What's an autograph, anyway?

[mighty bombjack]

Originally Posted by David Atkatz

What? Most historical autograph dealers--and there have been quite a few famous ones in the last 150 years--did not, and do not, consider sports autograph collecting, or the collecting of signatures of "celebrities" to be autograph collecting at all.

During WWII, a particular A.M. (Autograph Manuscript--no signature) sold for more than $1 million. It was a copy of the Gettysburg Address, in Lincoln's hand.

Would you want a copy of Lou Gehrig's farewell speech, in his own hand, in your autograph collection? Or would you feel it didn't belong there because it wasn't signed?

Wow, those are some haughty examples. Do they demonstrate a rule, or are they very rare exceptions?

Let's go the other direction. Phil Niekro signatures sell every day on ebay. I've never seen an A.D. of his sell. Is that because they are rare, or because nobody wants them?