Celebrity autograph values: what makes some signatures worth more than others

If you collect autographs or are an autograph investor there’s a single question you need to know the answer to.

And you can’t.

This business is too human, and therefore too unpredictable for too many simple, straightforward answers.

There's an awful lot in this picture of what's needed for value and long-lasting returns on autographs. Tap the image to buy this amazing royal relic.

However, there are still some guidelines you can use to find valuable celebrity autographs.

And some of them are rock solid.

1 - Authenticity

The iron law of collectibles: you must be able to prove what you have is what it claims to be.

You can sell (and buy) autographs with little to no regulation, but for real value you’re going to need good solid proofs.

What does that mean?

Expert opinion is good. Recognised certification is better.

Witness and supporting statements are good: “I saw John Lennon signing this guitar at the Odeon, Cardiff…”.

Doing great business at the moment, crucially, this recognisably Trump signature also comes with a professional letter of authentication as you'll see if you click to explore the item.

A photograph of the collector with the signer is wonderful.

Most collectors have a good deal of expertise in their subject and know how to do the basics of checking date-appropriate materials and inks and so on.

Autographs can be faked for relatively benign reasons. Autopen has become a political hot topic recently (are presidential signatures delivered via this machinery really valid?). We know plenty of big-name figures in all fields have used them.

And even those without the device have used secretarial signatures to deal with demand.

If you’re buying, you need to know you can trust what you’re being shown - shop in person if you can, do your research, use reputable, trusted sellers.

If you’re selling, you should expect to provide the best quality proof.

2 - Condition

These are the basics of all collectibles.

An authentic signature in excellent condition.

That’s what we all want.

It’s best judged in person. And most of us shop online.

So, you’re looking, again, at using reliable sellers with good buyer protections. Clear and honest descriptions and photographs of the item you’re buying. And, perhaps, third party condition reports.

Condition should be appropriate to age. Modern papers aren't as robust as some older ones, and mass-produced newsprint like the photos here will fade. Click the image to explore and own this amazing Beatles item.

3 - Quality

Quality in autograph-specific terms has a number of meanings.

Signatures come in different shapes and sizes. Some are clearer than others, some stronger, some pens write better than others, and so on.

Placing is important. Particularly on a photograph.

Good condition can be considered an addendum to quality.

As can an interesting or appropriate document or picture. A ticket for an important or well-known show or sports fixture.

Some images just look nicer than others. And there's no denying that quite a lot of autograph value can be attributed to taste, which is individual and basically unmeasurable.

The Great American Brain marries the Great American Body wrote author Norman Mailer of Marilyn Monroe's union with playwright Arthur Miller. An unkind thing to say of a marriage that is a formative moment for Marilyn. Discover the amazing story of this signed wedding LP by clicking the the image.

4 - Celebrity value

You will value your own heroes above all.

But there is something like a market value to fame.

We keep our own measure of it with the PFC 40 index of autographs.

Monitoring it is one thing. Predicting somewhat harder.

But we all live in an increasingly attention-orientated economy so have some sort of understanding of how fame works.

Let’s take a look at two achievements: the Apollo 11 Moon landing, and the 1966 England World Cup win.

A wonderful and valuable set of all Apollo Moonwalker signatures, but not all are equal in the eyes of autograph valuers. Click the image to explore this collection.

Both wonderful team wins.

Yet, not all the participants are equally valuable.

In both cases, a full set of everyone taking part - the England starting XI, the three Moonshot astronauts - would be the most valuable autograph.

But Neil Armstrong’s autograph is reliably worth more (usually) than the other Moon astronauts.

Why?

Good question.

The first and most obvious answer is that Armstrong was first.

And that matters.

His co-flyer Buzz Aldrin went on to have a lively public life, whereas Armstrong lived quietly, working as an academic.

Armstrong (who died in 2012) signed far less often than Aldrin (who is still with us in 2025).

As to that England team. What a group they were!

In 2025 only one is still alive.

Geoff Hurst. The hattrick hero.

Surely, the best known name from that day for his exploits on that day.

But probably not the most valuable autograph among the team.

That’s Bobby Moore.

