Autographs can pay off in future |

Autographs can pay off in future

Tim Anderson

No matter the object, collecting has always been a major American pastime. Whether it be coins, cards or action figures almost everyone has a collection.

This summer, many collectors of football memorabilia will probably go out with football cards in hand to the Broncos Training Camp at the University of Northern Colorado in search of autographs. But how do they keep the value of their cards and various other collections intact after several years? “Get a company that makes holders specifically for cards,” warns Ron Wittow, an employee at Hob Nob Cards and Comics of Greeley.

Wittow also mentions to store any collectibles in acid-free holders, especially if they have no PolyVinyl Chloride. “Be careful of using photo albums and things like that. A lot of times, they’ll have PVC in them, which can turn your paper brown.”

Keeping the items out of the sunlight is also important. It can make the signature run, or worse yet, it can completely take the ink off of an object.

Cards are great, but that is not all you can collect autographs on.

What if you need to store an autographed football? Don’t fret, there are still many cases you can use. Most collector stores sell items for proper storage, some shaped exactly like a baseball or a football.

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At some point, you may wish to sell the item. Most grocery stores and collector stores have books that can tell you the current value of almost any object. However, selling a collectible is not always as easy as it may seem.

“That’s fairly hard in this market,” Wittow said. “You can try the local collector’s store. The thing about collectibles is you have to find a buyer.”

Whatever you decide, the less you allow an object to be worn down, the more it will be worth.

Value of an autograph

– The following are the values of sports memorabilia autographed by various Broncos players:

John Elway helmet $1,050

John Elway helmet (old) $525

John Elway football $365

John Elway jersey (new) $735

John Elway jersey (old) $562.50

John Elway Framed jersey (old) $787.50

Terrell Davis helmet $450

Terrell Davis Georgia helmet $450

Terrell Davis jersey (new) $412.50

Terrell Davis jersey (old) $337.50

Ed McCaffrey jersey (new) $350

Ed McCaffrey football $225

Brian Griese jersey $337.50

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