Why your musical memorabilia may be worth a fortune
elf-isolation is the perfect time to check your rock ’n’ roll memorabilia, The Beatles merchandise still rising, almost 40 years after first rock ’n’ roll auctions took place at Sotheby’s in London.
It is rarer types of items that are most sought after and which are rising quickest in value, writes Peter Ormerod. The Beatles still top the memorabilia chart, as they have done since the death of John Lennon in 1980.
They have continued to be the most popular band of all time and the most collectable. Their signatures, particularly signed photos and album sleeves are sought after the world over by collectors. A signed The Beatles album could bring between £8,000 and £10,000 and an autographed copy of the Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album could raise upwards of £50,000.
The holy grail of The Beatles memorabilia are the band’s handwritten song lyrics. John Lennon’s lyric for All You Need Is Love sold for 1.2 million dollars in an auction in London in June 2010.
SAn item of The Beatles clothing stage clothing whether stage worn or not will always raise a lot of interest. Concert posters from the group’s early 1960s gigs are desirable and bring upwards of £10,000. A complete ticket for a pre-fame Beatles gig could be worth more than £2,000.
Quality memorabilia relating to all the other major groups of the ’60s and ’70s is very heavily in demand amongst collectors. A signed album by Jim Hendrix or Led Zeppelin is worth around £8,000. A poster from a Rolling Stones gig in the sixties could bring approximately £8,000 to £10,000, if it is a large format 30ins by 40ins example – likewise for a good The Who poster.
Good ephemera relating to The Who is thin on the ground and there are many avid collectors out there snapping it up. Queen memorabilia has been extremely popular recently with the impact of the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. A fully signed Queen LP sleeve is valued at around £2,000 plus, if in good condition. Any clothing or personal effects relating to Freddie Mercury brings bids in the very high thousands.
And it’s not just acts from the ‘60s and ‘70s whose memorabilia is attracting interest. A strong trend in the collecting world at the moment is the tendency of collectors to purchase the extremely rare and one-off items, and consequently the more expensive pieces. Some $334,000 was stumped up by a collector for a cardigan worn by Kurt Cobain of Nirvana shortly before his death – showing that the rare and personal type of memorabilia is the most desirable.
Rarity, authenticity and condition are now the paramount considerations for the investor collectors. And whether it is an item from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s or present day, it doesn’t matter as long as it is ticking these three boxes.
The market for rock ’n’ roll memorabilia looks to be on the up and up.