Who's on your list? Who would you collect if you could - no barriers on cost or availability? 

That's what we asked ourselves - and here's our Top 100 Giants of History: the most collectible figures from the past. We've factored in desirability, rarity and our decades of insider knowledge. 

Have a look, read our commentary below, and then tell us where we've gone wrong. Enjoy:

The Top 100 Giants of History

1. William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
2. The Beatles (1960 - 1970)
3. Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) 
4. Henry VIII of England (1491 - 1547)
5. Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)
6. George Washington (1732 - 1799)
7. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821)
8. Diana, Princess of Wales (1961 - 1997)
9. Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)
10. Muhammad Ali (1942 - 2016)
11. Neil Armstrong (1930 - 2012)
12. Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962)
13. Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)
14. Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977)
15. John F Kennedy (1917 - 1963)
16. Nelson Mandela (1918 - 2013)
17. Michael Jordan (born 1963)
18. John Lennon (1940 - 1980)
19. Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870)
20. Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1890)
21. Che Guevara (1928 - 1967)
22. Babe Ruth (1895 - 1948)
23. Walt Disney (1901 - 1966)
24. Dr Martin Luther King Jr (1929 - 1968)
25. Kurt Cobain (1964 - 1994)
26. James Dean (1931 - 1955)
27. Jimi Hendrix (1942 - 1970)
28. Bruce Lee (1940 - 1973)
29. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (1926 - 2022)
30. The Sex Pistols (1975 - 2008)
31. Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987)
32. Harry Houdini (1874 - 1926)
33. JK Rowling (born 1965)
34. Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)
35. Karl Marx (1818 - 1883)
36. Mao Zedong (1893 - 1976)
37. Cervantes (1547 - 1616)
38. Johannes Gutenberg (1393–1406 - 1468)
39. Tupac Shakur (1971 - 1996)
40. Alan Turing (1912 - 1954)
41. Claude Monet (1840 - 1926)
42. Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
43. John Wayne (1907 - 1979)
44. Elizabeth I (1533 - 1603)
45. Stan Lee (1922 - 2018)
46. Pink Floyd (1965 - 2022)
47. Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)
48. Jesse James (1847 - 1882)
49. Admiral Lord Nelson (1758 - 1805)
50. Christopher Columbus (1451 - 1506)
51. Leonardo Da Vinci (1452 - 1519)
52. Elizabeth Taylor (1930 - 2011)
53. Buffalo Bill (1846 - 1917)
54. Captain Robert Scott, Scott of the Antarctic (1868 - 1912)
55. Florence Nightingale (1820 - 1910)
56. Oliver Cromwell (1598 - 1658)
57. Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)
58. Annie Oakley (1860 - 1926)
59. Joe DiMaggio (1914 - 1999)
60. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
61. JD Salinger (1919 - 2010)
62. Harper Lee (1926 - 2016)
63. Shoeless Joe Jackson (1887 - 1951)
64. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy (1927 - 1955)
65. Isaac Newton (1642 - 1766-7)
66. Diego Maradona (1960 - 2020)
67. Jacqueline Kennedy (1929 - 1994)
68. Lou Gehrig (1903 - 1941)
69. Hugh Hefner (1926 - 2017)
70. Charlie Chaplin (1889 - 1977)
71. Audrey Hepburn (1929 - 1993)
72. The Duke of Wellington (1769 - 1852)
73. Alexander Graham Bell (1847 - 1922)
74. James Stewart (1908 - 1977)
75. Charles Lindbergh (1902 - 1974)
76. F Scott Fitzgerald (1896 - 1940)
77. Sir Francis Drake (1540 - 1596)
78. Robert E Lee (1807 - 1870)
79. Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron (1892 - 1918)
80. Pele (1940 - 2022)
81. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1770)
82. Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882)
83. Edmund Hillary (1919 - 2008)
84. Volodymyr Zelenskyy (born 1978)
85. Jack the Ripper (active in 1888)
86. James Joyce (1881 - 1941)
87. Fidel Castro (1926 - 2016)
88. Frank and Orville Wright (first flight 1903)
89. Tom Brady (born 1977)
90. General George Custer (1839 - 1876)
91. George Orwell (1903 - 1950)
92. Julius Erving (born 1950)
93. Sarah Bernhardt (1844 - 1923)
94. Queen Victoria (1837 - 1901)
95. Amelia Earhart (1897 - 1937)
96. Rudolph Valentino (1895 - 1926)
97. Thomas Edison (1847 - 1931)
98. Sally Ride (1951 - 2012)
99. Madonna (born 1958)
100. Edward Duke of York and Wallis Simpson (married 1937 - 1972)

