Many American collectibles are produced in limited editions. What does “limited edition” mean? It means that the issuing company promises that after the specified number of copies are produced, the means of production are destroyed. The molds, screens and printing plates are defaced or broken so no more copies of the item can be made by the issuer.
The number of copies in an edition may also ensure the quality of the item when compared to others in the edition. With use, molds and plates wear and the later copies are not as good as the first ones. If the edition is small enough, the buyer is assured that his copy is as crisp and finely detailed as the first copies made, for all intent and purposes.
Limited editions try to preserve the value of the collectible by preventing later copies, which devalue the collectible, and the use of worn molds and printing plate, which produce inferior copies.
Sounds good. All copies are produced from pristine molds and plates, and only a limited number are available when the item is produced. But these points depend on the size of the edition. An edition of 5000 is quite large. What collectible is going to be desired by 5000 people? Excepting the instant hit or a design of great beauty or originality, it may take years to sell the original edition. Such a large edition means the the issuing company will have copies available for sale for years, and during those years the secondary market will undervalue the collectible. Why buy the item from some individual when it is still available new from the issuer, unless you can get it for a lower price? So, until the edition is sold out by the issuer, the secondary market price is going to be lower that the issue price.
Even after the issue is sold out, it may take years for the price on the secondary market to equal the original price. If the edition was large, there may never be enough desire in the secondary market to drive the price up to the original issue price. So for American collectibles with large editions, the buyer must buy purely for personal satisfaction, realizing that the item may not really have any “value” beyond its intrinsic beauty.
For items with smaller editions, say 50 or 100, the original price will be higher since the costs of production must be born by fewer copies. However, the small edition is more likely to guarantee the value of the collectible, both during the initial sale period and after it sells out at the issuing company. Small editions for extremely attractive or original items can mean almost instant sell-outs. After an item sells out at the issuing company, anyone who wants a copy must go to the secondary market to buy it and the price may begin to rise as soon as the edition sells out. This is good, if you want your item to retain its “value” beyond the value you, as the owner, place on it.
In the case of extremely popular limited edition items, forgery becomes a problem. Many “Remington” bronzes are in fact copies made from an original Remington bronze by unauthorized persons and are not of the quality of the initial sculpture. This makes buying on the secondary market somewhat hazardous for popular items. In this case, buy from a reputable dealer who guarantees its authenticity or have one check your copy BEFORE you buy it.
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