collector's item

American  

noun

1. an article or object of particular interest or value because of its uniqueness or scarcity.

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collector's item British  

noun

1. a thing regarded as being exquisite or rare and thus worthy of the interest of one who collects such things

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collector's item Idioms  

1. 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]

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Etymology

Origin of collector's item

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

The collector’s item is selling for hundreds of dollars online.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 18, 2025

Mr Jackson Jnr said the restored console was "definitely" a piece of equipment that could be used to make music again, but equally could be a collector's item.

From BBC • Oct. 28, 2024

“Whatever happens in the financial markets, a car of this caliber is a collector’s item, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” RM Sotheby’s car specialist Michael Caimano told the Agence France-Presse wire service.

From Washington Times • Nov. 14, 2023

Although the movie came out in 1996, at what was arguably the height of Jordan’s N.B.A. career, the shoe was not made available until 2000, when it instantly became a collector’s item.

From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2023

“This is a collector’s item from Hercules Busts Heads. The first season.”

From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan