FIDDLING WITH VALUE: VIOLINS AS AN INVESTMENT?

This paper measures the returns to investing in violins, using two different datasets. One dataset includes 337 observations on repeat sales of the same violins at auction and at dealer sales starting in the mid‐nineteenth century, and another dataset includes over 2,500 observations on sales of individual violins at auction since 1980. Overall, real returns for the dataset on repeat sales for the period 1850–2008 have been approximately 3.5%. Real returns to the overall portfolio of individual sales since 1980 have been about 3.3%. The price path has been stable with a slight negative correlation to stocks and bonds. (JEL D44, G11, L82)