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Football ,Memorabilia












Football Memorabilia


Football ,Memorabilia 
appeals as much to team supporters who are passionate about the 'beautiful game' as to canny investors pursuing the sporting chance of a worthwhile investment





It is not often in the world of collectables that a modern-day item exceeds the values reached by comparable historical finds, but it can happen with football memorabilia.

 This may be a result of the aura of fame, wealth, and glamour that surrounds today's top players and clubs.

Football ,Memorabilia 





Football fanaticism is nothing new: when the wizard of the dribble' Sir Stanley Matthews was due to play, attendances were estimated to go up by 10,000. 


The 1953 HA Cup Final has gone down in history as the 'Matthews Final', because of the way he inspired his team. Blackpool, to beat Bolton 4-3. The strip he wore that day sold for  £10,321 in 2003.



Football ,Memorabilia 



Manchester United is the most collectable of British clubs, partly because of its vivid history of triumph, tragedy, and outstanding, charismatic players, such as George Best and Eric Cantona, but mainly because of its recent domination of the English game and its huge global fan-base.






There was a national wave of sympathy for the club following the 1958 Munich air disaster, which killed eight players and seriously injured.





legendary manager Sir Matt Busby. The Arsenal v Manchester United match programme for 1 February 1958 is highly sought after - it was the last game played in England by the 'Busby Babes' before the tragedy. Much rarer is the following Saturday's programme, officially pulped as a result of the accident. It is likely to fetch at least .£4,000 apiece in today's market.
Football ,Memorabilia 




Other famous clubs likely to attract interest among collectors include the fierce Glasgow rivals, Celtic and Rangers, as well as leading English Premiership sides, such as Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Newcastle United. But, any club will have fans keen to buy mementoes of its greatest achievements.



For example, around the 1950s, Wolves were the most successful club of the day.




As well as winning the League three times and the FA Cup twice, they laid the foundations for European club competition by playing a series of games known as 'floodlit friendlies' against top overseas sides, such as Honved of Budapest. Memorabilia associated with these matches can be valuable.






At the other end of the scale, programmes and other memorabilia involving clubs that have slipped out of the top four divisions, or even folded, will be worth a little more than if they had remained successful.

Football ,Memorabilia 
The value of an item of football memorabilia is affected by the condition and age of the piece, the prominence of the featured team, and (for match-specific items) the importance of the match.



 Even with a limited budget, you can still build up a collection from the wide array of items on offer. Choose from tickets and programmes, medals, badges, collecting cards and stickers, mugs, scarves, shirts, autographed pieces, team sheets (which are still produced for press and VIPs), magazines, club handbooks, and scrapbooks.





Match clothing, particularly if worn by a star player, is especially desirable
-    a pair of boots worn by David Beckham can reach an astonishing £14,000. Kit issued to players but not actually worn is next in popularity and value (an unworn Beckham England shirt has been known to sell for £2,280), with replica kit at the lowest end of the price scale.
Medals often fetch the highest prices


Football ,Memorabilia 
-    an FA Cup winner's medal will tempt only the dedicated collector, with prices ranging from £2,000 to the £20,000 paid in 2001 for Sir Stanley Matthews' 1953 medal. Note that medals will probably become increasingly scarce, as few of today's phenomenally well-paid stars will need to sell off their honours.





Programmes are keenly collected. Pick a theme: either a specific team or a competition, such as the FA Cup.
Prices for Cup Final programmes range from a few pounds up to the £11,500 paid for one from the 1915 'Khaki' Cup Final between Chelsea and Sheffield United (so called because many of the crowd were soldiers on leave or about to set off for the World War I trenches).




Football ,Memorabilia 
Early programmes or teamsheets from the 1870s onwards have values matching their rarity. Indeed, any pre-War II examples should he valuable. Manchester United programmes tend to be the most popular - pre-1939 examples can fetch between .£200 and ,£300.




It's worth remembering that mint- condition programmes or teamsheets are more valuable if they do not have the final score and the goal scorers written on them by an ecstatic or despondent spectator.




As well as age, historical significance adds value to pieces. For example, a programme from the 1912 Spurs v Woolwich Arsenal match held in aid of victims of the Titanic disaster sold for ±4,600. But a programme for England's triumphant 1966 World Cup Final against West Germany can be found for a more modest £50: this is due to the fact that so many have been kept in good condition.




Football ,Memorabilia 
Historic games apart, programmes from the 1960s onwards are not worth much in themselves and are unlikely to appreciate for some time. This is partly because many more fans started to keep programmes from this time onwards and also because clubs now print extra copies to sell in hulk to dealers. Collecting modern programmes offers an inexpensive way to build your own archive and record the fortunes of your club. They cost from £2 a copy. Look out for specials, such as those produced for pre-season 'friendly' matches. Rounding ' off a complete season's worth is not only satisfying but it is also a way of increasing the overall value of your programmes.






Autographs are always popular and will increase the worth of any sporting memorabilia,
Football ,Memorabilia 
from balls to shirts, especially if they are signed by top players and can be authenticated. A collection of 1950s teamsheets, portraits, and pictures signed by players from Chelsea, Birmingham City, and Coventry City was sold in 2003 for £120.
Another good collecting focus is scrapbooks, especially those that evoke a particular era and contain a good selection of newspaper match reports and other football stories.




In recent years, many clubs - Manchester City, for example - have moved to a new stadium. When they do so, they often auction off parts of their old ground, such as squares of turf and seats from the grandstand. If your team is planning to move and holds such an event, take the opportunity to get hold of a unique piece of Football Memorabilia.





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