I am confident that every reader of this blog will at one time in their life buy a private asset of value that they either buy and then sell or buy and give it to a family member or friend for one reason or another.

I remember when I was a kid in the 1970’s and 1980’s buying packs of bubble gum to get baseball, football and basketball player cards.  From time to time, I pull out that collection of cards to see if I remember any of those players.  Pete Rose, Hank Aaron, Julius Irving, Roger Staubach and many other famous ball players are in my books.  Once in awhile I look up the value of the cards to see what  they are worth.    I am sure many of you do the same.   Maybe, you collected stamps, toys in boxes, autographs of famous movie actors or musicians.  I found myself hanging onto my old concert ticket stubs and framing them to organize them and keep them in a safe place.  They are now hanging in our office along with autographs of sports figures like Aaron Rogers.  The list goes on and on.  Memorabilia is a great way to have fun collecting assets of value!

All of these collectibles have value.   I bought some Gold Saint Gauden’s $20 coins awhile back from the early 1900’s.  At the time, these coins were U.S. currency.   Now, as a collectible they are worth significant value even more than the price of an ounce of Gold.  I own the old Silver Morgan Dollar coins from the late 1800’s.   Even though Silver is worth around $17 per ounce today, these coins have more value.  Most importantly, they are fun to own and have value.

Artwork is another familiar asset of value.  Although it is harder to value it is a fantastic collectible to own.  We constantly see limited edition reproductions of original oil that are numbered.   Do you own a numbered reproduction of an artist?  Hard to find these in the world famous artists like Monet, Van Gogh, and Renoir, a few of my favorite impressionists.   Some of  the familiar U.S. artists that have passed like Norman Rockwell (his small town life expressions), Georgia O’Keefe (her beautiful floral creations) and  Terry Redlin (famous for wildlife sold to organizations like Ducks Unlimited) are assets that have value.   I have some of the less familiar artists featured in our offices like a beautiful abstract multi-color original oil by an artist named Monica.  A local Wisconsin retired Art Professor at University of Wisconsin- Barron County has beautiful oil landscapes based in our area.  I have one of his beautiful cabin scenes in a forest of birch trees oil paintings too!   My daughter Jillian recently painted an oil reproduction from Bob Ross.  This  “how-to” oil painting kit was given to her as a birthday present.  The oil rendition of a mountain range and stream is remarkable.  I have a little bias here since she is my daughter but her talent is endless.

Assets of value can take many forms.   Music compositions, recordings of original songs and lyrics written all have value.  Some people buy them for business reasons for their videos, films and bands license them.  Other people buy the legal rights to music so they can earn royalties off current or eventual sales of these recordings.   I know many original music singer songwriters launched bands, like Kandy Kanoe, the Blue Hills Band, and many others around the Northwest Wisconsin area in cities of Cumberland, Birchwood, Spooner, Shell Lake, Hayward and Eau Claire.   These talented artists write and record songs to share with the world through an eventual buyer of their art. Whether you are a fan to download music or a possible licensee of original music for business reasons…remember Music is Art.  Art is value!   Custom music can be written, recorded and sold for anything!   Family gifts, business jingles, films…and the list goes on.

Although you cannot own collectibles, artwork, or collections in an IRA or other retirement account you can certainly use your non-working cash in today’s devalued fiat currency world markets to buy these assets of value.    Cash is only there to spend and use.  The U.S. Dollar has been devalued along with other world currency.   With over $200 Trillion in “sovereign” world currency debt do you really trust that your old “Greenbacks” will be worth something if you hold on to too much?    Consider alternative assets of value now before its too late.  Buy a collectible coin, stamp, art piece, and ask a local musician if you can buy the rights to their original music.

For more information email Jim at jimt@alternativasolutions.com to inquire more about these assets of value and don’t forget to “take the road less traveled” with alternative assets!  

Enjoy the upcoming 4th of July Holiday weekend!    Jimmy T.  

P.S. for more information about assets you can own in an IRA and a list of the TOP 2016 Self-Directed IRA companies in the U.S. read this featured article in The Trust Advisor by clicking on the following link:   http://hosted.thetrustadvisor.com/rs/804-XKT-668/images/America%27s%20Best%20IRA%20Custodians%202016%20Final.pdf