Thoughts on value of autographed cards of players who didn't sign much, but now sign frequently

rickeyfanatic · Dec 11, 2013

In my case, I'm talking about Rickey Henderson. He didn't have an autograph release until 2002, and had scarce auto's from 2003-2007. In the last 2.5 years, he has been signing many more items, and I have seen the prices of new releases start to come down in value.
I don't know how it effects the older signatures, as they don't come up quite as frequently.

Have you seen this trend for any other players you may collect? How has if effected their overall values from early to later years?

Mighty Bombjack · Dec 11, 2013

I think Koufax would certainly fit into this category. His first on-card autos from Topps sold huge, but prices have starting leveling off as he is put on more and more checklists.

smapdi · Dec 11, 2013

Sure. If all people want is "an autograph" then prices drop as supply increases. For non-completist collectors, general fans, type collectors (team, HOF, etc.), a random autograph is usually sufficient. For specific sets, of course, prices can remain crazy forever.

Pinbreaker · Dec 11, 2013

Some auto's of early cards hold values more then you think..

Look at what a Ripken auto can get you now.. especially on a card numbered /250.. Maybe $75 to $80..

Now look back and what does an auto of Ripken that was numbered to 10,000 get. (1993 Elite) They still command $150+..

I actually pulled a Henderson auto out of a Donruss product and I think I sold it for $600.. I would probably only get maybe $250 for that same auto today..

AmishDave · Dec 11, 2013

I seem to see more and more Edgar Martinez auto's, where he use to be a very infrequent signer.

gracecollector · Dec 11, 2013

Mark Grace was an exclusive Donruss/Leaf/Playoff signer, and didn't sign much through 2003. He was a fan favorite and his early autos were very expensive. After 2003, he signed more frequently and was in UD and Topps products, and the price dropped significantly, even for older releases. Kind of the same arc as Edgar Martinez.

Ichiro will be experiencing this effect soon.

rickeyfanatic · Dec 11, 2013

I feel like some of the tougher pulls from the mid 2000's will still hold the value, but most of the newer releases are trending much lower. While the variety is surely better for his autographs these days, I am hoping the availability doesn't drive all of the values lower.

Leaf · Dec 11, 2013

gracecollector said:
Mark Grace was an exclusive Donruss/Leaf/Playoff signer, and didn't sign much through 2003. He was a fan favorite and his early autos were very expensive. After 2003, he signed more frequently and was in UD and Topps products, and the price dropped significantly, even for older releases. Kind of the same arc as Edgar Martinez.

Ichiro will be experiencing this effect soon.

I'll bet against this one...

Ichiro is different than virtually any example ever seen.. You will be seeing less and less Ichiros in product in future I think... BG

Yanks2151 · Dec 11, 2013

One player of mine that stuck out when I read this topic was Bernie Williams. His auto hit was tough to get however his auto seems to be common in this Panini product.

Paul O'neill autos were in a lot of product during his playing years and shortly after. 2004 he had a ton of tough autos and then went cold for a few years. 2011, '12 & '13 his auto was in just about every product that Topps produced. The higher numbered stuff/higher produced you can pick up for under $10. This was unheard of when I started player collecting him in the '90s.

Lastly, a player from the same team as the above two players mentioned did not have that many autos produced while playing and retired (so far) is Jorge Posada. His autos bring a pretty high price IMO for the type of player he was. Wouldn't mind picking a couple more Certs of his for the PC.

mmier118 · Dec 11, 2013

I'm wondering if Greg Maddux will be experiencing this soon as well

jbhofmann · Dec 11, 2013

Bill Russell (basketball) was a very shrewd signer until maybe 10 years ago. Something changed in him and now he's even in Topps 5 Star baseball.

gt2590 · Dec 11, 2013

Didn't McGwire just sign a deal with Topps to do some auto'd cards?

And Bill Russell and Barry Sanders also come to mind. Heck, Russell wouldn't sign for teammates...

Austin · Dec 11, 2013

Part of the reason the price of the autographs is getting lower, in addition to more signatures, is because they're now on unlicensed cards, like Panini and Leaf.
Many collectors, like me, don't want autographs on cards with airbrushed photos because they look bad, so we either pay less, or don't buy them at all.

I'd gladly pay much more for a 2004 Fleer Rickey Henderson autograph than any current non-licensed Rickey autograph. In fact, I won't even buy unlicensed cards because I don't like how they look.
I'm not a completionist player collector, so I buy and collect what looks aestetically pleasing, and I think blank airbrushed hats and uniforms look terrible.

So the supply may be greater, but the demand necessarily is not.

EDGARMARTINEZcollector · Dec 11, 2013

55_marlins_sp said:
I seem to see more and more Edgar Martinez auto's, where he use to be a very infrequent signer.

Definitely true, although I don't think it's affected price in Edgar's case too much...his autos still command pretty good prices IMO.

BiggioBrooks755 · Dec 11, 2013

Austin said:
Part of the reason the price of the autographs is getting lower, in addition to more signatures, is because they're now on unlicensed cards, like Panini and Leaf.
Many collectors, like me, don't want autographs on cards with airbrushed photos because they look bad, so we either pay less, or don't buy them at all.

I'd gladly pay much more for a 2004 Fleer Rickey Henderson autograph than any current non-licensed Rickey autograph. In fact, I won't even buy unlicensed cards because I don't like how they look.
I'm not a completionist player collector, so I buy and collect what looks aestetically pleasing, and I think blank airbrushed hats and uniforms look terrible.

So the supply may be greater, but the demand necessarily is not.

Thank you for agreeing with me. I have one incoming because I need it for my Biggio PC,but it does look terrible....

pootshwan · Dec 11, 2013

mrmopar · Dec 11, 2013

And then there is Mike Marshall! Looks like he's relaxed the signing habits a bit lately, though not sure demand is great enough at those rates. Chris potter got him to sign a bunch and they sit in his store unsold at $180 or so, down from the previously ridiculous $250 + range.

I would like to get Marshall on several Topps cards (mainly the Dodger issues and a few other great action shots like 77T, but won't pay anywhere close to those prices ever.

Austin · Dec 12, 2013

mrmopar said:
And then there is Mike Marshall! Looks like he's relaxed the signing habits a bit lately, though not sure demand is great enough at those rates. Chris potter got him to sign a bunch and they sit in his store unsold at $180 or so, down from the previously ridiculous $250 + range.

I would like to get Marshall on several Topps cards (mainly the Dodger issues and a few other great action shots like 77T, but won't pay anywhere close to those prices ever.

Marshall also signed for Upper Deck in the 2004 Sweet Spot set.
I guess when Marshall needed money, he relaxed his life-long policy of not signing autographs, even for children.

rsmath · Dec 12, 2013

Leaf said:
Ichiro is different than virtually any example ever seen.. You will be seeing less and less Ichiros in product in future I think... BG

On trading cards, I'll concur that there may be fewer Ichiro autos. Ichiro will stop inking new or renewal trading card contracts and place his sig on steiner non-trading card memorabilia.

steve2112 · Dec 12, 2013

I ended up picking up a Mike Marshall 8x10 from Main Line, after they'd bought out a bunch of Potter's stock, a couple years ago for $150. Figured I wouldn't see anything lower than that anytime soon. I'm not sure why I'm intrigued by tough signers, but I am. I guess I want to understand the reasons behind each one's stance. At least with Bill Russell, his reasoning was supposedly that personal interaction, handshake, or conversation should be considered much more meaningful than quickly scribbling a name on something. Those guys I think I can respect much more than guys who don't sign because they have blanket assumptions about everybody being dealers.

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