Not all signatures are equal

You just got your favourite athlete to sign his trading card (amazing!) but, did its value increase?

Well, there are certain things that an appraiser will look at to decide on its current FMV (appraiser lingo for Fair Market Value).

First, what did that athlete sign? Was it a card, piece of equipment (bat, ball, etc.), jersey, photograph?

Some collectors only purchase signed game-used items, while others only collect trading cards. Although autographed photographs may look great on your office wall, they generally don't new-exhibition-announced-animals-as-trees-and-humans-as-animalshold the same value as a signature on a tangible object.

Many collectors won't purchase anything signed unless they can prove that the signature is legitimate. This will help in establishing (and here is another appraiser word) PROVENANCE. The Oxford Dictionary's definition to provenance is "a record of ownership of a work of art or an antique, used as a guide to authenticity or quality". To uncomplicate it, can you proof that it is authentic? This is the #1 factor when evaluating autographs!

If your item didn't come with a COA (Certificate of Authenticity) or LOA (Letter of Authenticity), it might be a copy, or worse yet, the dreaded F word! FAKE. It is well worth the investment to have your collectibles authenticated, as this alone will likely increase the value of your item. There are many companies which specialize in this service so do your homework first before sending your object off.

Lastly, the QUALITY of the signature can not be ignored. Was the athlete rushed when they signed the item? Is it legible? Did they use a pen, marker, sharpie to sign? If they used a think sharpie, the signature would likely look crowded and hard to read. It is easy to find, for example, a Mark Messier signed item but, did he accidentally smudge it after he autographed it? If a better signature is available in the market, your items value will greatly decrease.

A qualified appraiser will look at all of these factors to help correctly identify the value of your treasured memorabilia.