As a collector of memorabilia or perhaps someone who collects autographs you’ve probably found it difficult to locate famous autographs for sale in the market, because you can’t trail round every yard sale and attic clear out. And can you trust autographs being sold on mainstream auction sites such as eBay when there is no authentication process available before you purchase the item.
Thankfully there are now a couple of very good online traders of autographs and other memorabilia. They provide authentication services and will happily buy back items if you find that they’re aren’t truly genuine. What type of items can be bought on these websites and is there a variety of autographs and items available?
Types of Famous Autographs For Sale
When it comes to famous autographs there are plenty of choices to start up a great collection. Have you consider US Presidents, or perhaps to add to this or as a separate collection Vice Presidents or First Ladies? With so many to collect but a definitive list of individuals to collect autographs from it can be a very rewarding collection set. As well there are challenges around obtaining some of the older and rarer autographs for now deceased Presidents. Some of these items can be bought outright and some by auction. The autograph may be for while they were in office as President, these are rarer and usually more expensive, or from before or after their time in Office.
How about sports personalities? Some people make it their aim to collect sign baseball cards, focusing on just one team, or a particular era within the sport. Another option is to invest more and buy signed memorabilia such as sporting items or clothing signed by famous players. Some people have chosen a particular decade or year and have attempted to build a collection of the top sports people across all sports during that period, which can be challenging and rewarding at the same time.
Another option is to consider artists, whether these are musicians, painters, comic strip illustrators, actors, or singers. These are usually interest led with people collecting memorabilia and autographs of individuals that they personally admire. It may be a collection of items for one single artist such as Elvis or Marilyn Monroe, or perhaps a collection of items and autographs for a particular era or a genre. Some of the most challenging collections are to collect signatures of actors that appeared in Western movies for example in the 1930s through to the 1960s. With many of these actors now deceased it can take a long time to track down and collect old autographs and have them authenticated.
No matter what your area of interest collecting autographs and related memorabilia can be a very rewarding hobby, and over time items can increase in value significantly, particularly if part of a larger collection. Single items may not hold much value on their own, but when collated into a complete collection they are highly sought after.