Followed by Bobby Charlton and Hurst.

Bobby Moore, shown here playing for Fulham, later in his career. His short life and inspirational performances make him stand out even in a superlative team. Click the image to discover the 1966 World Cup winners.

Moore was the iconic team captain. And, he cut an inspiring figure for both England and West Ham United - no doubt many a schoolboy, now with money to collect, modelled themselves on the big, elegant, poised central defender.

He’s usually regarded as the greatest ever English player. He was the one to get the statue at Wembley. Plus, there’s a dedicated West Ham fanbase keen to celebrate one of their own, a Barking-born boy who played nearly 600 times for the East End club.

And, he died tragically young, aged just 51 years old, meaning there’s a limited supply of his signatures.

5 - Demand

You won’t sell an autograph that no-one wants.

Nothing about autograph value should be taken as a value judgement on an individual.

It’s a market.

Some famously awful people have very valuable signatures.

This is Frank rather than Jesse James, so it's a more accessible price, though both brothers lived similar lives, and were as virtuous or not as each other. Click the image to learn more about Frank's signed letter.

Was Jesse James a good person?

Even allowing for changing attitudes, separating legend from propaganda and truth, fog of war and so on it’s hard to make a case for him.

An enthusiastic volunteer for the pro-slavery Confederate states in the US Civil War, James served in guerrilla units accused of some of the best-known atrocities of the conflict.

After the war he robbed, and sometimes his victims were rich, but there’s no evidence of any Robin Hood-like giving to the poor. He also committed murders, often for little reason.

But Jesse James is Famous. And, in 2019 a letter he signed sold for over $200,000 at auction.

James is a great example of the creation of a legend that outruns the truth.

The Hero Jesse James was born in the newspaper stories of John Newman Edwards, a Confederate soldier and journalist, and then nurtured through generations of re-telling that take us into modern Hollywood, and the American ideal of a man who won’t be tamed by the law.

And, it’s probably this that drives demand for James’s name.

6 - Supply

Rarity, shortage… the complementary twin to demand helps drive value.

Some of the examples we’ve mentioned here provide great illustrations of this.

Bobby Moore’s early death.

Jesse James lived in an age of poor literacy; and getting on for two centuries ago. There’s thought to be just one surviving signed photograph of him (nearly $60,000 at auction).

Some stars stop signing, as the surviving Beatles have. And because the band drifted apart through their career contemporaneous group signatures are much rarer and more valuable from the later years of their career.

It was much easier to catch the Beatles happy together in 1963 than it was in, say, 1969. Click this image to explore this unusual, fun set of Beatles autographs.

Buzz Aldrin enjoyed the limelight and made public appearances throughout his life. Neil Armstrong was a much more private man.

Steve Jobs, one of the most prized signatures of all today, actively avoided sharing his signature.

7 - Stories

Why do you collect?

I can’t speak for everyone, but most of us do it out of some sort of attachment.

There is great investment potential in some collections.

But, most are, at least initially, fired by love.

It’s emotional. And it’s about connection.

Signed "Your (still) wife" this letter from Elizabeth Taylor to Richard Burton is full of meaning and is a museum-quality artefact of a great love. Click the image to discover more.

And emotion is expressed and understood through stories.

So, close connection and compelling stories add value to an autograph.

A great example can be found in the huge premium paid for items related to and contemporaneous with The Beatles’ epochal appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in New York on February 9, 1964.

Surveying the market back in 2021 we found the then most valuable non-album signed Beatles item: the Fred Kaps autograph book.

Fred, a Dutch magician, followed the Fabs onto the Sullivan stage that night, but also magically collected all four Beatles signatures, plus Sullivan’s, plus Beatles manager Brian Epstein, right-hand-man Neil Aspinall, and press agent Derek Taylor.

Fred’s night’s work was sold for $125,000 in 2014. It would go for much more now.

And, it’s a wonderful example on which to end this guide because it sort of has everything: unquestionable authenticity and provenance through Fred’s filmed appearance that night, proximity to history, a unique set of signatures, good quality signatures (including a typical Lennon pun, “lots of luggage Fred”)... and all collected because of a piece of lucky timing.

Perfect.