How much of an object’s value is actually in the object, and how much is in the story we tell about it?

I’ve been thinking about collectible markets lately, particularly rare coins, trading cards, and historical memorabilia.
A piece of cardboard can sell for millions of dollars. A coin can become extraordinarily valuable because of its age, rarity, history, or previous ownership. An ordinary object can become culturally significant because enough people agree that its story matters.
I’m not criticizing collectors. Quite the opposite. I think collecting is a fascinating example of how humans assign meaning to physical objects.
But it raises an interesting question: At what point does the story become more valuable than the object itself?
We create systems around these stories. We establish rarity, authentication, provenance, market values, and institutions that reinforce those values. Eventually, the system becomes so established that we stop questioning how it came to exist.
I’ve been exploring this idea through a conceptual art project.
One of the pieces is an ordinary 2022 American penny painted red with nail polish. Its denomination is one cent. My asking price is one million dollars.
I realize that’s an absurd proposition to some people. That’s part of what makes it interesting.
Why is one million dollars for a particular trading card or historical coin a recognizable market phenomenon, while the same asking price for a different object is immediately dismissed?
What makes one story legitimate and another ridiculous?
I’m genuinely interested in hearing how other people think about this, especially collectors.
Where do you think an object’s value actually comes from: the object, its history, its scarcity, the people who want it, or the story we’ve collectively agreed to believe?