Screen 

 

12 - Marilyn Monroe

23 - Walt Disney

26 - James Dean

28 - Bruce Lee

43 - John Wayne

52 - Elizabeth Taylor

70 - Charlie Chaplin

71 - Audrey Hepburn

74 - James Stewart

96 - Rudolph Valentino 

These are names who've transcended their roles to become stars or icons beyond the fictional worlds they inhabit. And, you'll note that short lives are common to three of the top four in this list.

Collectors buying today for future value would add themed film series, like Star Wars and Marvel to their list and characters like Batman or The Simpsons too. 

Musical genius 

 

2 - The Beatles 

14 - Elvis Presley

18 - John Lennon 

25 - Kurt Cobain

27 - Jimi Hendrix 

30 - The Sex Pistols - with Sid Vicious 

39 - Tupac Shakur

46 - Pink Floyd - with Syd Barrett

60 - Ludwig van Beethoven

81 - Johann Sebastian Bach

99 - Madonna

Musical tastes move fast and that's true in the collectibles market too. 

If you're looking to measure musical influence today you'd add Taylor Swift and Beyonce to this list in a heartbeat and more figures from hip hop too - what about Kanye now, is he beyond the pale for collectors?  

But as collectors we live in the past to a degree.

Recent sales show that the thing to own is a guitar associated with a famous player. Punk and grunge have come into collecting fashion. Will drum machines, decks, and synths ever match a traditional axe? There's no reason why not. 

And, yes, you can't avoid it - those who die young leave a legend that we love to celebrate.

Is it OK to leave the Rolling Stones off this list, with or without Brian Jones? Prince?

You tell us.   

Philosophical and scientific giants 

 

3 - Albert Einstein 

35 - Karl Marx 

47 - Steve Jobs

65 - Isaac Newton

73 - Alexander Graham Bell

82 - Charles Darwin 

97 - Thomas Edison

Where's Henry Ford? 

Good question. 

There are surely more scientific names to add.

But you've got to be ruthless when you're making a list.  

Leaders 

 

4 - Henry VIII of England

5 - Winston Churchill 

6 - George Washington 

9 - Abraham Lincoln

13 - Mahatma Gandhi 

15 - John F Kennedy 

16 - Nelson Mandela 

24 - Dr Martin Luther King Jr

29 - Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

34 - Thomas Jefferson

36 - Mao Zedong

56 - Oliver Cromwell 

84 - Volodymyr Zelenskyy

87 - Fidel Castro 

94 - Queen Victoria

Almost all US presidents are highly collectible. As are many British PMs. Yes, even Liz Truss will be in time. 

These names are political, but they transcend politics in one way or another. 

It's very likely you don't like all of them. But add these names to a historic item and you boost its price immeasurably. 

You'll notice one is recent and tragically current. Time is the great test of the collectibles market, but Zelenskyy is a name that is likely to ring out. 

Writers and literature 

 

1 - William Shakespeare

19 - Charles Dickens 

33 - JK Rowling

37 - Cervantes 

45 - Stan Lee 

61 - JD Salinger 

62 - Harper Lee

76 - F Scott Fitzgerald 

86 - James Joyce 

91 - George Orwell 

Please call us first if you find a Shakespeare autograph. Four are held in archives. One or more may be out there. Somewhere. 

It's much easier to come across a JK Rowling. But already first editions of her most famous works are setting huge prices. 

Salinger was so private he put a premium on himself. Orwell seldom signed autographs and left little behind, but he's a towering figure and will remain so, we believe, as long as his work is relevant.  

