Making Money With All Sorts Of Maps

When I was still a young boy, I saw a map from Time Magazine depicting the 6 Day War between Israel and most of its Arab neighbors. I liked the map so much that I displayed it in my bedroom.

As it turned out, some of my other friends were interested in the map as well. Although the map depicted a horrifying event in history, it nevertheless captured our young imagination. I and my young friends felt like we were the generals of the armies that were depicted in the map.

Fast forward decades later, I have found out that people were collecting all sorts of maps. From antique navigation maps to subways maps, there seems to be a buyer out there for them. If you have something or have created something that resembles a map, it may have a value.

Almost everyone knows what an antique map is, it’s a very old map which could be centuries old. They are rare for short. But just because they are old and rare it does not mean that they are very expensive.

They can be bought for less than a $100 up to several millions. The most expensive map that was ever sold was Universalis cosmographia secundum Ptholomaei traditionem et Americi Vespucii aliorumque lustrationes.

 In English this means: ”The Universal Cosmography according to the Tradition of Ptolemy and the Discoveries of Amerigo Vespucci and others”. This map was sold in 2001 for a whopping US $10 million.

Antique maps have cosmetic, investment, historic and even legal value. They are different from other antiques because they have a definite use. This is to map out an area of the world. These antique maps may not be correct, but they are a written history of how our ancestors divided lands.

People who buy antique maps for this purpose are not really interested in the geographical information contained in them. What they are really after is the cosmetic appeal of the map. Antique maps usually contain illustrations which make them look like pieces of art.

And since these illustrations are similar to what can be found in classical paintings, they almost have a painting like appeal. It can be assumed that the owners of these antiques display them in areas where they can be seen by people.

These people are good clients for reproduction antique maps since they are not really interested in the authenticity of the antique map. As long as you can produce a beautiful “antique map,” these people would buy it.

Available antique paintings for sale are becoming rarer and rarer because fewer and fewer people are selling them. This is the ideal condition that speculators are hoping to happen more and more.

Antique map collectors know that there would become a time when the demand for an antique map would outstrip the supply. This is the reason why more and more speculators are entering the antique map market.

These people don’t really care for the cosmetic, historical or legal value of a map. What they are really after is the market price of the map and its expected appreciation in value. These people probably invest in other financial instruments as well like stocks, futures and so on.

You could approach these people the same way investment consultants approach their clients. This is the reason why it is advisable to have contacts or partners who sell investment instruments and advice.

The people who buy antique maps because of this reason want a window into the past. They want to know through the antique map, how our ancestors divided the lands and seas of the world.

People interested in history are your best clients if you are selling antique maps like these. An antique map for example of the tribes of a certain country might be very valuable for people and organizations teaching history or marketing products related to history.

I can think of archeologists, treasure hunters and historians as your potential clients. An archeologist and a treasure hunter might for example be interested in an antique map that shows the ancient trading route of galleons. They might be interested int the supposed sunken treasures of these galleons.

There are instances were ancient maps have been used as evidence for land disputes and territorial disputes between people and groups. China for example has presented supposed antique maps which show that their historical borders once exceeded their current borders.

But not only land and territorial disputes between countries. Antique maps have also been used to settle land and territorial disputes between smaller entities like between neighbors. Since all land title are based on antique maps, the older the map a person or group possesses, the stronger would be their claim to the land and its territories.

One of the questions you should ask yourself before going into the antique map business is this: Am I an expert on antique maps? Regrettably, being an expert in antique maps take time just like investing in classical paintings.

This is because there are a lot of reproduction and counterfeit antique maps being sold in shops and even online. It is advised that you buy and sell only from reputable antique map brokers.

Do you have the money? As has been stated before, antique maps can considerably vary in value. A map may be the only one in existence, but if it has none of the values stated before, then it is not likely to fetch much value.

You should also consider the investment returns of other forms of investment products. Investing in stocks for example is very accessible these days. It also has more investing information available. It is also actively traded online now.

It is a fact that everyone will use, have used and is currently using a map in their lives. This is because everyone will, have traveled, and is currently traveling somewhere. This is how important are maps in our lives.

You might be saying this now: “If maps are so important and they are used by everyone, I should go into the map making business. I’m sure to make a lot of money.” That may be true a long time ago, but not now.

This is because mapmaking has been dominated by Google with their Google Maps App. I believe I don’t need to explain how much Google controls the map industry. So forget it, the big “G” has already beaten everyone.

But don’t despair, you can still have a good business by copying the map contents of Google. The big G might be the source of all maps in our mobile phones, laptops and other electronics device, but it cannot control anything that is not electronic.

There are people who have Google-like maps in their homes. They can for example have a map of where their house is located in their city. They can have a map for example of the condensed train stations in their city to make them remember how to take their train when they travel.

As you can see, if you are a map seller in a city, you are likely to have customers from your own city who would buy a map of your city. They reasons why they bought a map of their city is varied, but printed maps are still used as a reference by many people when they want to know about their city.

As I have previously said, actual condensed train station maps are being bought by people who have a need or attachment for train station information. Condensed train station maps are just one example of areas that have not been recorded by Google Maps.

Another would be the Hollywood Map Of The Stars. Since Google is not likely to record the information of residential houses, there is an unmet need that these mapmakers are filling.

There are also maps that don’t really map out real places. If you would look online at e-commerce sites, chances are that you would also find maps of fictional maps taken from popular novels.

There are maps for the fictional world of LOTR: Lord Of The Rings, Harry Potter, Narnia, GOT: Game Of Thrones and others for example. Just make sure that you have the proper permission from the copyright owners before you make your maps.

My advice is to make maps of very old but still very popular books. The ancient Greek story of the Odyssey for example has a copyright that have expired ages ago. This is the reason why there are now several maps available for the mythical story.

You can make your own map of the Odyssey of course. If you would be targeting young people especially children, you could create a map that appeals to them. You can create a cartoonish map, an anime-like map and so on.

One of the ways that you can assure there is a demand for your fictional maps is to study the novels being read by children and young people at their schools. For example, Alice In Wonderland doesn’t have much of a map, but you can still make a map patterned after the flow of the story.

Another novel I can think of is the novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. Although the story largely plays out in the sea, you can still make a map based on the story flow of the novel.

There are also maps that you can custom build for your clients. Let us say for example that you’re involved in the tourism business and you directly serve tourists. You can offer these tourists a map of their travels.

You can design this map like a collage where the pictures and the notes of the tourist would be present in this map you’re selling to them. You can even offer map framing services so that you can offer a complete package.

Selling antique maps is not the only way you can make money in the map business. You can sell also sell contemporary maps as pieces of art or as printed reference materials. You can also sell fictional maps who’s copyright has already expired. You can also sell custom built maps.

But a good map also needs to tell a story. A world war 2 map of the invasion of Europe for example is not only a piece of geographical information, it also tells a war story which cannot be said by mere words alone. And this is what makes maps come alive.

The Business Of Reproducing Famous and Very Expensive Paintings