collector's item

collector's item

An item that is especially noteworthy for its value, rarity, and/or history and would thus be prized by someone who collects such things. We went through my grandfather's attic and came upon a number of different collector's items, from rare toys to vintage rifles.
See also: item
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

collector's item

An object of great interest, value, or rarity, as in This necklace is a collector's item. Originating in the early 1900s as collector's piece, a usage still common in Britain, the term in its present form is occasionally transferred to persons as well, as in The Beach Boys became a collector's item on the tour. [c. 1930]
See also: item
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
See also:
  • collector
  • collector's piece
  • item
  • (someone or something) to shout about
  • shout about
  • to shout about
  • sneakerhead
  • a sight to behold
  • see the sights
  • the jewel in (someone's or something's) crown
References in periodicals archive
While this one is not autographed, it is still destined to become a collector's item as it is one of only six of these custom guitars that will ever be made, the company said.
Not only visually compelling, the system promises to make it easier to remember what was put where; whether or not it fulfills its functional promise, it's certain to become a period collector's item. Two other commissions attracted much attention, despite their hokeyness.
The custom-made collateral is fast becoming a collector's item, taking on the cachet of a very expensive coffee table edition.
TONIGHT'S Rugby League World Cup semi-final between Australia and Wales is already assured of collector's item status - how often does handicap betting feature a team which has to concede 56 points?
I suspect that no matter what my opinion is, this disc, one of the final two (and first two SACD) releases from the late MFSL will become a cult collector's item. Oh, well ...
Canada's graphic anti-smoking campaign featuring full color snaps of diseased body parts on tobacco products, becomes a collector's item among Canuck teens.
Even if they were pretty bad ballets, that would still be a logistical achievement and a triumph of will, but the enviable thing about Taylor is that almost all of them are pretty good, with the absolute dud being rare enough to be a collector's item. This season that mean collector once again came up empty--for the night following the successful opening of Oh, You Kid!
Pounding on the table, he repeated Christ's words at the Last Supper: "This is my body." For his colleagues hard of hearing, he wrote those words on the tablecloth, which immediately became a collector's item for Lutherans (and for Reformation historians).
After decades in fashion exile, Birkenstocks are back--and mine are quite the collector's item. Here I am, 77 years old, living in a wonderful gay retirement community in Southern California.
For the student or scholar interested in tracing the artistic development of a poet, Remembrances of Spring will become a collector's item. As one journeys through Madgett's published early works to her later mature poems, as reflected in her Octavia and Other Poems (1988), one can see the movement, the growth, steady but sure, to the sensitive poet and experienced technician she has become.
A collector's item, the book celebrates the breadth of black womanhood, from the centenarian Delany sisters to the immortal Lena Horne.
As with our previous wildlife series plaques, I'm sure |The Bear' soon will become a treasured collector's item."
The previous rotary-engined Mazda RX-7 is now a much sought after collector's item.
The collector's item features the association's crest and a figurative representation of a hurler.
"I'm sure these shirts will fly off the shelves because they will be a collector's item and help save lives."