Collecting Rock Memorabilia

Apart from first pressing, limited edition vinyl records or souvenir artefacts, rock memorabilia also includes the personal or career related items of an artist or band. These are Gold and Platinum records, Acetates, awards, documents, clothing, recordings and personal property. recordings, autographs, The most highly valued and sought after items are those closely associated with the career of an artist and will have an entirely different value depending on whether they are career or personal. For example, a jacket from Paul McCartney’s personal wardrobe is not worth as much as the jacket he wore for the Abbey Road LP sleeve pedestrian crossing photograph. Naturally the most important career pieces are the most desirable, highly valued – and difficult to acquire.

• Gold & Platinum Records
• Acetates
• Awards
• Instruments
• Documents & Autographs
• Clothing
• Recordings
• Personal Property

 

GOLD & PLATINUM RECORDS

It is often wondered why Gold and Platinum records become available in the market place; in the 1960s the memorabilia market was virtually nonexistent and many artists gifted the albums to friends and family members having no idea that these items would become what they’re worth today.

It’s important to keep in perspective the number of Gold and Platinum records that are produced. On 25 October 2002 the Rolling Stones album Hot Rocks received 12 time Multi-Platinum status from the Recording Industry Association of America (the RIAA). According to the RIAA certification process, when the album sold 500,000 units each member of the band, the record company and all of the producers and engineers associated with the album received a Gold record. At 1,000,000 albums sold they would receive a Platinum record and 11 additional Platinum albums each time the album sold an additional million units.

So each person associated with just this one album received 13 framed commemorative RIAA awards for their participation. Consider the 102 albums listed for The Rolling Stones by the RIAA certification database and you can see why many of these items come to market.

The RIAA presentation records have over time but the most desirable are the earliest "white matte" albums from the 1960s. The first RIAA award was given on March 14, 1958 to Perry Como for his hit single, "Catch A Falling Star" on RCA Records). These early awards framed the Gold record with a white linen matte. The platinum album wasn’t introduced until 1976 so any pre-1976 platinum award are fakes.

With the arrival of the CD in the mid 1980s the RIAA introduced the Multi-platinum award and in 1999 they introduced the Diamond certification for the sale of 10 million plus units.

Because there have been so many variables within the RIAA records the following basic principles should be keep in mind when collecting: the early white mattes are the most desirable - if they can be obtained. Records presented directly to artists are worth more than those presented to record companies and engineers; records presented for an artist’s most well known or critically acclaimed works are worth the most

ACETATES

Before the arrival of digital media acetates were pressed for artists and those involved with an album prior to making test pressings for the LP. Produced only in very small quantities, acetates are created in metal or heavy lacquer and are the last version an artist would hear and sign off as approved before making any last minute changes to an album. Because of this they often contain variations and alternate versions un-released to the public.

AWARDS

There are so many types of awards that the first things to consider when assessing the value is who it from and to, and what is the award. A key presented to The Beatles from the City of Liverpool would have more significance than a key presented to Paul Simon from the city of Wise, West Virginia. The more respected and widely know the institution giving the award the better as well as awards given to an artist celebrating their most well remembered work have the most value.

INSTRUMENTS

Guitars are by far the most collected of instruments and the world record holder is Eric Clapton's guitar "Blackie" which sold for $959,000. But the category of musical instruments includes harmonicas, pianos, signed drum heads, drum sticks, and other instrument related equipment.  A violin bow and coil of fibre optic cable used by Jimmy Page with Led Zeppelin on stage at Knebworth in 1979 was sold in autumn 2005 for $4,200.

When appraising guitars is important to determine their intrinsic value in so much as how much would it cost to the guitar from a retail store if it were not connected to anyone famous? 1959 Gibson Les Paul guitars, with no connection to a celebrity sell for over $100,000 in today’s vintage guitar market. At the other end of the spectrum it has become very popular for dealers to buy brand new foreign made guitars worth no more than $300-$500 and have them signed by famous musicians so these should be considered more as glorified autographs as the guitars don’t have much value on their own. The majority of signed guitars have never been owned or played by the artists who sign them.

