Last year my buddy and I went in to business together and bought ourselves a small pawn shop. The initial 6 months or so were pretty quiet and we didn’t see much by the way of profits, until we ran a local advertising campaign. All of a sudden we were inundated with customers, looking to pawn, saw and sell with us. During this time we had a a lot of learning to do, things like how to value an autograph, how to check for authenticity of a piece and how to deal with unruly visitors.
A year on however and everything is looking great for the shop, and I wanted to take this opportunity to talk to you about autographs, and what it is that makes them valuable.
Who Signed It?
The biggest difference maker in terms of value is who has signed the particular autograph. Now, this does not always refer directly to celebrity status or the popularity or importance of the person. For example you must take supply and demand into account, let’s say you have an autograph by the Beatles for example, this would be worth a good bit of money of course, but they did sign a lot of them. If you had an autograph from someone like Buddy Holly however, who didn’t sign many autographs, then this could very well be more pricy. Naturally the living status of the person who signed the autograph is also a big factor.
When Was It Signed?
The circumstances around the signature can also greatly influence how much someone is willing to pay. For example if you had a signature from John F.Kennedy on that fateful day in 1963 when he was assassinated, it would fetch a great deal more than an autograph from years before. If you have an autograph which has circumstances surrounding it that were important, this can greatly impact the overall value.
Condition
It is rare that you get an autograph, or at least an expensive autograph, in pristine condition, but the better condition which it is in, the higher the value. Of course this is not to say that if you have a signature from Abe Lincoln, that it won’t be worth anything because of its poor condition thanks to age. You must be able to clearly see the autograph, as well as any other features such as a message or a date.
Validity
The single most important piece of the puzzle when valuing an autograph, is whether or not it is real. This can be an uncomfortable process, especially for someone who has held this piece for a while and is looking to cash in. Unfortunately there are many experts out there who copy signatures and then try to make a quick win from it, so you must be on the watch out for this. You can send the piece to an independent evaluator or you can try to look yourself. Take some autograph examples from the internet, and keep and eye on the details of the autograph such as the quirks on each letter. Deciding on whether or not this is the real deal, is where you will make or lose your money.
