Sports autograph seekers have aspirations of acquiring rare sports autographs and adding them to their collection. But for many decumanes these autographs are very valuable for reasons of collecting. These rare autographs can range in price from hundreds of dollars to hundreds of millions. There is no reason why rare autographs of sports celebrities are expensive and sought after stores.
Autograph games can fall into two distinct categories; past and present. The factors that determine the marketability of an autograph are as follows:
Age – To do with whom and how long a player lives and plays,
Scarcity – A collection of autographs signed by the player himself (many players are known to have given their signature only on rare occasions
Desirability – The more successful players are the popular players who are more desirable, driving the market value of an autograph.
Signature Item – For example, Babe Ruth autographed baseball has a market value of $2500. $12,000, while the bat that Babe used to hit his first home run at Yankee Stadium recently sold for $126,500,000.
When discussing rare sports autographs, there are two periods to discuss, the past and the present. Rare past sports autographs include players like Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Muhammed Ali. Baseball legend Babe Ruth‘s autograph is considered the greatest in sports
has changed in his life. In the early years Babe signed his name as Babe Ruth was included in his first name. George Herman Ruth changed this practice later in his career, sometimes signing his name as George Herman Ruth or GH Ruth.
Babe Ruth never hesitated to sign autographs in his time. Even though Babe Ruth signed as many items as he could in his time, the appeal sent and requested after the autograph can still demand much more than the market. This was based on Ruth’s favor. It is thought that one of these autographs can be obtained from the antographs of the holy grass players.
Mickey Mantle is a National Baseball Hall of Famer. Making his signature even more valuable is the fact that during his professional career he rarely signed autographs for fans and did not respond to letters from supporters. Mickey Mantle’s death in 1995 made his rock autograph worth it, since there will be no more memorabilia created with Mickey’s signature. The Mickey Mantle autograph is one of the most expensive autographs ever commissioned due to high demand and lack of availability. Mickey Mantle’s autographed bat has a fair market value of $10,000,
Although baseball is the national anthem of the United States of America, and it drives the market for expensive vintage autographs, other sports have such rare and expensive autographs. One such athlete is the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali. Muhammad’s signature can be found in two contexts, both when he was known as Cassius Clay and later Muhammad Ali. The autograph of Cassius Clay is much rarer. Ali’s endorsement deals could drive him miles throughout his career to become a three-time World Heavyweight Champion. In 1999, Sports Illustrated named Ali “Sportsman of the Century. In 1984, Ali was recognized. Parkinson’s disease makes it much more difficult for him to sign his autograph.Although Ali still often signs memorabilia, even though there is no supply of autographs available, he cannot meet the huge demand in today’s currency. >about $11,000.
Some of today’s sports stars who have rare autographs include Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Barry Bonds. Michael Jordan is considered by many to be the best basketball player of all time.
The marketability of was a day above and beyond the modern forum celebrities today Michael Jordan , as Jordan effortlessly pleased fans. Due to this popularity, Jordan’s signature is widely believed to be the most sought after sports autograph in recent times. Unfortunately for collectors (and fortunately for collectors who own his autograph), Michael Jordan’s autograph stock is very limited. Some of the reasons include not being able to sign Michael’s public appearances due to his public popularity due to safety reasons for himself and his fans. Even for many years, Michael only signed autographs exclusively for the company “Super Deck”. He is also known to sign autographs for fans at events such as his charity golf tournaments. The lucky taxpayer who found himself a basketball with Michael Jordan’s signature on it is worth around $2000 while
Unfortunately for many fans, Michael could not easily sign autographs in public because of the commotion he would create at the risk of his fans’ health and himself. For many years, Jordan only signed autographs for Upper Deck. He’s also been known to sign for fans at quieter events, such as charity golf tournaments. A Michael Jordan autographed basketball could cost nearly $2,000. A signed Michael Jordan jersey has a market value of $6000.
Tiger Woods is another one of the rarest sports autographs sought after by collectors of today’s sports celebrities. Tiger Wood’s is ranked the number 1 golfer in the world, and commands a huge fan following. He rarely signs autographs in public and is another athlete who only signs for Upper Deck. According to Tigers, this is his way of protecting fans from buying fake sports tickets.
The perfect blend of fame and rarity, Tiger autographs are some of the most sought after and rarest collectibles in all of sports. A signed Tiger Woods sports card cost over $16,000 in 2008 while an autographed pair of tattered shirts is worth more than $25,000.
When it comes to signing autographs, few people are more famous for not doing it than MLB center-fielder Barry Bonds. Bonds is known both for the steroid scandal and for the legendary record for most famous home runs in an MLB career and is the only player currently a member it is a 500-500 club. Although the lack of signatures is often mistaken for bond supporters, the few collectors who own his autograph realize the rewards, as the lack of signatures makes his autograph that much more valuable. Just an autograph on paper alone has a market value of more than $5000.
Autograph games are big business and the market is flooded with fakes. Sports autograph companies are an important staple in the sports autograph collector field. One of the largest and most reliable of these companies is Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA). According to the company’s website: PSA has left over 16 million cards and collections with a cumulative indicated value of nearly billions of dollars.
Founded by PSA in 1998 in response to widespread, counterfeit and pirated autograph collections, PSA/DNA is the world’s leading third-party authentication service for autographs and memorabilia.
Businesses like this continue to push the trade of rare autographs in the right direction. Many avid collectors are obsessed, almost obsessed, with finding that precious autograph that will complete their collection, but due to its rarity and extreme pricing, few will ever acquire it.
