Iconic '90s Paraphernalia That Are Worth A Ton Of Money

Once upon a time, certain vintage model trains used to command a kings ransom, but they're now virtually worthless. The same goes for collections of rare stamps, as well as figurines from Hummel and Precious Moments. The latter of which would be lucky to fetch a few dollars each nowadays. So what happened to the market for these formerly hot collectible items? The folks that cherished them so highly are members of the baby boomer or silent generation, aged 60+ at very youngest. Many have already passed away or are perhaps downsizing to a more minimalist decor. 

In the place of these formerly valuable dust collectors are items that remind younger generations, like Generation X and Millennials, of their own youth or important moments. For example, groundbreaking Apple products like iPhones and iPods are gaining traction in the collectibles market. Going back a little further than those gadgets, the 1990s is perhaps the last decade before the internet fully took over daily life, before the September 11 terrorist attacks, and most certainly before a global pandemic called COVID-19 shut down the planet. With that in mind, here are some icons from that simpler time that could be worth some serious coin.

By the 1990s, the compact disc, or CD for short, had established itself as the format of choice for most music listeners. That said, cassette tapes were still hanging in there, especially for mobile applications like Walkmans and car stereos. On the other hand, vinyl records were d-e-a-d during the final decade of the 20th century. And that's what makes them all-the-more rare. 

Sure, that copy of The Beatles' "White Album" might be old, but it also sold in the millions when new. Compare that with a specialty release of Nirvana's debut album "Bleach," which was limited to 500 vinyl records. While it's not one of the most valuable records ever, if you happen to own one of those rare copies of "Bleach," it's worth some real cash. According to the record marketplace Discogs, copies of the limited release with a red and white marbled finish could fetch more than $2,000. 

The White Stripes is a band which was just getting its start at the close of the 1990s and it's one of those early releases that's become highly collectible nowadays. The record itself is a 45-RPM single of "Lafayette Blues." However, what makes some examples highly desirable is a hand-painted cover because the regular production cover art wasn't ready in time to sell at an upcoming show. Reportedly, 15 of the records with hand-painted covers exist and one sold in 2010 for a whopping $18,000.

Interestingly, Nintendo's Game Boy handheld video console wasn't the smallest device on the market in the 1990s, or even the most sophisticated. Nonetheless, it's low price and long battery life won the gadget many fans. Per the site PriceCharting, loose Game Boys without packaging fetch approximately $50 to $75. If you have a mint condition console with its original box, $200 or more certainly isn't ourt of the question, while brand new sealed examples can earn into the thousands of dollars.

However, the value of a Game Boy itself is small fry compared to just how much some of the rarer game cartridges are worth. Sports games like "Sumo Fighter" and "F1 Pole Position" have sold for more than $3,400 and $5,700 in new unopened condition, respectively. Even excellent condition used copies of Sumo and F1 with the original boxes will bring $1,500 and $2,500, respectively.

Oddly enough, there were also a couple potato-themed games for the Game Boy console. The rarest of the tuber collection is a challenging puzzle game called "Amazing Tater." English-language versions in new condition have sold for as much as $11,000. However, even used cartridges can fetch more than $2,300, provided that the original box is present.

The original Furby, now known as "Classic Furby," was first unleashed in 1998 amidst a maelstrom of hype. In its first three years of production, more than 40 million of the furry toys were sold worldwide. Parents endured long lines and possible fist fights in order to purchase the pint-sized robot that some say resembles a cross between an owl and bat. If buyers wanted to cut the line instead, plenty of opportunistic flippers were willing to sell the highly-vocal creature — it didn't have an "off" switch — to anxious buyers at a hefty premium over its retail price.

Over time, many unique variants of the Furby were released and it's those rarities which will fatten your bank account today if you happen to own one. For example, the special "Angel Furby," which sports a white and gold color scheme, sold for approximately $800 on the auction site eBay several years ago. Also on eBay, a brightly colored "Kids Cuisine" Furby sold for $520 with its original box. The "Kids Cuisine" toy is so named because instead of being sold in a store, it was obtained by mailing in proofs of purchase (UPC codes) from Kids Cuisine meals. 

