Memorabilia in Auctions WEAK

rholmes · #1 03-16-2021, 10:32 AM

As a tangent to this discussion, does anyone think the hot card market is softening prices on memorabilia, diverting funds from memorabilia to cards? Or is the divide between card and memorabilia collectors so great that the current market doesn't matter?

If you have higher end pre-war memorabilia you're thinking of consigning, are you holding until cards cool off, or are you selling while the money is flowing freely?

And, by the way, if anyone wants to answer: Is the market for rarer pre-war World Series programs ($10k range) usually strong/predictable, or is it prone to fluctuation based on small bidder pool etc?

Al C.risafulli · #2 03-16-2021, 11:16 AM

My opinion: the memorabilia and card markets are typically not tied to one another in any way other than "a rising tide lifts all boats."

I tend to think of a Venn diagram, with card people in one circle, autograph people in another circle, game worn in another, and memorabilia in a fourth - there are places they intersect, and certainly people who collect all four, but I don't think a run-up in one area negatively impacts prices in the other.

I wouldn't hesitate to run high-end memorabilia in an auction during a time when card prices were strong, and vice-versa.

-Al

jgmp123 · #3 03-16-2021, 11:39 AM

Love this post...I honestly thought I was alone in my thinking of this....My Want/Need list is pretty small at the moment (1920 and 1920 World Series Ticket Stubs)..but they were coming up in at least one auction regularly, but now I can't find them anywhere. Ebay has a couple at outlandish prices, but that's it.....Just crazy to see what is happening in the modern card market as well....

perezfan · #4 03-16-2021, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al C.risafulli

My opinion: the memorabilia and card markets are typically not tied to one another in any way other than "a rising tide lifts all boats."

I tend to think of a Venn diagram, with card people in one circle, autograph people in another circle, game worn in another, and memorabilia in a fourth - there are places they intersect, and certainly people who collect all four, but I don't think a run-up in one area negatively impacts prices in the other.

I wouldn't hesitate to run high-end memorabilia in an auction during a time when card prices were strong, and vice-versa.

-Al

I agree with Al, and do collect all 4 of those categories. I have no discipline, I suppose. But I do not believe the dramatic spike in card prices indicates a negative for memorabilia at all. If anything, some card collectors who now get priced out, may turn to certain forms of memorabilia as an alternative. As Al eloquently stated... a rising tide lifts all boats.

I'll cite one example... A lot of the cards on my want-list are now out of sight. I can't justify the prices when I know this is a seller's market and not an ideal time to buy. So I turned to Original Type 1 Photos, used to create the 1955 and 1956 Topps cards. These are crystal clear images taken by esteemed photographer William Jacobellis.

I've focused on my favorite team (the Reds), and have recently acquired Gus Bell, Joe Nuxhall, Johnny Temple, Rudy Minarcin, Smoky Burgess and Al Silvera. It's really exciting when you can find the original images used for both the portrait and the action shots that appear on these wonderful horizontal cards. And it's even cooler to display the cards alongside these amazing photos.

Snapolit1 · #5 03-16-2021, 01:09 PM

I'd probably put photos in a fifth circle. Seems to be universe removed from general memorabilia.

Speaking of cool memorabilia, Al this is an awesome piece.

https://loveofthegameauctions.com/Lo...entoryid=23409

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al C.risafulli

My opinion: the memorabilia and card markets are typically not tied to one another in any way other than "a rising tide lifts all boats."

I tend to think of a Venn diagram, with card people in one circle, autograph people in another circle, game worn in another, and memorabilia in a fourth - there are places they intersect, and certainly people who collect all four, but I don't think a run-up in one area negatively impacts prices in the other.

I wouldn't hesitate to run high-end memorabilia in an auction during a time when card prices were strong, and vice-versa.

-Al

RedsFan1941 · #6 03-16-2021, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Speaking of cool memorabilia, Al this is an awesome piece.

https://loveofthegameauctions.com/Lo...entoryid=23409

good eye, not a fantasy piece.

