We all know that classic cars, old coins and luxury watches can be worth a fortune, but plenty of recent treasures could make you some quick cash too. From Pokémon cards to Happy Meal toys, read on to discover 10 modern collectibles that are soaring in value. 

All dollar amounts in US dollars.

Did you collect Pokémon cards as a kid? They could be worth big bucks today. Originally released to accompany the Pokémon video games, these Japanese trading cards are now considered bona fide investments, and the value of original sets from the late 1990s has steadily grown. In fact, the most valuable Pokémon card, the Pikachu Illustrator, can sell for millions of dollars – there are just 39 known to exist and the only one with a PSA 10 grade was bought for over $5.2 million (£3.9m) by YouTuber Logan Paul in 2022.

With a typical customer base of collectors aged between 24 and 36 with disposable income to spend, Pokémon cards aren’t going out of fashion anytime soon, and the rarer cards are set to keep rising in value. First-edition base sets are super pricey, with a sealed box selling for $198,000 at an auction in 2020. That's the equivalent of almost $245,000 (£183k) in today's money.

McDonald's Happy Meals might be famously affordable, but did you know they can also potentially make you money? The plastic toys that accompany these low-cost kids' meals are in high demand among collectors, with examples in their original packaging particularly prized. Limited-edition toys, such as those linked to film franchises, could also be worth far more than you paid for them.

According to antiques expert Peter Jenkinson, quoted in local UK newspaper News Shopper, some of the most valuable Happy Meal toys at the moment include Mario toys from the 1990s, TY's Teenie Beanie Boos from 2000, and Jerry the Minion from Despicable Me 2 which dates from 2013. These can sell from around $120 (£90) to upwards of $450 (£336).

Funko Pop figures are plastic toys measuring just under four inches (10cm) and can cost as little as $8 (£5.80). Don’t be deceived by their small size, though; these collectibles can sell for big money.

Collectors are particularly interested in Chase Pops, which are limited editions of normal characters with a slight change in looks, like a different hair colour. For instance, the glow-in-the-dark Clockwork Orange Chase Pop has been valued at a hefty $13,300 (£9.9k) as it was released in such limited numbers.

With the popularity of online streaming platforms like Spotify, vinyl records may seem a thing of the past – but there's a growing market of young record enthusiasts who prefer physical copies of their favourite tunes. One of the most valuable records produced in recent years is Songbook, the 2011 live solo album from Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple of the Dog frontman Chris Cornell, which can sell for up to $500 (£374). 

Record companies are also catering to this new band of collectors with an array of limited and special-edition pressings. Record Store Day, where limited releases are sold through independent record stores, has become a big annual global event. And major artists from Radiohead to Taylor Swift have all released limited editions of their recent albums, which have sold out and could become valuable in future (although you may want to think twice about playing the records too much).

DVDs might be losing popularity as streaming continues to subvert the way we watch films, but among collectors, these humble discs are still in high demand, as are their Blu-ray successors. And it's not just retro releases that are soaring in value; a four-disc set of seasons five to eight of the animated series Trolls, released exclusively by Walmart in 2020, can sell for hundreds of dollars online.

DVD collections often prove the most lucrative. One of the most valuable is the 57-disc box set Premium Collection of Disney's Walt Disney Treasures, which was released in 2009 in a limited edition of 3,000. Examples have been listed on eBay for up to $2,000 (£1.5k).

Labubu toys, which are inspired by Nordic folklore, have been described by one collector as "kind of ugly", according to CNN. But that hasn't stopped them from taking the world by storm. The character was created by the illustrator Kasing Lung who was born in Hong Kong but raised in the Netherlands, and has since inspired a range of figurines and pendants. 

The toys in the most recent range originally retailed in Asia for between $13 and $16 (£9.74–£11.99) but were quickly relisted online for around $90 (£67). Meanwhile, some of the rarer editions are reportedly fetching up to $3,350 (£2,500), with the soaring prices driven by a viral TikTok craze and their appearance as unlikely accessories at Paris Fashion Week (pictured).

In the US and UK, you'll pay a little more to get your hands on these plush figurines, but demand is high, with queues regularly forming outside Pop Mart stores.

While LEGO might be seen as a children's toy, plenty of adults are big fans too. Demand for rare and detailed LEGO sets is alive and well, with collectors' website BrickEconomy reporting that certain sets see average annual growth of over 1,000%. 

As you might expect, limited-edition sets are particularly lucrative. The most valuable set is widely considered to be the San Diego Comic-Con 2013 Spider-Man (pictured). Just 350 of these three-piece LEGO sets were given away at the event to promote the release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and the current value for a new and sealed one is estimated at $17,110 (£12.8k) today.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are digital stamps of ownership of virtual goods such as digital art. While digital art is easy to copy, NFTs show that their buyers own the original works and can sell for millions of dollars. Until recently, they were considered the preserve of tech insiders – but they're fast becoming mainstream, thanks in part to the President of the United States...

Donald Trump is perhaps the world's most high-profile person to have cashed in on NFTs, launching ranges of digital trading cards that have netted him millions of dollars. As life becomes more digital, buying tweets, posts and virtual merchandise from celebrities may become as common as collecting autographs – and the sums of money at stake could be huge. The most expensive NFT ever sold fetched over $90 million back in 2021, the equivalent of $107 million (£80m) today.

BE@RBRICKs are collectables produced by the Japanese company Medicom Toy. The bear-shaped toys come in a range of designs and have an iconic status within pop culture, even making an appearance in rapper Drake’s music video for Tootsie Slide. A Karl Lagerfeld-designed Chanel BE@RBRICK, part of a limited edition of 1,000, sold for $30,000 at a Christie's auction in 2019, or around $38,000 (£28k) today.

Most BE@RBRICKs retail from anywhere between a couple of hundred of dollars to the $650 (£485) mark. Designs are inspired by everything from popular movie characters to fine art. The BE@RBRICK x Readymade x A Bathing Ape 1000% Multi first retailed at $2,480 ($3.2k/£2.4k today) in 2018 but has since been listed for resale for over $11,500 (£8.6k) on online marketplace StockX.

Gone are the days when graffiti was a public nuisance. With the rise of artists like Banksy, graffiti has become a creative medium on a par with classic art, with hefty price tags to match. The artist's most expensive artwork, which doubled as one of the art world's most audacious stunts, is Love is in the Bin, a copy of Girl with Balloon that self-shredded after being sold for $1.3 million ($1.7m/£1.3m today) in 2018. The image was resold for $23.7 million ($28m/£21m today) in October 2021.

Demand for graffiti art continues to rise as investors and collectors see potential for strong future returns. Banksy might be the most famous, but Ben Slow, Bambi, Robin Rhode and Plastic Jesus are other artists to look out for. The image shows street art by Ben Slow off London's Brick Lane.

Have you got a fortune sitting on your shelf? Discover 25 old DVDs worth a lot more than you think

Updated by Alice Cattley