Amazingly, even after playing this game for 25 years, there is still something to be discovered. I had read about investing in art - just buying it from the catalog and letting it appreciate, but never had great luck at that. Most of the paintings would stay the same price or depreciate. Sometimes, they'd go up in value by a handful of Simoleans. It was all small potatoes. Then I investing in something else - not a painting and nothing really all that impressive. In fact, my Sims all say, "Yuck!" when they look at it, but that little piece is a cash machine! The price appreciates nearly ten-fold the first night, with varying amounts up and down after that. The variations are not even that consistent because I can buy ten of the items and they vary the next day in value. Even so ....this is the way to massive wealth! It doesn't even take a great deal of Simoleans to get started in this investment, either.

What did you learn or discover?

Yeah, the Japanese fan trick is so powerful that I don't even use it anymore, because it feels too much like cheating.

Agreed! I'm wondering if I limited it to a certain number when working towards a specific goal. It does help you get off the ground. Before this, I typically would build up funds while building skills by changing jobs every time a requirement was needed for the next job level.

Are there other items that appreciate similarly?

I think so. I haven't experienced any, but then I don't buy decorative objects all that often.

When I opened the file for the Japanese wall fan in IFF Pencil 2, I saw that it has a BHAV called "adjust value." A quick look at the files for several of the other wall decorations showed that the older paintings (older in terms of when they entered the game) don't have such a BHAV, but many of the newer ones do.

You could make a test family to try out the paintings and report back. :-)

I forget the name, but there is a wall hanging, looks like a stone tablet with chipped sides. IIRC, it costs under $300 and goes up to something $1600 overnight.
Isn't there a small landscape painting that also goes up in value? For some reason I see in my that painting with a water wheel.
A furniture piece that goes up in price is that blue metal patio loveseat that looks like it's from the 1950s. That one costs less than $200 and goes up in value to almost $800.
Sorry to be so vague about these items. I haven't played Sims 1 in over a month since I'm doing a Sims 2 Legacy at the moment.

Oh, I love this! I have the idea that the Valentino family - the downloadable family Maxis put on their website - would be art investors. Not playing them at the moment, but will tuck this away for later.