Investing in Autographs

By Autografica

Apr 10, 2018

A beginners guide to Investing in autographs and signed items.

A rare collectable autograph makes a great Christmas or birthday present, as it not only shows that you have a genuine interest in the recipient’s interests, but the gift is likely to grow in value as well.

Of course, this kind of alternative investment can be prone to the same downward market forces as other assets, but providing that you have chosen carefully, your gift will have an excellent chance of appreciating in the longer term, and lets be honest, the same can’t be said about a pair of socks or a box of chocolates!

My own collection started when I was just 14 years old when I was given an autograph album (unsigned) for a birthday gift, and today, 45 years later, I still have that same album and I still collect, but now with an eye firmly on the investment value.

During those years I have seen the hobby of collecting autographs and the interest in ‘celebrity’ increase to a point where the crowds at a big film premier can be ten deep, many holding photos or books that they are hoping the stars of the film will sign for them. Some of those people will be professional collectors, who are only interested in the profit to be made, and as the market has increased over the last 15 years to over £20,000,000 annually so have the collectors!

The value of some of these autographs has risen well above the rate of inflation, and with interest rates now at an all time low (Dec 2011), it makes every sense to look for alternative investments, and autographs is certainly one that you should consider.

Lets look at a couple of examples. Just ten years ago, you would have been able to buy a signed image of the first man to set foot on the moon, Neil Armstrong, for less than £300, but that same signed image now could well cost you over £2000 which is a massive increase in value in anyone’s eyes. On a smaller scale, Everest Conqueror Edmund Hilary used to sell at around £15 before he passed away, but now you may need to perhaps pay £70 plus and items signed by him continue to rise in value.

The real investment potential comes when the demand for a signature increases, and sadly, that normally means when someone dies. At that point, supply stops, demand increases, and prices rise accordingly, and although that initial spike will drop after a short while and the price will level out, it will still be at a higher price than before their demise!

However, this kind of increase only happens with the more well known names that have achieved world wide fame for something significant (so you can forget Jedward or Timmy Mallet!).

Current names that you might consider investing in would include the UK’s first lady Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher (see below!), legend of the silver screen Christopher Lee, Fidel Castro or any of the Apollo astronauts, especially those who have walked on the surface of the moon or achieved any of the firsts. Others that may be considered would include the first man to run a mile in under four minutes Sir Roger Bannister, or the first man to break the sound barrier Chuck Yeager, or maybe John Glenn the first American to orbit the earth. All of these people are still alive, all are known worldwide, and all still easily available at sensible, almost pocket money prices, but remember how those Hilary and Armstrong prices have increased!

The value of a signature can vary greatly dependant on what the signature is on, the size of the item, condition, and of course if it is dedicated to anyone. Generally speaking signed photos are best, the larger the better, and remember that some dealers or collectors will only buy undedicated items, as these are much easier to sell on later. And as with anything of value, condition is all important, so the better condition it is in, the more its worth.

Authenticity is or course of paramount importance and you can help to protect yourself here by buying from known and established dealers. There are several well known associations that most good dealers will belong to, the most common being the UACC, but be sure that your dealer is indeed a UACC Registered Dealer and not simply a collector member! Anyone can join some of these associations, and the unscrupulous dealer will simply join as a member and use these new found ‘credentials’ to try and create an air of an established and knowledgable dealer.

Some associations such as AFTAL or PADA only accept established dealers, and have some very strict membership rules, and they don’t simply allow just anyone to join them. All good dealers who are members of any of these three associations will be clearly listed on the relevant association websites, so don’t take the dealers word for it that they are members, always check first! And if they are members of nothing? Well I will leave you to make up your own mind on that one!

There are also many books available to help with authentication and collecting, but there is nothing better than experience, and you can only get that by studying signatures, meeting celeb’s and learning more about their signing habits, the pens and paper used etc. It can be a real minefield, but it can prove to be not just very worthwhile but very profitable too.

