Chek-Mate bows are made in British Columbia, Canada by bowyer Marc Moriez. He also makes the bows for Steve Gorr's Cascade bows which include the BEST short recurve (48" and 52") on the market. All Chek-Mates are high quality and perform comparably to any other custom bows.
I've never heard much about the collectibility, but that could change if he quits making them.
There's a recent thread on PowWow about Marc introducing a sleeker, slimmer riser that looks really cool and should prove popular.
With the exchange rate, it makes the bow an even better deal.
My opinion is that Chek-mates are under rated, most likely becuase of Canada-made and Marc does no big-time advertising. Most folks who shoot them like them...me include.