Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
What’s it worth?
Q
I have the signature of actor Sir Sean Connery. What’s it worth please?
Michael Bain, Guildford, Surrey A This could be worth a pretty Moneypenny or two. Connery’s autograph is known in collecting circles as being the most difficult of all the 007s to acquire. The going rate for his signed photograph is around the £200-£300 mark. So you could be looking in this territory. It would be even more valuable if he was in Bond pose with his pistol, or beside the famous silver Aston Martin DB5. To many fans, Connery is the best Bond of all, which makes his autograph more valuable. Q Hi Jamie. I have a first edition copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. A great tale – but is the book worth much?
Rachel Redfern, via facebook A Much as I’d like to wave my magic wand and say you’ll earn a fair few Quidditch here, alas, I cannot. These first editions came in large numbers and, as such, yours is only worth a tenner or so. In contrast, much rarer early copies of JK Rowling’s first Hogwarts tale – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – are worth a fortune. Published by Bloomsbury in 1997, a good copy will command £25,000. Q
I have two boys’ annuals, dated 1914 and 1915. The covers are a little bit tatty but overall the books are okay and readable. What do you think? Sue Rothwell, via facebook A You aren’t sitting on a fortune here, Sue. They will probably fetch £10 each. Collins produced the Boys’ Annual in the 1950s and 1960s. Yours are much earlier so perhaps you are referring to annuals for boys, and of that era? In general terms, there are signs to look for which will devalue an annual – whether the corner price tag has been cut out, if there is a scrawled-on dedication or child’s name, if the crosswords have been filled-in or crayon drawn on the pictures, and if the spine is damaged.