The USA baseball team may have taken the bronze in Beijing, but you win gold with Olympic baseball collectibles. Although it has waned in popularity over the years, Olympic baseball has provided a showcase for some of the best young stars in the sport, which increases the desirability of their card collectibles.

Tens of thousands of politically themed collectibles are being hawked all over Denver this week during the Democratic National Convention.

Paperweight collectibles. If there ever was a collectible that hollered “Art for Art’s sake!” it was this one. Glass paperweights, with their colorful and complex designs, were always more aesthetic ornaments than functional objects to actually hold down paper or double as inkwells or toothpick holders.

At WorthPoint, we get questions, lots and lots of questions about art, antiques and collectibles. And we are dedicated to providing the best possible answers.

The last 100 yards were the toughest.

On Tuesday, Steve Cannaby’s careful re-creation of Air Force One was just a short taxiway from the gates of Denver’s INVESCO Field at Mike High where Barack Obama will accept the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. But like many journeys, there were a few unexpected twists and turns at the end.

As memorabilia collectors, we are always looking for that next great investment. Sure, we acquire collectibles because we genuinely love them, but most of us usually have financial incentives in mind when we buy them.

Air Force One, with the words “United States of America” emblazoned across its body and the Stars and Stripes on its tail, has been called the “most recognizable aircraft in the world.” So motorists on I-35 and I-70 next week shouldn’t have trouble identifying it. Except they won’t be looking skyward when they see the Boeing 707.

Are you collectibles crazy? A celebrity fan? Do you have a hunka-hunka burning desire to own Elvis’ peacock jumpsuit? (Yes, you read that right, PEACOCK.)

Catching a possible Shakespeare thief, honoring a legacy of political collectibles, a record for Beatles memorabilia and the end of a Yankees era make recent antiques and collectibles news, while a work by a female painter fetches record prices in the contemporary-art market.

Finding Shakespeare

Baseball’s most legendary stage, Yankee Stadium, will be shutting its doors for the final time at the end of the 2008 season.