Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
How to make money by collecting James Bond memorabilia
Reading Time: 4 minutesWith the next James Bond movie set to hit cinemas on 8 April 2020, the iconic fictional secret agent is in the public eye once more.
Rumours have also been rife that the film titled No Time to Die will be turning tradition on its head as Lashana Lynch, a 31-year-old British actress may be taking over the title of 007. The rumours have neither been confirmed nor denied, so fans will have to wait and see!
Whatever the case may be, as the release of the 27th instalment of spy film franchise looms, James Bond memorabilia and related merchandise is enjoying something of a revival. And, in most cases, carrying quite a hefty price tag.
Let’s take a look
- A James Bond-inspired clothing line
- An Aston Martin with all the gadgets
- James Bond film posters
- First edition James Bond books
A James Bond-inspired clothing line
What’s the first outfit that springs to mind when you hear the name James Bond? Probably a perfectly tailored tuxedo and a crisp white shirt.
But a baby blue towelling onesie? Errrmmm… not so much!
Believe it or not, this was, however, one of the outfits worn by Sean Connery in the 1964 007 classing, Goldfinger.
If you were hoping to harness the last throes of summer by emulating Connery’s suave Miami poolside look, the good news is you 100% can!
In the build-up to No Time to Die, UK menswear brand, Orlebar Brown, has launched a special range of 007-inspired garments, which includes a… you guessed it… baby blue towelling onesie!
The bad news? Despite setting customers back a whopping £345, the item sold out within a few hours. In the age of eBay and the likes, this – of course – does not mean that you’ve missed out entirely. Perhaps, rather, once you track one down, you’re going to have to shell out a LOT more than the original price.
On the other hand, if you’re one of the lucky ones who got first dibs and suddenly find yourself in need of some cash, you could always put your precious piece of wearable Bond paraphernalia up for sale! Just an idea – use it, don’t lose it.
An Aston Martin with all the gadgets
Not much of onesie man? Well, maybe your love lies with sleek and sultry cars!
Earlier this month, an Aston Martin DB5 used to promote the James Bond film Thunderball sold for $6.4m (£5.2m) at the world’s biggest classic car auction in California.
The car, which was once owned by the British JCB billionaire and Tory party donor Lord Bamford, exceeded its auction estimate and became the world’s most expensive DB5, The Guardian reports.
While the car was not used during the filming of Thunderball, it’s an almost exact replica that was commissioned by film-maker Eon Productions and used at promotional events for the film.
So, if you have an old DB5 gathering dust in the garage – even if it doesn’t have .30-calibre machine guns in each bumper – now might be a good time to revive its lustre and get it car auction ready!
James Bond Film posters
But, let’s face it – the large majority of 007 fans simply don’t have an old DB5 lying around or a towelling onesie to sell at a ludicrous price. Sigh.
What you might have, however, are some James Bond film posters collected over the past 60 years.
While they might not fetch you £5.2m, they could be worth a good few thousand over on eBay.
Currently, the most expensive James Bond poster listing is a collection of 24 original UK quad cinema posters (30 x 40 inches) going for £40,000!
The price for single original posters ranges from between £150 and £9,000.
Of course, it goes without saying that posters have to be in pretty pristine condition to go for a big price.
First edition James Bond books
It might be easy to forget that the cinematic success of 007 is actually rooted in the literary work of Ian Fleming.
Between 1953 and 1966, the author penned no less than 14 James Bond novels, of which Casino Royale was the first.
Although these books remain popular reading matter and have gone through various cycles of reprinting, the first editions are extremely rare and worth a pretty penny!
Being the first of the series, first editions of Casino Royale are particularly valuable and, if kept in a good condition, can fetch between £7,000 and £9,000 at Sotheby’s auctions.
On eBay, there is also currently a complete set of first edition James Bond books up for sale for £72,000.
Even less pristinely kept first editions of the James Bond books can sell for anything from £199.
So, best get digging through those old bookshelves!
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A great money making idea.