One thing you do need to be very careful with is ‘provenance’ as many well meaning people will tell you that this is all important, but in fact its not! You see most of the provenance offered with autographs is of no real value whatsoever, and is very rarely ‘proof’ of any authenticity at all. Most of the provenance offered with autographs is simply a story and often runs along the lines of “my auntie got the autograph book signed when she worked as an usherette at the Woolwich Granada, when the Beatles played there in June 1963” If you do your homework you will find that the Beatles did play that venue in 1963, but that snippet of information will easily be found on the internet or via the many books that document the Beatles career. And the autograph book that its in? surely that proves they must be genuine as it contains signatures from other minor names from the same period? Well, the book could just as easily have been purchased on eBay for £20 with the seller adding the Beatles signatures himself. It’s a very simple scam that fools the uneducated every week. So education is the key here, and only experience will provide that education.

Real provenance for autographs can only mean a good and provable link from one source to another, such as the item concerned having been through the hands of several known and knowledgeable dealers or auction houses. Each of those dealers would have had the chance to check and double check any item for authenticity, and its doubtful that several would make the same error of perhaps passing on an Autopen or secretarial signature for example as authentic.

There are also cases where an item may have some provenance because it has been signed at a paid signing arranged by a known dealer. Many stars have done this, and many well known people have attended autograph shows or events whereby they will sign items for money. However, you still need to be certain about these signings, as it has been known for the less scrupulous to simply buy one item at a signing, and then create 50 more when they get home, whilst using the photo they took at the signing to ‘prove’ that an item is authentic.

What about that nice COA? Any dealer worth his salt will tell you the same thing, they are worthless and only prove where and when you purchased the item, a COA will never ‘prove’ an item is authentic, it can only say that its authentic, but if the dealer is a dud, then your COA is a dud too! Any good dealer will of course issue a COA or similar, which will also have his full contact details on it, but never by an autograph just because it comes with a COA.

If you are simply looking for investment, and have little knowledge of autographs, then be sure to try and build a relationship with a dealer, this way you will learn a lot more, and you will often be offered items that perhaps are not in the dealers regular catalogue, as they become aware of the kind of thing that you may be interested in buying. A good dealer will be your best friend in the autograph business, and will save you money in the longer term.

The autograph market is very much driven by nostalgia, and in turn demand. So you look out for names that will remind people of a time, place or deed, whose names are known to people the world over, who will continue to be reminded of that name for many years to come. John Lennon is a perfect example, as his music is heard every day the world over, it reminds then of their wedding, a first date, their youth, and of course places and times, so his signature will always be right up there with the most investable autographs.

Some names rate better than others, but make the right choice, buy at the right price, and you could make a considerable profit when it comes to selling on in the future.

Since this article was written (Dec 2011) Margaret Thatcher has passed away. Her signature rocketed in value within minutes, but then slumped again as dealers listed sometimes dozens of items at once, which allowed me to buy her signed items at the lowest prices i had seen for some time! Despite this, prices are now firming up again and i fully expect them to be considerbaly higher in two years time than they have ever been, at which time i can start selling again and at a very handsome profit!

This article copyright 2013 Garry King and Autografica.

Visit my web site:
https://www.autografica.co.uk

Autografica

Autografica is owned and run by Garry King.

Autografica started in the late 1980's as a by product of Garry's collecting habits, and became a full time business in 1993 when Garry finally sold his then retail business. During these past 20+ years Autografica have become one of the best-known autograph dealers in the UK, and now have contacts all around the world. Garry has attended all the relevant UACC authentication and appraisal courses both here and in the USA, as well as organizing and running a very successful AFTAL backed course for dealers and collectors here in the UK.

Garry also started the well known 'Autographica' event (note the very slightly different spelling) with Dave Phillips, the first event being in Northampton in 2000. The event soon became the largest of it's kind in the world, but the online autograph business at Autografica needed more time, so the share of the event was sold to Showmasters, and it continues under their guidance to this day.

Autografica now supply items to customers all over the world both trade and retail, and are one of a very small number of people whose expert testimony is accepted by courts in autograph fraud cases. We also offer authentication help to other dealers and auction houses in the UK.

Autografica have been featured on many local and national radio and TV stations including the BBC’s ‘Inside Out’ (twice), The Real Hustle, The One Show, Pawn Stars UK, Posh Pawn and two series of Fake Britain with Dominic Littlewood, the last one featuring a recent court case which you can find here).

Radio includes many local BBC and independent radio stations, Chris Evans Drive time show, The Steve Wight show, Venessa Feltz show as well as local and national papers and magazines, including the Times, The Guardian and a 4 page spread in F1 magazine.

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