Of course the instruments that have been personally owned and played by an artist are the most sought after and the more recognizable and heavily used, the more value the guitar will have. Instruments used on stage and/or in recording sessions during the height of an artist's career have the most value, so photographs are a key element in determining the authenticity of the item. So it is important to establish if the item was owned and used by the artist or simply signed, as this greatly affects the value.

DOCUMENTS & AUTOGRAPHS

There are a plethora of documents on the market today which include anything from handwritten song lyrics to postcards, sketches or even grocery lists. Generally speaking it is the documents relating directly to an artist’s career have more value than personal documents however there are exceptions such as the ‘doodles’ drawn informally by John Lennon.  

Legal documents derive their value more importantly from the content of the document as well as the artist's signature. Whilst it may be common to find a contract between an artist and a concert venue, The Beatles contract with Shea Stadium for their first U.S. concert would have a great deal of value as only four copies are known to exist.

The most commonly miss-identified Rock & Roll document is The Who's original contract from Woodstock.

Released in 1970, The Who Live at Leeds was purposely designed to look like a bootleg album and included facsimile copies of a number of important early documents which lead a lot of people to believe that they have stumbled upon a rare and valuable item. 

Lyrics have attained some of the highest records in rock & roll memorabilia auctions. It should be stressed how important it is to make a clear distinction between signed lyrics, written lyrics and "working" lyrics. The most valuable are the genuine working lyrics which show the creative process and often include notes, crossed out text and re-writes. Many of these will have been taken into the studio while recording a song and can include musical annotations.

Often, after a song has become popular, friends and fans may ask the artist to write out the lyrics of a song in their hand. These can be identified as they will appear very clean and are sometimes just a few verses of the song rather than the entire song. Printed copies of the lyrics signed by the artist offer the least value. John Lennon's handwritten working lyrics for "A Day in the Life" sold for $1.2m at auction in June 2010.

In 2003 Lennon's "Nowhere Man" lyrics sold for $455,500. This is very much the high end of the market however, as the prices start at approximately $1,000 and go up depending upon the artist and song.

Letters and other documents from an artist's personal life derive their value from the content and the most valuable are pieces that give some insight into an artist's psychology. Generally memorabilia most closely associated with an artist's career has the most value; in 2004 John Lennon's handwritten list of chores for his assistant Fred Seaman was sold at auction for $5,000 and the item had nothing to do with Lennon's career but demonstrated his whimsical humour. Included on the list was a reminder to make a dentist appointment for Yoko, "Remind Y.O. her teeth will be needed in later life (i.e.: Dentists must be visited.)" Lennon had also drawn a little picture and at the bottom and in true Lennonesque fashion writes down another chore "cat food."

Autographs are the most abundant collectible on the market. The factors affecting the value of an authentic autograph are, the period the signature is from, and what has been signed. At the low end of the autograph market are "cut sheets." These are signatures on small pieces of paper, typically removed from autograph books, which are trimmed around the autograph.

Many dealers matte and frame these "cut sheets" with photographs of the artist to create a display piece. If you are collecting a band's autographs, the difference between having the signatures on separate sheets or one piece of paper can be significant; in 2004 a complete set of authentic Beatles signatures made on separate cut sheets and matted together with an image of the Beatles sold for $1,600. In the same sale a complete set of Beatles signatures on one sheet of paper sold for $6,600.

Autographed photos are generally worth more than signatures on plain pieces of paper and signed albums will generally achieve even more again. In 2004 an early Beatles photo signed by all four members auctioned for $9,000 and in 1999 a Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band LP signed by all four band members across the gatefold cover sold for $57,500.

The Beatles autographs illustrated below are on the gatefold of the group’s Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band record. The LP was released on the 1st June 1967. A full set of signatures on this particular record is the most desirable signed Beatles items.

However, the market can vary considerably with anything from a $500 cut sheet signature of Janis Joplin, a $1,300 cut sheet signature of The Jimi Hendrix Experience or a receipt from Manny's Musical Instruments signed by Hendrix for his Fender Twin Reverb which sold for $3,800.