Al C.risafulli · #7 03-17-2021, 12:09 PM

Interesting comment on that piece, Steve. We sold it once before, back in 2018. The winning bidder misplaced the LOA, and so when we reached out to JSA for a replacement, we were advised that most of the bigger name signatures on it were questionable. We've just withdrawn it.

We don't sell signed pieces without a reputable LOA - either from JSA, PSA/DNA, or occasionally Beckett - and the original consignor of the piece wouldn't have given it to us without one, either. However, Jimmy has no recollection of having ever seen it before, so the LOA must have come from someone else.

All that being said, we'll be refunding the consignor (who won it from us several years ago) for his purchase.

-Al

Snapolit1 · #8 03-17-2021, 12:16 PM

Yikes, I feel responsible for that ..... like I put the kiss of death on it. . . .

QUOTE=Al C.risafulli;2082239]Interesting comment on that piece, Steve. We sold it once before, back in 2018. The winning bidder misplaced the LOA, and so when we reached out to JSA for a replacement, we were advised that most of the bigger name signatures on it were questionable. We've just withdrawn it.

We don't sell signed pieces without a reputable LOA - either from JSA, PSA/DNA, or occasionally Beckett - and the original consignor of the piece wouldn't have given it to us without one, either. However, Jimmy has no recollection of having ever seen it before.

All that being said, we'll be refunding the consignor (who won it from us several years ago) for his purchase.

-Al[/QUOTE]

drcy · #9 03-17-2021, 12:27 PM

Sweet Caporal pins, Armor Coins, Tobacco silks and leathers, Police Gazette premiums etc. are more likely to be collected by baseball card than memorabilia collectors and, obviously, they aren't cards. They fall into the "trading card genre."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al C.risafulli

My opinion: the memorabilia and card markets are typically not tied to one another in any way other than "a rising tide lifts all boats."

I tend to think of a Venn diagram, with card people in one circle, autograph people in another circle, game worn in another, and memorabilia in a fourth - there are places they intersect, and certainly people who collect all four, but I don't think a run-up in one area negatively impacts prices in the other.

I wouldn't hesitate to run high-end memorabilia in an auction during a time when card prices were strong, and vice-versa.

-Al

Al C.risafulli · #10 03-17-2021, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Yikes, I feel responsible for that ..... like I put the kiss of death on it.

Nah, Jimmy called me about it today. I had asked him to replace the missing LOA and when he reviewed the piece he wasn't comfortable with it. Because the LOA is missing, I don't know if JSA had initially authenticated the piece and changed their mind (not very likely), or if it was originally a typo on my part (i.e. I wrote "JSA" instead of PSA/DNA or GAI or whatever - much more likely). Regardless, it's withdrawn!

-Al

Exhibitman · #11 03-18-2021, 06:36 PM

Well if cards are way up I am going to sell into a price run-up and hold the items that haven't appreciated.

Topnotchsy · #12 03-20-2021, 10:13 PM

I imagine that many of the auction houses (LOTG excluded based on the above posts) are not chasing memorabilia as much at this point.

Cards are incredibly easy for them to list. For most cards getting attention these days, they are well-known cards, already graded (or submitted by the auction house) etc. It takes no time or work to research, they ship easily and inexpensively etc.

With prices going up like crazy, I don't imagine that auction houses are looking to chase down unique memorabilia pieces that are harder to find, harder to ship, harder to research and harder to photo. Especially since pricing on the hotter cards has blown pricing of memorabilia out of the water.

bigfanNY · #13 03-23-2021, 05:26 AM

There are two sides of this. I collect programs / scorecards and prices seem soft so definitely not looking to sell. But in the past year I purchased 1904 and 1905 NY Giants scorecards at less than half of what they sd for 2 or 3 years ago. I was underbidder on similar items 3 or 4 times. So happy to buy when the opportunity presents itself. Below is the 1905 example I picked up this month.

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