Military 

 

7 - Napoleon Bonaparte  

21 - Che Guevara 

40 - Alan Turing

49 - Admiral Lord Nelson  

72 - The Duke of Wellington 

77 - Sir Francis Drake  

78 - Robert E Lee  

79 - Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron 

90 - General George Custer  

We don't need to pretend all of these names are nice people. They were perhaps "heroic" in various ways. 

Alan Turing should be listed as a scientist, but his most consequential work was the code breaking of his World War II breakthroughs. Enigma machines are highly sought after. 

Of course, the most valuable war relics are decorations usually awarded (often posthumously) to much more rank-and-file names than these. The Victoria Cross is the gold standard in military collectibles.  

Celebrities, comics, the famous and others 

Diana was a substantial figure in her own right, and that's the real attraction of her life story. 

 

8 - Diana, Princess of Wales

32 - Harry Houdini 

53 - Buffalo Bill 

58 - Annie Oakley  

64 - Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy

67 - Jacqueline Kennedy

69 - Hugh Hefner

93 - Sarah Bernhardt

100 - Edward Duke of York and Mrs Simpson

Celebrity is probably older than we like to think. 

And, yes, I'm putting people here who should probably be elsewhere. But Stan and Ollie were music hall and theatre as well as movie stars. 

Who of today's "famous-for-being-famous" crowd will be collected in years to come? Will there be a market for Kardashian memorabilia? Paris Hilton's signature? 

Sporting  

 

10 - Muhammad Ali

17 - Michael Jordan

22 - Babe Ruth 

59 - Joe DiMaggio

63 - Shoeless Joe Jackson

66 - Diego Maradona

68 - Lou Gehrig

80 - Pele

89 - Tom Brady 

92 - Julius Erving

I'm sad not to add any cricketers to this list. Or a rugby player or two.

But, if we follow the money in sport collectibles we almost always end up in America, and usually with baseball and basketball. 

Baseball cards in particular are a world of their own. 

Should there be a golfer on there? A tennis player? 

Barrier breakers 

Neil Armstrong's everyday persona is at odds with the magnitude of his literally out-of-this-world achievements.

 

11 - Neil Armstrong 

38 - Johannes Gutenberg

50 - Christopher Columbus

54 - Captain Robert Scott, Scott of the Antarctic 

55 - Florence Nightingale 

75 - Charles Lindbergh

83 - Edmund Hillary

88 - Frank and Orville Wright 

95 - Amelia Earhart 

98 - Sally Ride  

The whole Apollo 11 crew - and many other space pioneers - are highly collectible. 

Gutenberg items are largely accounted for and hugely valuable. Even a fragment of one of Gutenberg's 49 Bibles can make $1 million and facsimile copies can cost thousands. William Caxton, the pioneer of printing in the UK, is similarly rare and sought after. 

In time, this list will include digital pioneers, and perhaps digital artefacts. How we collect in a less tangible age is an interesting question for us all to consider.  

A little art 

Warhol-signed prints are hugely collectible

 

20 - Vincent Van Gogh  

31 - Andy Warhol 

41 - Claude Monet 

51 - Leonardo Da Vinci

57 - Pablo Picasso 

These artists all exist in the rarefied world of the "household name". 

They're on tea towels and jigsaws. Letters, photographs, and other ephemera related to them all have value. 

Claude Monet? Claude Money if you actually have an original work.  

Infamy 

Frank James, brother of Jesse James the outlaw. The legend of the pair is a prettier tale than their actual life story.  

 

42 - Adolf Hitler 

48 - Jesse James

85 - Jack the Ripper  

We wouldn't give room to items related to Adolf Hitler. But there are plenty who do. And are willing to pay large amounts for them - someone shelled out nearly $8 million for Hitler's car in 2018.

Time plays a role. It's extraordinary that you can now buy fun merchandise, T-shirts and souvenirs themed around what are a repulsive set of sexually motivated mutilation murders.

What does that say about us?  

It's an ethical dilemma for sure. There's evil in the world. How do we react to it? How do we cope? 

Who is in your top 100? 

That was a difficult task. 

You're probably furious right now. 

Let us know where we went wrong - politely please!

Shop for some of these names here.

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