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PhotoSportsMemories.com is dedicated to provide every Sports Memorabilia enthusiast the latest news, information, reviews of the all types of Vintage Sports Memorabilia. Online since 2007, we have the best to offer with all the webs best Vintage Sports Memorabilia! Here is some information on Sports Memorabilia you may or may not know. Enjoy our site!
History of Sports Memorabilia
THE HISTORY OF SPORTS MEMORABILIA
The other day I was cataloguing three boxes of Baseball Cards for a friend of mine and I began to think about how this entire card collecting and sports memorabilia phenomenon began. If you are a closet fan (as I am) of shows on television that travel from city to city checking out and pricing antiques for the general public, you'd be aware of the fact that often sports memorabilia is brought to the shows for assessment. So this tells me that a lot of people out there have sports memorabilia that they consider to be antiques, so collecting of sports memorabilia has been around for a long time.
WHEN DID SPORTS MEMORABILIA COLLECTING BEGIN?
If it's true that nothing says USA like baseball does, then it's natural that sports memorabilia collecting in this country began with a connection to the American pastime of baseball. Tobacco Companies introduced baseball cards to Americans in the late 1800's in an attempt to sell their products. When I was younger I had always thought that the Bubble Gum Companies such as Topps first introduced baseball cards, but bubble gum baseball cards were really a product of the fifties and sixties.
These days Tobacco Companies are finding it next to impossible to have their names advertised any where near sports and sporting events, but in the late 1800's and early 1900's, cigarette and cigar smoking was the norm. The Goodwin Company of New York put out the first real numbered collection of baseball cards in the 1870's. The American Tobacco Company produced the most famous and therefore, today, the most valuable baseball card, the Honus Wagner T206 in 1909. It has been estimated that only around fifty of these cards exist today. Wagner was said to be not happy having his name connected to tobacco sales and production of his card was therefore limited. In the early 1900's baseball card collecting began in earnest and spawned the hobby and business of sports memorabilia collecting, as we know it today.
Tobacco Companies continued to produce baseball cards through to the 1920's and in the 1930's Bubble Gum Companies began putting collection cards in their packages in an attempt to increase sales of their product. These sales were halted during the Second World War and in the 1950's production began again with the first color photograph cards being offered. Baseball card production continues to this day in a highly competitive business although no longer are card sales inter-connected to sales of gum.
IT'S NOT JUST A HOBBY
Of course, sports memorabilia collecting today has gone well beyond just the hobby of the collecting of baseball cards and today it is a full fledged industry on it's own accord. Collectors today are not only sports buffs; they are also interested in the investment aspect of their collections. Probably the most famous of all baseball memorabilia collectors, Barry Halper who recently passed away at the age of sixty-six at one time owned over 80,000 baseball related items. He began his lifetime of collecting at the age of eight and collected over thirty thousand baseball cards along with many signed baseballs and other assorted baseball memorabilia. Around twenty percent of his collection is now displayed at the Baseball Hall of Fame with the balance having been sold at auction for approximately twenty-two million dollars after Halper found himself in failing health.
How to Determine the Value of Sports Memorabilia
Perhaps the most important factor in determining the value of sports memorabilia is the athlete or the sportsman. If you have a real popular and well-known sports hero's merchandise with his name on it the value may be more. A name like Tiger Woods for an example would increase the value of sports memorabilia overnight. In fact the value of sports memorabilia in the area of golf has increased tremendously since Tiger Woods has been on the circuit.
There have been many other athletes who have made and left their mark on a particular sport. But even with that popularity marketers use their skills and know-how to create something for everyone even if it's no more than a keychain. When a person is in the headlines every day or every week in newspapers and magazines on TV and the Internet you naturally desire some kind of bonding with that person. After all every one has the insatiable need to be connected to something. All across the country there are sports clubs and organizations that engage in various kinds of activities that will enhance the value of sports memorabilia. Another factor you have to take into consideration when you think of the value of sports memorabilia is the availability. Supply and demand factors into the value of sports memorabilia.
But what ever reason the value is more when there are not very many. If you see an abundance of mementos such as flags, caps, buttons, signature sunglasses and so on the price is cheaper. The value in these items comes when you keep them for long periods of time and there are very few in circulation. These are the kinds of things that auctioned off as fundraisers and promotions in years to come. Take into consideration also the popularity of the sport. Research has shown that football, basketball, Stock Car racing and golf are the most popular sports. This is not to say that the other sports are not popular and well attended in season. But when you think in terms of the value of sports memorabilia you have to consider how the general public feels about the sport. Each sport has its own history.