Before you get too excited, though, the value of a more common Furby in average (read: played with) condition is probably more like $50. Coincidentally, that's about what they sold for new back in the day, which is a losing proposition when you factor for the rampant inflation between then and now. 

Although Disney started more than 100 years ago, 1923 to be exact, the period between 1989 and 1999 is known to many mouse fans as the "Disney Renaissance." After decades of pumping out films that fell flat with fans, Disney finally found its mojo during the decade when so many millennials were in their formative years. Successes include "Tarzan," "Toy Story," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," "Beauty and the Beast," and many others.

Of course, all of those popular films had merchandising tie-ins and the resulting toys can be worth big bucks today. A perennial favorite are figures from the movie "Toy Story," like Woody and Buzz Lightyear. Although countless variants of these characters have been manufactured over the years, particularly rare versions call sell for $400 or more for the pair. 

A minor character from that same film, Wheezy Penguin, also has a doll doppelgänger that's sold for more than $200 with its original packaging at online auction sites. By the way, the video cassettes of the films themselves can also be worth a pretty penny, but Money Digest already has an entire article devoted to valuable Disney VHS tapes.

In 1997, British author J.K. Rowling introduced the world to the fantasy life of Hogwarts. Certain original copies of the first Harry Potter novel, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" can be worth enough to purchase a nice BMW or Mercedes automobile, but that particular tome was only released in the United Kingdom. By the time the United State market received the iconic book in 1998, the title had changed to "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

If your early copy of Sorcerer's Stone has the numeric sequence "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 8 9/9 0/0 01 02" on the copyright page, plus an embossed diamond pattern hiding underneath the dust cover, it could be worth up to $6,500. That's not as much as the U.K. version, but not too shabby either.

The second book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," was released in 1998 and is another children's book that can be worth a ton of money. In particular, first editions which are signed by the author can fetch up to $20,000. Nowadays, obtaining Rowling's autograph might seem a daunting task, but she was still doing extensive book tours in the late-1990s, so this valuable grail isn't as unattainable as you might think. If you happen to find one in the back of your closet, celebrate with a butterbeer. 

Fast-food juggernaut McDonald's developed its now-iconic Happy Meal — a child-sized portion of food complete with a toy — in the late-1970s. However, certain toys from all decades of Happy Meal goodness can be a worth a ton of money, and that definitely includes the 1990s. A few of the valuable Happy Meal freebies from the 1990s were merely miniature versions of full-size popular toys like Furbies and Beanie Babies. Pinning down the value of the latter, called Teenie Beanies, is far from an exact science. One expert cites a value of $10 to $50 each with the caveat that they're still in their original clear plastic packaging. That's an upper range of $800 for the entire set of 16 Teenie Beanies. 

Another valuable Happy Meal "toy" from the 1990s are Boo Buckets. Arguably, Boo Buckets aren't a toy at all but rather, a container for the Happy Meal itself. Presumably, one that could be later used as a Halloween decoration or an actual vessel for collecting trick-or-treat candy. A collection of three sold on eBay in 2023 for $150 which isn't bad for a simple plastic tub. 

Finally, there's McNugget Buddies which were reincarnated several times throughout the final decade of the 20th century. McNugget Buddies were small plastic dolls with changeable costumes that, yes, looked like actual Chicken McNuggets. Nowadays, a full set can be worth $100 to $250 in used condition. Obviously, sets that were never played with have even greater profit potential. 

Even though the original Barbie doll was released decades earlier, numerous now-valuable versions were produced throughout the 1990s. This article only scratches the surface on the full scope of Barbie collecting, but a good place to start is the 25th anniversary Gold Jubilee Barbie from 1994. This doll even looks expensive with a beaded gold dress, and indeed it is, with a modern price tag of $350. 

Speaking of expensive dresses, Barbie had multiple collaborations with celebrity designers like Vera Wang and Bob Mackie during the 1990s. The latter created a Empress Bride Barbie which featured an intricate wedding gown and thickly braided hair for the doll's special day of matrimony. Unopened, Empress Bride Barbie can sell for up to $500.

