1. Unbelievable items
reside in personal collections.You can
own things you never thought existed, and certainly never expected to be
outside of a sport's Hall of Fame.
Items sold privately and at auction over the past few years include:
Babe Ruth'sgame used 1932 World Series Yankees
uniform worn during his Called Shot, the bat from his first home run at Yankee
Stadium in 1923, and the contract from his sale to the New York Yankees
Mickey Mantle's game
worn 1956 Yankees uniform, personal World Series rings, and even his Triple
Crown award
Julius "Dr. J" Erving's
jersey worn for his famous dunk from the foul line during the 1976 Slam Dunk
Contest
Tiger Woods's famous
Sunday red Nike golf shirt from the 2006 Masters golf tournament, used and autographed by Woods
Pristine single-signed
baseballs from Ruth, Gehrig, Cobb, and nearly every other player imaginable
Incredible team-signed
baseballs from teams like the 1927 New York Yankees and the 1955 Brooklyn
Dodgers
and many more...
2. At the same time, plenty of desirable rarities are available
at all price levels.
These include:
Single-signed and
team-signed photos, balls, bats, jerseys, and other autographed items
Game used uniforms and
equipment
Programs, rings, trophies, and other types of memorabilia
3. Sports memorabilia is
consistently a good investment, as collector demand continues to outstrip the
supply of quality authentic items.
At the high end, the
finest known 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner card has sold for $451,000 in 1991,
$640,000 in 1996, $1.265 million in 2000, $2.35 million in early 2007, and $2.8
million in the fall of 2007
At the low end, Mickey
Mantle autographed baseballs with trusted letters of authenticity have consistently risen by double-digit percentages
year after year, often selling for $750-$1000+ today compared to $300-$500 only a few
years ago.
The unique nature of the collectibles we sell makes it virtually impossible to present the historical financial performance of sports memorabilia as a simple S&P 500-type index. However, please feel free to contact us via email or phone to discuss the investment potential of sports memorabilia in greater detail. We would be happy to help you build a collection with an eye toward investment performance, informed by our experience as well as historical auction data.
4. Unlike other
investments, sports memorabilia is tangible and can be displayed magnificently.
You can turn your
available space into a true gallery showroom or personal Hall of Fame using
framing, deluxe cases made of cherry wood and other fine materials, replica bat
racks and lockers, and many other display methods.
5. Finally,collecting sports memorabilia is a
great hobby that allows collectors to pursue rare items while remembering
superstars and reliving significant moments from throughout their lives.
In the words of Gary Cypres, one of the world's foremost sports memorabilia collectors and the owner of a 30,000 square foot private Los Angeles museum that displays his treasures:
"I grew up in the '50s and I loved sports. As a collector, what it does is it brings you back to your childhood." (Orange County Register, 11/21/07)