Are books on the shelf better than stock certificates in a drawer...

As things in financial circles get more...er...complex, I've been wondering about the bits of paper on my shelves. As I pondered such things, I discovered the following chart, printed in A Random Walk Down Wall Street (Burton Malkiel, Princeton economist)

Annual Gain of Various Investments 1968-1979
19.4% Gold
18.9% Stamps
15.7% Rare books
13.7% Silver
12.7% Rare coins
12.5% Old masters' paintings
11.8% Diamonds
11.3% Farmland
9.6% Single-family house
6.5% U.S. CPI (Inflation)
6.4% Foreign currencies
5.8% High-grade corporate bonds
3.1% Common stocks

The date range is interesting, as 1968 was the end of a major stock market bubble (3rd behind 1929 and 2000). It is, regardless, an interesting list...N.B. I have absolutely no opinion as to the veracity of the list or its figures. That said, I would love to see some more current analysis and see where things stand for the 2-3 decades after this...

Personally, I'd rather put money into fine books for their own sakes...they are lovely in hand, they contain most of the great ideas spawned from the minds of wo/man, and...well...they do seem to hold up pretty well over time (Trollop notwithstanding). At the end of the day, with a stock cert., you own a bit of a company and the hope that it will thrive. With books on the shelves, you are a steward of history.