Barbie accessories can also bring in some serious coin. For example, the Barbie toy store play set that was released in 1998. A fun set of props includes shelves, a cash register, shopping cart, and of course, miniature versions of toys like Cabbage Patch Kids. Nowadays, the toy store play set rings the register to the tune of up to $225. If shopping isn't your thing, there's also a Barbie home gym complete with stationary bicycle, dumbbells, a radio, and more. The home gym playset can fetch up to $150 today, but you'll need to provide your own dolls. 

Of course, no list of valuable 1990s paraphernalia would be complete without mentioning Beanie Babies. At its peak, collectors would wait in line overnight to purchase certain rare or soon-to-be-discontinued versions of the small stuffed toys. Once secured, the toys created by Ty Warner were displayed and protected in special plexiglass enclosures. By the new millennium, the Beanie Bubble was truly dead and most of the Beanies weren't worth any more than their original sales price, if that.

Lately, there's been something of a resurgence in Beanie Babies and a few of the ultra-rare toys are worth serious cash once again. To begin, there's a purple Princess Diana bear. This limited edition was released coinciding with the Princess of Wales' untimely death in 1997. Various sources recorded this beanie selling for as much as $10,000 or even $25,000 in the recent past. Though it should be noted that the type of stuffing inside the toy impacts the value immensely, with polyvinylchloride (PVC) pellets being rarer.

Also valuable is Patti the Platypus, which is one of the original Beanie Baby designs released in 1993. Named after Warner's love interest, Patricia Roche, Patti the Platypus has sold for as much as $12,000 on the auction site eBay. Another five-figure score in Beanie-land is Valentino the Bear. However, your Valentino needs to have one of several errors in order to bring in the big bucks. A few examples of these irregularities include the wrong color nose, typos on his tag, or, like the Princess Diana bear, PVC pellets inside. With some of those quirks, Valentino can worth up to $10,000.

Matchbox miniature die cast cars from the United Kingdom may been gotten the first mover advantage over America's Hot Wheels, but Hot Wheels are just so much cooler with their oft-customized street machine vibe. Even though Hot Wheels premiered in 1968, some collectors refer to the 1990s as the brand's "golden decade." For example, Hot Wheels issued a special Christmas-themed Volkswagen Microbus to its employees in 1996. There are many unscrupulous replicas of this rare white and green holiday giveaway, but an authentic example is estimated at $4,000 according to the collectors' website HobbyDB.

Other rare Hot Wheels exist as part of the brand's "treasure hunt" series. Like the name implies, these vehicles were issued in limited numbers and intended to be rare right from the get-go. There's a neon green VW Beetle (#357) estimated at $340 and a 1967 Camaro (#355) with an expected value of up to $2,800. Both of those miniature cars were issued in 1995. Finally another extremely rare issue from 1995 is the #271 "Side Splitter" drag racing funny car. If you happen to own this one, it's one of only a dozen made and commands approximately $3,500 in the resale market. Do beware of the #277 Side-Splitter which looks identical, but isn't marginally as rare or valuable as #271. 

Did you know that Lego is a mashup of the danish words "leg godt?" Leg godt means "play well" in English and that's precisely what children — and frankly, some adults — have been doing for decades. While not all Legos are valuable, some sets can be worth a ton of money and of course, condition is everything. Ideally, rare Lego sets are unopened to avoid the potential for missing bricks lurking under your living room couch.

At the very tail end of the 1990s, Lego struck a licensing deal with "Star Wars." Indeed, some of those Star Wars-related sets are worth a small fortune, but they don't quite meet our 1990s timeframe. However, one valuable kit that's stuck solidly in the 90s is 1993's Pirates Skull's Eye Schooner which features a clipper ship, nine crew, and more. Sold for $126.50 brand new, this set can now command $6,500 or more on enthusiasts' sites or eBay. 

Leaving the fantasy world behind, 1990's Airport Shuttle Monorail is also a super valuable Lego Set. The crown jewel of this 770-piece kit is a battery-powered monorail that actually moves around a fixed track. This kit was a pricey $140 when new, which is equivalent to about $350 in todays dollars. Still, it would have proved to be a good investment for those who could resist playing with it. Nowadays, it sells for $4,000 to $5,100 in unopened condition.