10. Arcade Jockey Racers
Popular in penny arcades in the first half of the 20th century, the Skee-Ball style derby racing game, in which players roll balls into slots to advance their steeds, preceded the “spray ‘n’ race” games of today’s county fairs. Typically carved from a single piece of wood and then hand-painted, these jaunty jockeys bring a sporting spirit to any game or rec room.
How much are vintage jockey racers worth?
Rare to find, these game pieces can fetch between $120 and $1,000 apiece.
Ready to Start Shopping?
These generous dealers and collectors graciously loaned items photographed for this story:
Perpetual Calendars: Industrial Artifacts, As We See It, The Last Roundup Antiques, Lackluster Co., SMS Designs Studio, Palm-American, Flying Cheerio Studio
Scarab Bracelets: Maejean Vintage Jewelry
Mahjong Set: Vintage Alchemist
Restaurant Ware: Ogee’s Antiques
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