An estimated 111 million
people watched the Green Bay Packers defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the XLV
Super Bowl Championship becoming the most watched program in American TV
history. However the Federation
Internationale de Football Association claims that more international
viewers tune into the World Cup match.
Regardless,
people love to watch a competitive sporting event. Sports fans show support to
a team or sports superstar in a variety of ways including purchasing event
tickets, t-shirts, hats or sports programs of their favorite team or
championship game. Thousands of people also engage in the hobby of collecting
sports memorabilia.
The sports
memorabilia market has become a big industry. Countless pieces of sports attire
and objects have been sold for significant sums particularly if the object is
rare. For example in August 2005 the Babe Ruth World
Tour uniform, the uniform worn by Ruth during an off-season tour to Japan and
other countries, sold at auction for $771,000. Sports memorabilia collectors are passionate and it only
takes two bidders to drive up the price of an object. In 1999, prior to the
steroid scandal, Mark McGuire’s 70th homerun ball sold for $3.5
million at auction.
Collecting sporting objects is not a recent phenomenon.The
sports collectibles hobby came into existence in the 1880s with the
introduction of artistic portrayals of 19th century baseball players on cards. Used
as a marketing strategy these cards were often attached to cords included in
boxes containing tobacco and candy products.
The T-206 Honus Wagner became the most
popular promotional card issued and is still considered today to be the ‘Rolls
Royce’ of all sports cards. From 1909 to 1911, a limited number of T-206 Honus
Wagner cards were insured by the American Tobacco Co. In 1991, the T-206 Honus
Wagner card was sold in a public auction for $451,000 and resold to a private
collector in 2007 for over $2 million.
By the 1950s significant production of sports cards
began when Topps®, Bazooka® bubble gum manufacturer, began producing trading
cards. Topps produced its first baseball set in 1951 but it was the 1952
set that really brought the modern sports trading card to life when cards for
Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were created.However, no sophisticated
secondary market existed until approximately 1970. By that time, sports cards
had been produced for most of the major sports. Significant interest on the
part of collectors resulted in the creation of hobby trade shows. Throughout
the decade these trade shows steadily grew in both frequency and size.
In the early 1980s, the sports collecting hobby had
grown significantly. This decade saw tremendous growth as noteworthy numbers of
people began collecting not only sports cards but a variety of sports
memorabilia. Sports collectibles
was no longer considered as a ‘kid’s hobby’.
The present day finds the industry
rapidly expanding. Estimates suggest that as many as $6 billion is spent
annually on sports collectibles. Sports collectibles have expanded to include
not only sports cards but autographed uniforms and equipment from a variety of
sporting events and individuals. Even event memorabilia such as tournament
programs or tickets to sporting events can become a collectible item.
In summary, due to the vast number
of collectors, the hobby has now become big business. Sports art, while in
existence since the introduction of the first sports card in the 1880's, has
now become increasingly popular with upscale hobby collectors. There are now
many recognized sports artists who have received national recognition and are
highly sought after by hobby collectors.
How do you find out what your
sports collectibles are worth? To determine the value of your sports memorabilia check pricing on-line
or reference guides created by publishers such as Beckett and Krause which can
be found at your local library or bookstore. Remember that the pricing guides are printed annually and
the prices for sports memorabilia can change weekly. If you have a significant
collection, a formal written appraisal may be more appropriate for insurance or
estate planning purposes.
So what is the value of a Super Bowl
ring? For Aaron Rodgers and his
team mates—Priceless.
* Colleen Boyle is an appraisal consultant for Freeman’s,
America’s oldest auction and appraisal company. She holds advanced degrees in art history and a diploma in
French fine and decorative arts from Christie’s, Paris. She has appraised art and antiques for
private collectors and corporations throughout the U.S. and regularly publishes
articles about art and antiques.
610-470-5340 (phone) cbfineart@gmail.com,www.freemansauction.com
About Colleen Boyle
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