Autographed HOF Rookie Cards???

jswieton

Do you think signed HOF rookie cards will hold their value over the next 25+ years? As many of you know there are several board members, including myself, that focus their collection around signed HOF rc's. I got back into collecting autographed HOF rc's about 3 years ago and have noticed a huge increase in sales of signed HOF rc's on eBay over the past 12 months. A board member and I were discussing whether or not our collections will hold their value over the test of time.

Back when I first started collecting auto's as a kid, it was thought to be taboo by many collectors to get a rc signed which led to the scarcity of some HOF rc's like Clemente and Stargell that passed away at a young age. Now days, it seems that the majority of cards being signed at shows are rookie cards. Will this increase in popularity eventually over saturate the market leaving most of these cards worthless like the boom and bust of the 1980's?

Yankees001

I think it depends on who it is. Older rookies cards yes. Newer cards that are mass produced 1987-Now now premium. 1980-86 probably a little.

Dave

pauldrolkees

Deceased HOFer psa/dna rc will always command values, don't know about all living HOFers I agree with you that I have seen them a lot more auto rc on ebay and most of them go unsold for a while.

justmichael

The only reasom I think they will is the price of an athletes signature is very high.I don't see the signing fees dropping anytime soon either.

VitoCo1972

As John and I have been talking about this off and on for several PMs over the months, I think we both agree that the condition of the cards is going to become more important as we go along. Not just centering but full on condition.

MBMiller25

I completely agree with your comment Mike. I think condition of the cards will have a huge impact on the value going forward. I truly believe that this practice is increasing in popularity, so demand as well as supply will only increase.

Jmhockey23

The future of the hobby is autographs. The most sought after cards of the stars today are their autographed rookie inserts. Once we get to the point where these guys are in the hall of fame, I think collectors that like to collect HOF rookies will be more attracted to the autographed version of the vintage cards. Fast forward 20 years and you'll have a lot of guys with autographed rookies in the hall, I can only imagine that vintage autographed rookies would gain popularity.

yankeeno7

Signed RCs are always going to be much more rare than a card for a set builder. There is an increasing number of autograph collectors out there. I think all eras will hold their value because there are always the more vintage guys who like heroes of the past and then there are the collectors who want guys they watched growing up.

I personally do try to get my autos on the nicest card I can afford.

Another thing I think you will see increase in value in the future are GOOD vintage signatures which means a lot of pen ink of the 60s and earlier players.

Dpeck100

I think the condition is going to be a bigger issue going forward.

It only seems logical for a nicer card with the same signature to sell for a much larger premium just like a non signed card would.

If you owned two 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie cards that were signed and one was in EX condition and the other was in Mint condition, wouldn't you want a lot more for the mint one?

Of course you would and others would be willing to pay more.

pauldrolkees

Well unlike the modern day auto rc which are mostly numbered, the HOFer IP auto rc can potentially keep growing until said player no longer sign for whatever reason.

Just imagine MJ Fleer rc or Ken Griffey UD rc, every year maybe 50 more them got signed. These guys are relatively young, they probably have at least 30-40 years of signing. I think the dilution of rarity is definitely the issue. Having nrmt or mint rc signed definitely can keep value higher, that goes without saying really. I really see some of these HOFer rc auto psa/dna keep dropping in values, except for those who have passed away or no longer does any signing.

Probstein123

HOF rookie cards will hold their value over the next 25+ years?
==> great question...
to me, it always comes down to 1 thing....is there more inventory or or more potential buyers...
in this vertical, i would think 15 years from now, that there should be more buyers than inventory , especially considering the early death rate of many NFL HOFers...

the best investment is the entire industry in my opinion is T206...

especially Rare back HOFers....

fkw

1/2 of them yes, 1/2 of them on the same par with other signed cards. no big deal

Some cards are extremely common, ie 1954T Aaron, 1955T Killebrew, Koufax, 1957T B.Roby, etc.. supply will have to NOT meet demand and the supply is getting bigger every day.... and the demand on some players will fade as their fans die off

Of the common still living players who have signed constantly/daily for 50+ years......The cards that will jump more IMO are the scarcer regional issues, ie the 1954 Johnstons Cookies Aaron instead of that Oh so common Topps cards everyone has and can still get signed. Another example would be something like the 1956 Kahns Frank Robinson (his true rookie), or the 1968 Kahns Johnny Bench, etc.

Others that will jump are the "true rookies" (not those early Bowman cards), ie the 1947 D305 Bond Bread of Ralph Kiner or Yogi Berra, or the D323 Tip Top Bread card of Berra too, or 1946 Prop Montiel Stan Musial is another great card to have signed, it will be a big cards when the collectors all go the right way and actually collect the players oldest cards as the "Rookie" instead of the common mass produced card some clown named Beckett tells them is a rookie, lol

besides the ones mentioned above, other BIG sleepers if you have/had them signed since the "craze" started a few years back...
1972 Puerto Rican Mike Schmidt and Goose Gossage
1950-51 Mejoral Dick Williams
1973 Deans Photo Service Dave Winfield
1950 V362 Big League Stars (World Wide Gum) Tom La Sorda
1951 Wheaties Mickey Mantle
1952 Parkhurst Walt Alston
1973 KC Team Issue George Brett
1947 Bklyn Team Issue Duke Snider
1978 Fam Fun Center Ozzie Smith
etc.

the rarer the "rookie" the better, supply and demand
its a bit easier to brag about your signed 1950 V362 Big League Stars (World Wide Gum) Tom La Sorda, than some common Topps card issued 4 years later some call his "rookie" that anyone can STILL get signed. try finding a V362 to get signed, that will be a good adventure on its own lol

BunchOBull

I agree that the card condition will have huge impact, but I also think period signatures will hold more value, especially for living players whose autographs changed drastically over the years.

For example, this signature won't be coming back anytime in the future:

circa summer of 1990 -



circa 2011 -

BunchOBull

Very early Thomas sig (I think my earliest) on his first card, just in.

thenavarro

That's a tremendous Thomas.