2011: it's been quite a year. Even better than last year, in fact.
Paul Fraser Collectibles has bombarded you with reports of new World Record prices over the past few months. They've happened across a range of collectibles niches including space memorabilia, movie memorabilia and fine wines.
Let's focus on space memorabilia for a moment.
To give you an idea of how hot the space collectibles markets are at present, in October 2011 a photograph signed by all 12 Moonwalkers sold at an auction in the USA for $27,000 (£16,860).
This is even more impressive considering that the PFC40 Autograph Index has such pieces listed at just £12,950 (average value). The sale well exceeded the index.
Also, as recorded by the PFC40, the average value of an Apollo 11 signed photo has increased by 375% since 2000. These are impressive returns.
Yet, with all our talk of big auction values, don't forget that genuine and fully authenticated Apollo 11 signed photos can be yours for less than £10,000.
Examples like this, for instance: an extremely rare set of three official NASA photos signed by the Apollo 11 crew. We have this for sale at Paul Fraser Collectibles priced at £8,500 (approx. $14,025).
Recent auction activity suggests the market will continue to grow. Only this week, an Apollo 13 check list sold for a record $388,375. This was against a pre-sale estimate of just $25,000.
Yet these facts and figures say nothing of the immense pleasure which comes with owning these bona fide rare pieces of history.
Paul has said it before: few collectibles outside of medals & militaria represent man's bravery like space collectibles. These astronauts - whether it's Yuri Gagarin, Neil Armstrong or James Lovell - risked their lives for the advancement of mankind.
That's why Paul Fraser Collectibles has devoted itself to building one of the world's best inventories of space memorabilia - we passionately stick by these pieces.
It's also why space collectibles are increasingly captivating the world's wealthiest buyers at top auction houses like Bonhams and HA.com. Put simply: space collectibles are a hot market.
Meanwhile, Paul Fraser Collectibles has aimed to include space memorabilia items in our stock that are available to buyers of varying budgets.
You'd be amazed at what you can buy for just £595. This can get you a rare signed Special Edition Life magazine autographed by none other than Buzz Aldrin, the second man ever to walk on the Moon.
A rare signed Special Edition Life magazine autographed by Apollo 11's Buzz Aldrin - we have it for sale at Paul Fraser Collectibles
And the space collectibles markets will continue to be hot - all the demographics point to a bright future.
For instance, space collectibles especially appeal to so-called "baby boomers" - the generation old enough to have been at an 'impressionable age' when important events like the Moon landings first happened in the 1960s and '70s.
Today, the "baby boomer" generation controls 80% of the world's wealth.
As more and more of this generation retire - at a rate of 75,000 a week in the US alone - they have more time to enjoy their money, resume hobbies... and start a collection.
Also taking into account the estimated 200 million-plus serious collectors around the world, the collectors' markets are expected to double in the next 40 years.
This growth will be bolstered by growing interest from the Far East and other emerging economies. All reasons why the future for space collectibles looks to be prosperous.
World Record prices like the recent $388,375 sale of an Apollo 13 check list are only the beginning.
Watch this space for more news from the space collectibles markets.