In other words some sports have been around longer than others. There are sports like skiing and other winter sports that are more territorial than widely known. Unless one moves from a winter sports area there may be little or no interest in winter sports memorabilia. So when you think in terms of the value of sports memorabilia you have to consider all facets of the particular sport. There are very few people who show enthusiasm for every sport. So the value is highly dependent upon the sport, the athlete, the availability, the supply and demand and where the item is located. Once you have factor in all of these variables the value can be determined based on the interests of the person.
Also if you are buying sports memorabilia as an investment the value may be different from a person who is in retail and plans to sell immediately. So actually you are in a better position to determine the value of sports memorabilia to you, based on your need and purpose.
Types Of Sports Collectibles And Memorabilia
Most memorabilia for sporting events is based on professional sports, but there are other types of sports collectibles and memorabilia that are collectible too. Baseball collectors might become interested in collecting by creating a collection of photographs while they are actively involved in baseball during their high school years. The transition to collecting baseball cards that exhibit professional baseball players will be an easy one, because most boys will collect a baseball card when they attend their first professional baseball game.
A change could occur in the types of sports collectibles and memorabilia a boy prefers, as he grows older. While attending baseball games with family and friends, there will be plenty of time for friends to share what their collecting interests are. Some friends might prefer to collect National Football gear and specifically focus their collecting interests on the football collectibles that bear an autograph or abbreviated signature. These collectibles are the types that increase in value over many years.
Some collectibles and sports oriented memorabilia will come with certificates of authentication. This type of collectible is usually released by a sports organization and is a true representation of the uniforms and uniform accessories that are worn on the playing field during each professional sports event. These certificates are genuine proof that the collectible is a valuable item and some collectors will not invest money in collectibles if they do not come with a certificate of authenticity.
Memorabilia such as photographs could have been taken by anyone at anytime. This includes fans, professional photographers or by a studio representative that were hired by the sports league to produce group photographs of every team in a league. This type of memorabilia is hard to authenticate but can be used by novice collectors to gain autographs from players at sporting events. The success rate for fans to get the chance to have a player sign such a photograph are rare opportunities, which is why they are considered to be such collectible items by fans.
The types of sports collectibles and memorabilia could be classified under indoor or outdoor sports interests, but a seasoned collector will know immediately to search both areas when they visit an outdoor flea market. Some uniform items could be memorabilia that has been placed behind glass to protect it, and the collector might have to review shadow boxes in a corner, or glass top cases that are incorporated into the top of a coffee table. A seasoned collector will also know to look at various walls in a sports collector's shop because collectibles come in all shapes and sizes
Due to the size of some sports collectibles, it may be necessary for fans and sports enthusiasts to look in a field or a barn to find the collectibles they want to own. Many sports stadiums have retired goal posts, bases and yardage markers from Bowl games held many years before. This type of sports collectible is one of a kind and hard to find and storing these items might require facilities that are out of the ordinary.
Some sports collectibles have been auctioned by sportsmen by mistake and were returned to the original owner many years later. These instances have served to show others that collecting memorabilia still has some sentimental values attached to it that no fan in good conscience could ever take away from the person who made it collectible in the first place. Fans know that these items or others like it will find their way to the sports hall of fame where millions of people can enjoy them.
Baseball Cards Make Great Collectibles
For more than a hundred years, baseball cards have been an inimitable part of the American society. These cards have made progress in the last ten years, to provide to the collector, the opportunity to see the pictures as well as the statistics of their favorite players.
Quite a number of collectors would get tired of collecting the conventional baseball card layout and as such the manufacturing companies of these cards had to discover something in order to increase the sale of their cards. These companies have found that something by adding a number of improvements to the cards. A variety of rare cards are offered by these companies as they have discovered that the buyers often go after rare and extraordinary cards. Let us take an example. A number of methods have been adopted by Topps, the leading company of the cards, to attract the buyers. In the most recent set of cards by Topps, some of these sets include the signatures of many players so that when you buy the cards you may have the chance to get the autographed cards.
Baseball cards are so much in demand now because of all the above stared prospects. Nowadays, specialized memorabilia cards are available in limited prints. Moreover, these cards are quite expensive also. There are certain extraordinary cards of the finest players which are sold hundreds of dollars. Furthermore, it is not obligatory that game-used memorabilia cards have to come from the players who played at the time when these cards were produced.
Other great sports collectibles include helmets, banners, snow globes, waste baskets, and wall clocks. To see a variety of these items, please visit our online store at: http://www.sports-collectibles-store.com/NFL_Tire_Covers-p-1-c-19.html. Sports memorabilia is fun to collect, but it is also great to give as a gift. Whether it be for the holidays or a special birthday, sports collectibles are perfect!
