Value of T206 player autographs

[nodgrass]

I was suprised at a recent signed T206 card price and was curious as to what my T206 player autographs might be worth. Granted, they are not signed T206's but would like to hear opinions on value.

Zach Wheat- signature on cut magazine or book page with small photo of Wheat- GAI certified

Rube Marquard- index card

Lou Fiene- short handwritten signed letter dated 1954

Al Bridwell- "Glory of Thier Times" promotional pamphlet with short note, signed twice on front & back

Bill Carrigan- signed cut , probably from a postcard

Fred Parent- index card

A.P. Liefeld- index card

[danc]

Unfortunately for you, the beauty and allure of the signed T206 card comes in the fact that there had to be some insight at the time (most commonly obtained via the mail in the 1960's and 1970's) to actually get a 1909-11 card penned by the subject.

In some cases, only a handful of T206's exist in signed form (with maybe 15-20 different subjects of the 524 to ever show up in signed form) and that transforms a common signature (say George McBride VG valued at about $40) that is valued in index card form in $15-30 range, into a $400 signed card.

The signatures you mentioned for the most part range out at about the McBride (a tad more for Wheat).

DanC

[FrankWakefield]

One function of value is the demand for the autograph... and one is supply. The longer a player lived, the longer he had to sign. And, there's not always been a constant demand for autographs. When everyone comes back from WWII, and then the kids are born, there's a bunch of kids chasing autographs in the mid to late 50s. So if a player was still alive and up and going then, he'd have been asked for an autograph. Marquard was healthy and active for years, he signed a bunch of stuff. You might look at the death dates for those guys, and figure out who died early, who stayed with us longer...

[Orioles1954]

Originally Posted by danc

Unfortunately for you, the beauty and allure of the signed T206 card comes in the fact that there had to be some insight at the time (most commonly obtained via the mail in the 1960's and 1970's) to actually get a 1909-11 card penned by the subject.

In some cases, only a handful of T206's exist in signed form (with maybe 15-20 different subjects of the 524 to ever show up in signed form) and that transforms a common signature (say George McBride VG valued at about $40) that is valued in index card form in $15-30 range, into a $400 signed card.

The signatures you mentioned for the most part range out at about the McBride (a tad more for Wheat).

DanC

Just a slight correction, there are about 50 different signed T206 subjects known.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by FrankWakefield

One function of value is the demand for the autograph... and one is supply. The longer a player lived, the longer he had to sign. And, there's not always been a constant demand for autographs. When everyone comes back from WWII, and then the kids are born, there's a bunch of kids chasing autographs in the mid to late 50s. So if a player was still alive and up and going then, he'd have been asked for an autograph. Marquard was healthy and active for years, he signed a bunch of stuff. You might look at the death dates for those guys, and figure out who died early, who stayed with us longer...

That's certainly the most important factor to consider. Other aspects include:

-Was the player a willing signer? Some players have lived into their nineties and have adamantly refused most or all requests.

-Was he physically able to sign? Age, accidents leading to paralysis and blindness can all come into play here.

-Besides the fact that many players featured in the set died at an early age, there were also many who, in that bygone era, had simply fallen off the radar. This problem continues to this day, but is practically contained as compared to back then.

Many players from this era were featured in a "Where Are They Now?"-type of column in The Sporting News for several years. These articles would often list players' hometowns, if not their entire mailing address. This explains the availability of certain obscure players' signatures. I doubt that too many people would have thought to write to a Lou Fiene-caliber player otherwise.

[milkit1]

wonders if anyone has autographs of:
Simon Nichols
Doc Powers
Dan McGann

[T206Collector]

"Many players from this era were featured in a 'Where Are They Now?'-type of column in The Sporting News for several years. These articles would often list players' hometowns, if not their entire mailing address. This explains the availability of certain obscure players' signatures. I doubt that too many people would have thought to write to a Lou Fiene-caliber player otherwise."

Thanks! I always wondered why someone thought to get Mr. Fiene's signature on these T206 cards. Known as “Big Finn,” Fiene had a very short career as a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, from 1906-1909. Having recorded just 26 games and 138.0 innings pitched over his brief Major League career, Fiene was out of Major League Baseball before his 25th birthday. He played his final game on August 15, 1909. Given the brevity of his career, it is surprising that the manufacturers of T206 cards decided to include two poses of Fiene. While that remains somewhat of a mystery, at least now I understand why someone bothered to send those cards to him for his signature!

For anyone that is interested, my website (link in my signature below) identifies every signed T206 card I have ever seen or credibly learned about, with scans wherever possible (I only post the best example of each player's pose if multiples are known). There is also a brief article I wrote about the last two survivors of T206 -- Livingston and Marquard. The article identifies the following list of last known survivors. Of this list, I have never seen Pattee, Jordan or Shaw, probably due to the relative scarcity of their cards. Otherwise, I own every one of these last 13 aside from Donie Bush, of which several examples are known to exist. Certainly their long lives were the primary reason their T206 cards are available with signature.

Harry Pattee (07-17-1971)
Chief Meyers (07-25-1971)
Zach Wheat (03-11-1972)
Donie Bush (03-28-1972)
Davy Jones (03-30-1972)
Fred Parent (11-02-1972)
Dutch Jordan (12-23-1972)
George McBride (07-2-1973)
Larry Doyle (03-01-1974)
Fred Snodgrass (04-05-1974)
Al Shaw (12-30-1974)
Paddy Livingston (09-19-1977)
Rube Marquard (06-1-1980)

With respect to the actual question posed by this thread, the signatures identified are extremely easy to find and to me are not worth much of an investment. As obsessed with T206 signatures as I am, I get daily reminders of how prevalent these players' signatures are on media other than T206. A few new Wheat and Marquard signed things show up on ebay just about every day. Those who appeared in Glory of Their Times had a financial incentive to distribute the promotional cards and often did so with signature attached at events like Hall of Fame weekends year after year for a dozen or more years. I think non-card T206 signatures are a cool genre to collect, and I think the signatures identified would be a really great place to start. But the value of them is anywhere from $10-$75, depending, I would say. I would never pay more for Marquard or Wheat's signature on anything but a pre-1917 issued card. But that's just me...