collector's item

collector's item idiom
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]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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