The biggest problem in this area is authenticity and the number of forged signatures on the market today is staggering. It is also a very subjective field. How “authentic” to someone is a signature that you personally obtained from a band member in a hurry and high on ‘something’ when compared to a good forgery? It would be much more difficult to prove the authenticity of that signature than one on a legal contract - and often specialists can’t agree. Signatures also change through time and no two are identical so it can be difficult to identify fakes.

A lot of artists have administrative staff respond to fan requests for autographs, so it can be difficult to be sure an item was signed by the artist first hand. Some of those forgeries have a claim to quasi-legitimacy of their own, however.  When the Beatles came to America in 1964, their security was very tight.  They took over entire floors in some hotels, with every access to their floors strongly guarded.  The Beatles’ road manager then was Neil Aspinall, and he is reported to have signed hundreds of actual items on the behalf of the band. Others in the Beatles entourage, including Mal Evans and a number of fan club secretaries’ also “ghost-signed” items. While literally forgeries, they nonetheless have their own value due to the circumstances in which they were produced.

Ironically, even George Harrison is believed to have forged all the signatures of the Beatles to make a dying fan’s wish come true. The report emerged after an autographed picture of the band was sold at Keys auctioneers in 2009. Andrew Bullock of Keys said it was thought Harrison had copied the signatures of his fellow band members - Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon for autographed Beatles photographs and a picture of Ann Bartlett, who was just 16 when she died from leukaemia in the 1960s.

'We've sent it to a handwriting expert and it's just about 100 per cent certain that they were done by George,' he said. 'There are quite a few photographs in existence with autographs that were all signed by George. He got quite good at doing it. 'In this case, where you have got this poor girl who is terminally ill, he was probably aware of the situation and thought he should get it sent off as soon as possible.

A recognized expert in the field of Beatles signatures and one of the few who can identify the nuances between secretarial, forged and authentic Beatles signatures is Frank Caiazzo.

CLOTHING

The most desirable costumes and clothing are pieces worn during memorable stage performances, in music videos, photo shoots for promotional materials and album covers, or during award show presentations. In October of 2005 the white suit worn by John Lennon on the cover of Abbey Road sold for $117,600. The suit was gifted from Lennon to close friend Richard Ross, the owner of the famed New York club and restaurant "Home" which Lennon and Yoko One regularly frequented.

The more photographed and documented the item, the better. As mentioned in the opening paragraph, items from an artist's personal wardrobe are generally not as iconic and have less value than pieces more closely associated with their career.

Assessing the value of celebrity clothing and costumes depends on how well known and recognised the piece is as well as on what occasions it was worn - and how many similar pieces exist. Costumes made for tours are made in multiples so, for example, there are a number of Michael Jackson sparkling white gloves in existence. Some were made with sequins, others with crystals. Gloves from the Thriller era of Jackson's career are worth more than those from his later stage performances.

The value drops dramatically without a photograph of the artist wearing the item. While Jimi Hendrix is one of the most highly collected artists in rock, one of his shirts sold for $1,200 but had there been a photo of Hendrix wearing the shirt, it would have garnered up to ten times the price at auction.

RECORDINGS

Recordings do not come to market often because the only pieces that have value are generally lost - or are previously un-released recordings which have historic importance which brings to light previously unknown songs or information. These could include recordings of music or lost interviews though it is exceedingly rare to discover such unique examples. However, when they are discovered they command high prices at auction.

PERSONAL PROPERTY

This very wide category includes almost anything and everything else associated with an artist or band. In 2003 Cher's 'Fatboy' Harley Davidson motorcycle was sold for $24,500, one of Elvis' personal copies of the Bible for $7,200 and a grade school book report written by Britney Spears for $1,800.

And finally, perhaps the best example of “personal property”; in 2006 William Shatner sold his kidney stone to Goldenpalace.com for $25,000 to benefit Habitat for Humanity. "This takes organ donors to a new height, to a new low, maybe. How much is a piece of me worth?" said Shatner. GoldenPalace.com originally offered $15,000 for the kidney stone, but the actor turned it down, noting that his Star Trek tunics have sold for more than $100,000.

To boldly go where no kidney stone has gone before!