Why Collect Autographed Sports Items?
Fans have been collecting sports autographs for about the last century, although it didn’t really become widely popular until Babe Ruth autographs became a treasure to most Americans. Ruth signed thousands of items during and after his legendary baseball career. People got them because it gave them a special, if only brief, connection to one of their heroes. It was one thing to say “I met the Babe”. It was quite another to be able to prove it.
The same holds true today and sports autographs are one of the most popular forms of collecting. Athletes are center stage 365 days a year. They’re more visible thanks to TV and the internet. Collecting signed items is a little tougher than it used to be. Aware of the value of their signatures, some athletes make themselves harder to find, even in public. Not all are worth money, but superstars are deluged with requests from fans who want that special piece for their collection but also by part or full-time sports collectible dealers who are obtaining the signatures to re-sell.
Athletes should know, though, that most people who buy or chase after autographs are pure in their intent. They love to have a tangible connection to their favorite teams, players and to the history of the games themselves by collecting relics both past and present. It’s a memory preserved for all time and a colorful way to decorate an office, sports room or kids room. They’re conversation pieces and anyone who is a sports fan appreciates the time and effort it took to track down that special sports autograph. A baseball sporting the autograph of Babe Ruth is worth thousands of dollars today because there is still a greater demand than the supply that exists in the marketplace. It’s a terrific connection to the game’s past.
While autographs of Hall of Famers and deceased players might cost quite a lot, the beauty of autograph collecting is that you can start with a small budget and still have a nice collection. There are plenty of well-known players whose autograph is still very inexpensive on eBay or Amazon.com. Some retired players sign thousands of items. As famous as he was, Nolan Ryan autographs are generally less than $75 because the great pitcher has always been so agreeable to sign. He did so in part to keep the value down so he wouldn’t have to deal with sneaky, overbearing dealers.
Sports autographs provide a way for a collector to turn a run-of-the-mill piece of sports memorabilia such as a card or 8×10 baseball photo into a special piece with increased value. More than anything though, collectors just like to accumulate items that mean something to them. It’s fun, it’s relaxing and it’s a challenge. What more could you ask for from a hobby?
What Makes Sports Autographs Original?
Seeking authentic baseball autographs in this day and age can be difficult for several reasons. The last thing a collector wants to worry about is whether an autograph is legitimate or not. When you are spending your hard-earned disposable income, you don’t want to imagine that you are being ripped off. But it’s absolutely the first thing any serious baseball autograph collector should think about. In 2006, the HBO show “Real Sports” unveiled some not so complimentary issues about the baseball autograph collecting hobby/industry.
People were getting scammed hard with forged autographs.
In fact, many baseball autographs are still faked these days for monetary gain and it’s made the industry as a whole very nervous and sometimes difficult to enter for a “newbie:. At the same time, it really makes you appreciate those items in circulation that are legitimate. But how do you determine whether or not an autograph is authentic? It’s not really that hard and these days there are experts in the field to help separate the good from the bad and make your buying experience much more palatable.
Reputable companies who can provide proper authentication are in high demand due to the amount of non-genuine autographs that still exist; companies that can make the grade, if you will. There are many sports memorabilia authenticators on the internet who provide such a service but we’ve narrowed it down to a handful that are generally well respected in the industry. Here are some companies who can provide that exact expertise to help you avoid fakes and establish a serious autograph collection with as close to ironclad authentication as you can get. Letters of authenticity are really letters of opinion. But these companies have studied thousands of exemplars, and are familiar with common fakes, keeping mistakes to a minimum.
PSA/DNA- Professional Sports Authenticator is a third party service that grades sports cards and autographs. It has also been called an “Industry Giant” by those in the know. The services they provide could tell you if a card is mint or not mint or whether a card has been trimmed or not. But they also certify autographs. PSA claims it has the hobby’s most experienced grading experts and it still stands as one of the most trusted in the biz. Their strict standards seem to put them over the top in the eyes of many sports collectors. Once a card or autograph has been certified, the item is marked with an invisible DNA laced link. It is naked to the human eye but it is verifiable through an infrared laser. If you are searching for items on EBAY and you see that an item has been certified by PSA/DNA then you can look it up by a specific number. A Certificate or Letter of A uthenticity also is provided by PSA.
James Spence Authentication- James Spence Authentication is another reputable company offering similar autograph authentication services. JSA provides authentication letters, standard certification and even a clause called “And When I Die”. That program is— you guessed it—centered around a collector’s last will and testament and what to do with a valuable collection once they pass away. James Spence Authentication says it will quickly eliminate the vast majority of non-authentic autographs.
Global Authentication Inc. – A Pre-Certified Authenticator for Ebay, Global Authentication is another player in the Baseball Autograph Industry. This company was formed by two former PSA employees and is generally a fairly reputable authentication service.
Mounted Memories – Mounted Memories is another reputable company that authenticates autographs. Just like PSA/DNA and James Spence, Mounted Memories is one of the most recognized names in the sports collectibles industry. The company usually enters into agreements with the athletes for ‘private signings’ where a player signs a certain number of autographs for a free. The items are then distributed in the marketplace with a COA.
Steiner Sports- Steiner Sports boasts that it’s the top distributor of authentic sports collectibles since 1992. If you plan to buy from the website, each and every hand signed autograph is witnessed by a Steiner Sports representative. Like Mounted Memories, Steiner has a large client base among pro athletes and is always adding to it.
