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A dying hobby?
I was talking with another forum contributor who said that this would make for an interesting group topic. My opinion is that unfortunately much like numismatics, autograph collecting is a dying hobby. History is becoming lost and it seems as if most of the younger generation aren’t overly interested in preserving it. I’d venture to say that most of us are in our 40s, 50s, 60s or 70s on this forum.
I don’t see a resurgence in the hobby as Sportscards has done. With that being said, what’s your opinion? Are we holding soon to be depreciated investments? I understand not everyone is looking at the financial aspect of the hobby, but many of us are. What’s everyone’s opinion regarding the “State of the hobby”?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Rich on
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I don't see it as being even close to a dying hobby. The landscape has changed over the past few decades and certain areas of collecting have almost certainly seen better days. So certain facets of the hobby may have seen dwindling interest. But autograph conventions remain high traffic events, and there are more and more private signings for a wider range of celebrities that people pay top dollar for. I went to a Fan Expo event in Chicago last summer, and a good number of those autograph lines had hour + waits. I go to my share of concerts and there are always fans waiting to get things signed post show, or buying signed vinyl, CDs, posters, etc at the merch stand. Plenty of people still try the TTM route - some almost religiously.
Every generation is going to have their own differing interests, and things that were more popular and mainstream in the distant past that predate their own generation by decades are not necessarily going to appeal to younger generations. And you'd be hard pressed to find anyone from gen Z who has any interest in dropping thousands of dollars on vintage items for figures they have lukewarm interest in, especially when there's a minefield of forgeries in the mix.
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Permalink Reply by Doug James To Rich on
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Appreciate your take and the convention insight.
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Permalink Reply by Greg Jeranek on
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The hobby is as good as the people who are collecting. As a person who has interest in history i get great pleasure in knowing that I'm holding a graph of someone who has achieved music, sports, film, stage, etc,etc, excellance success or greatness in their chosen field. As far as the future of the hobby, we need to accept that selfies is the wave of the future, but an autograph will always have supremacy.
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Agreed. I love holding something that someone else held, looked at (if even for a moment) and put their stamp on it.
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Permalink Reply by eddy on
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Although it is not my primary focus, I do belong to a group that focuses very much on signers from American history. It's been a very good group to help restore some confidence and enthusiasm in the hobby for me. I'm in my mid-50s, and I have been amazed at the younger collectors who are interested in this area. Interest in Presidential material is very strong amongst many under 40s there.
Without painting with too broad a brush, one thing I have noticed is that third party authentication plays a rather significant factor of importance for some younger folk that I have come to know. In today's online collecting climate, I can understand. I may not care for it or place as much value in TPAs as much personally, but I get it.
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It’s a great point. I’ve seen collectors (young and old) buying the slab and not the auto at many a National (NSCC). I’ve seen PSA and JSA both certify bad Ruth and Gehrig autos it didn’t matter to the buyer/flipper. I know many in the sports hobby believe PSA/DNA can “do no wrong”. I believe Longo said it best. Do your own research and build a case study. No one wants to do the legwork. Slabs are instant gratification (and sometimes instant regret). There was an old saying in numismatics when I was in them “ buy the coin not the grade”. Same is applicable here in this hobby. Buy the graph not the COA.
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In this particular group, there are also a handful of trusted "old school" dealers who show off their wares regularly. I know some of them personally and most at least by fine reputation. I'm usually very attentive to their material. I never thought I'd want yet another Harry Truman item, but I was recently so knocked over with the level of research and knowledge that one of these dealers had put into a Truman piece that they were offering that I ended up buying it from them. Meant much more than a slab to me!
The significant courtesy discount also certainly helped as well!
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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo To Doug James on
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Thank you for the kind word Doug. From 30 years ago - "buy the coin, not the grade on the slab!"
This used to me in my collection. There were 675 Proof Barber dimes minted in 1906. This one is Pr-63. Today maybe 64. After having several arguments about the color of this known coin from the Dr. Benson collection (sold by Max B. Mehl in 1941 with color noted at the time), I simply decided that I should spend my time and money somewhere else. Dr. Benson did wipe his coins carefully (usually), but did not dip them. Now I just have some 1920's and 1930's AU-58 coins in/on my 1939 NYWF display and collect the things you probably know. Today I illuminated a 12" x 12" x 4" Owens Corning glass block that I exhibited at the National Building Museum's 1930's World's Fair exhibit. This block has not been illuminated since 1940! I did a lighting test in white, this week proper blue light bulbs are arriving and I will show a photo of it with my entire collection! It was a real thrill to flip it on.
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Very cool!
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:-) Good thread BTW. The open-ended question/title has elicited a wide array of valuable responses.
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I try to bring value at least once every three years to something 😝
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I try that here every week, helping( or trying to) folks save money by avoiding bad purchases and/or getting refunds.
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