Why own sporting memorabilia? Written by guest blogger: Isabelle Riley

Here's a short piece written by Isabelle Riley asking the question "Why own sporting memorabilia?" Isabelle is a guest blogger for us and is currently writing for HTFM (www.htfm.com) A company based out of Australia that brings some pretty cool framing ideas to the sporting and entertainment world of collecting.   

Why own sporting memorabilia?

Owning sporting memorabilia is not just about owning a signed baseball or a bat, it’s about the connection you have to that particular game or the player. Owning the ball from a 1970’s game when you were born in 1985 probably won’t have as much personal value as a signed game ball from the 2000’s, the last game you watched with your dad or the game where the Yankees scored an amazing win, the day your daughter was born. There is a personal connection to sport that even the hardest man cannot deny, everyone has their favorite game, player, match or baseball cards for whatever reason, and to own a part of it is one of the greatest things any sporting fan could experience.  

The one problem with collecting sporting memorabilia however, and it’s experienced  by all fans of any sport, is knowing that your piece is a legitimate artifact of the game, the only way to really ensure that, is if you catch the game ball yourself, or you purchase a quality piece of memorabilia from a company that sells merchandise with a Certificate of Authenticity. Your chosen company should happily advertise the fact that they only supply sporting memorabilia that comes with these certificates, like HTFM Framing and Memorabilia, if they don’t, alarm bells should start ringing.

There are also certain types of memorabilia that are worth more than others. Any memorabilia that is expected to be a one off is obviously going to be worth more than a batch of baseballs all identically autographed for a memorabilia company. Also any cards or posters are worth more if presented in a frame and in mint condition. Same goes for any baseballs that are in original game condition and kept in a glass case. Some collectibles are worth incredible amounts of money, for example, the baseball card T206 is a card that shows  Honus Wagner during the early 1900’s.

There are an estimated 60 in existence, making them worth around $2.8 million each. That’s an expensive card! Any players that have played and signed memorabilia from the 1970’s onward is generally worth less as they have signed so many products, their signature has been devalued.

So no matter the baseball memorabilia your interested in collecting, it’s important to check for authenticity and to do a little research about their market value to make the best investment.

Isabelle Riley is a copywriter and digital marketing specialist from the Gold Coast, Australia, working for  HTFM. We give you access to some of the worlds most sought after sporting memorabilia and celebrity autographed memorabilia - helping to savor and cherish some of the greatest moments in time.