Cash money pendant

Solid investments you can get your hands around

Solid investments you can get your hands around

If you've got the cash but lack the stomach to play the stock market, you'll have plenty of company next year. As 1988 unfolds, investors are expected to put more money into tangible assets--antiques, gems, art, coins and collectibles. But buying a coin or a chair is trickier than ordering a T-bill from your broker. Here's how to keep from getting stuck.

Antiques: "Made in U.S.A.' will be a catch phrase among antique collectors. Good buys will include post-Revolutionary, or Federal, furniture such as elegantly decorated pieces in the Hepplewhite and Sheraton styles. "The Federal category is rising in value, but it's still within reach of many people,' says Robert Sack of Israel Sack, a longtime Manhattan antique dealer. A top-quality card table made in Massachusetts around 1780 to 1790, for instance, sells for $7,500 to $8,500. A high-quality Hepplewhite secretary costs about $28,000, about one fourth the price of a Chippendale secretary.

Ornately carved Renaissance Revival furniture, made in the U.S. in the 1870s and long thought too fussy for modern tastes, is making waves in collecting circles. A small 1876 centennial table with an inlaid-wood top depicting George Washington, for example, sold for about $2,000 five years ago. Today it's worth $9,500. A top-quality carved-walnut Renaissance Revival library table with a marble top would cost about $15,000, compared with about $30,000 for a similar table made in the 1880s.

Gems: The "big three' colored stones--emeralds, rubies and sapphires--and top-quality colored diamonds will be popular with investors in 1988. "Rare Kashmir sapphires offer the best value at the moment,' says Antoinette Matlins, co-author of Jewelry & Gems: The Buying Guide (1987, Gemstone Press, $12.95). A 10-carat Burma ruby costs about $750,000 to $1.1 million, compared with $250,000 to $300,000 for a 10-carat Kashmir sapphire. Natural pearls, which are extremely rare, made strong showings at recent auctions. The Pelegrina pearl sold at auction last May for a record-breaking $467,123, shattering the record set a month earlier by the Duchess of Windsor's natural-pearl pendant, which sold for $298,675. The rise of the Japanese yen has driven cultured-pearl prices out of the water, slimming their investment potential. For investors willing to take a chance with a more obscure purchase, Matlins recommends investing in Burmese jadeite and black opals. For the best deals on gems, investors should buy at auctions or through gem brokers, and not at jewelry stores.

Coins: Since Black Monday, sales of gold coins have shone. But investors who lack a Midas touch should stick to relatively safe coins such as the American Eagle, Australian Gold Nugget and Canadian Maple Leaf. Collectors might consider a proof set of Australian Gold Nuggets, which sold for $1,435 when introduced in late 1986 and now is worth about $2,100.

Rare coins offer a double payoff: They're valued both for their metal and their scarcity. Take care, though. "For sophisticated investors, rare coins are the smartest bet for 1988,' says Bruce Kaplan, senior vice president of A-Mark Precious Metals. "But the area is fraught with scams.' Martin Paul of the Rarities Group in Marlborough, Mass., suggests that investors look for rarity as much as quality. An uncirculated 1914 Barber half dollar, for example, is far rarer than an older 1892 Barber half dollar, but costs $7,500, or only about $2,500 more.

Stamps: After posting big losses in recent years, stamps are rallying, and the modest comeback should continue in 1988. The value of top-quality stamps went up about 15 percent in 1987, says Robert Siegel of Auction Galleries, Inc., in New York. Some stamp values, such as Graf Zeppelins', increased dramatically in 1987, to between $2,500 and $3,000 per set from $1,700 last year. Large airmail stamps are delivering big returns. A 1917 airmail invert, a large stamp with an upside-down airplane, recently sold for $130,000 at auction. Investment-grade stamps start at about $100. Investors should stick to stamps issued in the U.S. before 1930. Fewer stamps were printed, raising their current value.

Collectibles: Just wanna have fun? Consider the collectibles market. Proving the 30-year rule that says nostalgia sets in after three decades, '50s kitsch and early--'60s items could be hot sellers in 1988. Strong emblems of the period, such as toys, clothing and TV and advertising memorabilia are good bets. The market for collectible mainstays--such as quilts, dolls and autographs--should also stay strong, particularly for pieces in very good condition. One hot and relatively new area: Rock-and-roll memorabilia. An autographed Beatles photo from the '60s is worth $500 to $600 today. Elvis Presley's vintage Gibson Super 400--one of the few guitars The King actually played--is worth about $20,000. But nothing in collectibles is a sure bet, particularly when investors are still reacting to the stock-market crash. The best advice, says Julie Collier of Christie's auction house, is to "collect only what you love, and if it makes money, great. Otherwise, be prepared to live with it.'

Photo: Rock star Joan Jett's high tops are among the Hard Rock Cafe's treasure trove of rock-and-roll memorabilia

Photo: This $400,000, 11-carat Kashmir sapphire ring should climb in value next year. So should the giant natural pearl, currently worth about $300,000