Someone recently commented to me that the price of a domain name I own is so high that I will probably die with it and my kids will inherit it. The comment made me laugh – and that person made be right. His comment made me think about great .com domain names as generational assets.

Families have passed down valuable assets from one generation to the next forever. Real estate, artwork, jewelry, collectibles, metals, businesses, and many other asset classes can appreciate considerably over time. I think exceptional domain names, one-word .coms for example, can be considered in the same class of assets that can drive wealth for the next generation.

Atom.com recently enabled its Instant Domain Appraisal tool to show amounts above $1 million. Prior to the change, the maximum appraisal amount was shown as > $1 million. This is a neat change for some who hold 7 or 8 figure assets, but it’s a bit of a vanity feature since an automated appraisal on a domain name at that level is unlikely to have much bearing on its actual sale price.

I am unsure when Atom made the change to its appraisal tool to show figures above the $1 million mark. I was recently using the tool to evaluate a couple of acquisition targets, and it capped at $1 million. When I checked again yesterday, I noticed the change.