Autographs - Record

[Huck]

On June 23,1991, the move toward the dark side of the hobby started when Willie Stargell was scheduled to appear for $9.00 at the Tysons Corner Monthly show. After I started accumulating a few autographs, I realized that I needed a way to keep track of the autographs. A spreadsheet was born, which recorded the players name, date of autograph, location, cost, item signed, and inscription (if any). Over the years, a few additional fields were added. One such field I titled verification/provenance. I check this column if I have a the ticket stub, flier, receipt, newspaper clippings of the event, SCD, Tuff-Stuff, Beckett ads, heck in some cases even toll booth receipts to help prove that I was there or the event actually took place.

Do any of you autograph collectors out there do anything similar?

[baseball tourist]

Sounds very efficient Dean and worthwhile! I have trouble even protecting my autographs when I store them let alone cataloging them. I do try to keep tickets, documents from the signings/games along with photos to help my recall the origin of the signature and help during any trade or sale.

[mattjc1983]

Yep, just started this myself actually. I'm documenting any information I have on the autograph (including purchase details if bought secondhand) and taking pictures of it and anything else that goes with it (like holograms, certs, etc.)

Doing this to ensure the next generation that all of it is authentic, but also for insurance purposes.


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[egri]

I have an excel file for my project that has the date of purchase (or TTM), price and any other notes. I also saved all my SASEs from my TTM returns.

[Huck]

Originally Posted by mattjc1983

Yep, just started this myself actually. I'm documenting any information I have on the autograph (including purchase details if bought secondhand) and taking pictures of it and anything else that goes with it (like holograms, certs, etc.)

Doing this to ensure the next generation that all of it is authentic, but also for insurance purposes.


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I started taking pictures of each item, then stopped only to start again and then stopped. I really need to get a picture of each item.

It is good to hear that others document their collection. I was hoping that other collectors could help me fill in a few holes in my documentation. One example, on February 20, 1994, Lou Brock appeared at the Tysons Monthly Show Westpark Hotel, but I don't know how much I paid for his autograph.
Another example, Andre Dawson, $18 in Pikesville, MD at the Box Seat Productions Pikesville Armory 610 Reisterstown Road. I don't remember the date. I know it was in the 90's.

[tazdmb]

I still have all my old becketts and love going through them to see who appeared where and for how much.

[HexsHeroes]

I, too, keep a spreadsheet of my purchases. One worksheet is a purchase log (grouped by calendar year), noting signers name, dealer/vendor purchased from, location and date of purchase, price, brief description of item, and details such as eBay item number/autograph list identifier, etc. A second worksheet groups the autographs into subsets, such as vintage Detroit Tigers ballplayers, executives/managers/coaches/other, non-Detroit Tigers, team sheets, team signed baseballs, album pages, and a couple of non-sport autograph areas. I also include a section of the vintage Detroit Tigers autographs that I do not have, and when possible, include historical pricing information (including vendor/price/date) should I ever encounter another example and have the means to purchase.

I also try to keep digital photographs of all items in my collection. Was initially done for the purpose of seeking insurance coverage. But also to aid in selling my collection if/when that time comes. Several years ago, I reached out to afew dealers regarding how collectors arrange for the dealer to view their collection and get an offer to sell. Nearly all of the dealers responded by stating that they ask the collector to send them the collection, and they will review and make an offer. Since my collection fills four or five storage tub-size containers, and since I am not willing to ship due to both cost and my perceived potential of loss in transit, I felt it might be better to provide potential dealers with a CD/DVD of all collection images. Then the dealer can decide whether the collection merits a personal visit. The CD/DVD of images would also allow the potential dealer to see exactly what they are being offered, and allow them to determine and offer an appropriate purchase price before having to travel to visit me. It may not work that way in the real world, but I think it might help facilitate a sale under the right circumstances, when the time to sell comes along.

[stewbacca]

I have two things that I get autographed. A topps 1974 set and a topps 40 years of baseball book. I keep a spreadsheet for both with dates, places, cost of autograph, how obtained. For the book, I also have a binder that holds the flyer, ticket or story of every autograph in the book. It has nearly 700 autographs in it and the accompanying binder is huge. If these things get handed down or sold, the new owner has a play by play of each autograph.

Paul