autographed cards

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Posted By: warshawlaw 

I recently acquired a Bob Gibson certified autographed card from one of the recent sets to replace a Gibson autographed card that had been stolen from me some time ago. I also got a Bobby Doerr. They cost me only $10 each . I can't even get these guys to sign a card at a show for that little and I instead got nice looking cards with certified autographs that I know are real. My feeling is that these autographed insert cards can be some of the best values out there for autograph collectors. "Common" HOFers are readily located for like $10-$20 each, and stars who are not quite up to HOF caliber cost even less. I got a Graig Nettles for $5 and Andre Dawson and John Franco for even less! Given what's out there, I can't see buying autograph tickets for these kinds of guys at shows ever again.

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Posted By: Marc S.

Prices at shows are always above what the "market" rate is for an autograph. Though certified autographs now offer a higher potential for security (e.g. less or zero forgeries....), the draw at shows has always been the experience of actually meeting your childhood hero.

I remember when DiMaggio's signing prices were up at the $150 range -- you could buy reputable signed 8x10s for $75 - $100, and this lasted for quite a while. Nonetheless, flat autograph tickets often sold out quite quickly.

Also, many of us, in addition to the experience, have "unique" things that we would like to get signed, sometimes. Whether it be a team ball, a special photo, etc., it all makes the standing in lines, etc. seemingly worth it.

The next time Mike Schmidt comes to town -- I've got a really cool picture of him when he played basketball before going to college. That I'll never be able to find in a pack... (also, I imagine Schmidt has never signed anything like that before -- so it might lead to a nice conversation!)

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Posted By: Hankron

Adam, I agree with you about many of these reasonably priced modern certified cards of HOFers and old timers. I recently had 2000 Fleer Greats of the Game Autographs of Gaylord Perry and Rocky Colavito. The cards had nice designs, with Mint signatures and Fleer's COA was printed directly on the back. I thought they were a good deal.

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Posted By: jay behrens

My favorite autograph story was when I brought a stack of wire photos for him to sign in the late 80s. When he got to the picture of him and Cal Emer, he asked if he could buy it. I turned him down and told him it was part of my collection of Twins memorabilia. When I was getting ready to sell off my colelction, Killebrew appeared at a show in the Bay area again, so went to the show adn stood in line. When I got to the table, a guy asked me for the item I wanted signed. When saw it, he pointed out the obvious and said it was already signed. I told that is was gift for Mr Killebrew. The guy gave me back the photo and I handed to Mr Killebrew and told him it was a gift for the all the great memories as a kid. He thanked me and said he remembered signing it and I could see tears forming his eyes. I am sure a big reason for it was because he just sold most of his personal memorablia to pay for the stomach cancer he was recovering from at the time.

Jay

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Posted By: slacks

Great story.

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Posted By: Hankron

My brother-in-law is big practical joker, and he wrote a prank letter to Richard Simmons saying that his mother-in-law (my mom) was way overweight and owned all of Richard Simmons tapes and books and was his biggest fan. The practical joke being that my mom weighs about 105 pounds, walks 5 miles a day and, like most everyone else, couldn't stand the sound or sight of Richard Simmons. My mom received an autographed photo and handwritten letter from Richard Simmons saying how wonderful he thought she was, that he would pray for her, etc and that she should write to him again. While we still think Richard Simmons is weird, we all gained a bit of respect for him. Even my sarcastic brother in law felt sheepish.

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Posted By: slacks

Richard Simmons is cool. The reason it didn't faze him is that he's had a positive effect on many people's lives, and receives letters like that all the time.

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Posted By: runscott

I met many of the NFL stars of the late '60s when I was a kid - Alex Karras and Lee Roy Jordan were great jokers and both obviously loved kids. Dick Butkus was an a-hole and obviously didn't. Funny how you never forget things like that, especially when they happen to you as a kid.

I know this contradicts most people's experiences, but Steve Carlton seemed to like signing for kids, certainly not in any hurry to get away from us - but that was back in '73.