Do Inscriptions Like “Thank You” or “Best Wishes” Affect Autograph Value?

It’s common knowledge that an autograph addressed to a specific person (for example, “To Sally”) usually decreases its value, but what about inscriptions like “Thank you” or “Best wishes”? 

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Permalink Reply by michelle on January 5, 2026 at 10:47am

plus one

Permalink Reply by JK on January 5, 2026 at 2:34pm

My general observation is that a lot of new collectors were brought into the hobby with the advent of cable shopping channels where sports memorabilia was mass marketed, and then of course with the invention of the internet.  Many if not most of those new collectors seemed to prefer uninscribed items, which was easy enough to accommodate since the signers they were collecting were mostly still alive. 

For older collectors who mostly collected historical autographs, inscriptions were just part of the hobby.  If you got something yourself from a living celebrity then it might be addressed or inscribed to you, and if it was older then it might have someone else's name on it.

Personally, for me an historical autograph with any kind of inscription is a bonus.  It also helps authenticate an item since forgers almost never get the handwriting right even if they are good with the signature.  

I know that some people remove the names on inscribed photos, but that can have a downside sometimes.  I recall seeing two or three nice photos of an actress who is very tough to get, and they had great personal inscriptions with no recipient's name.  The lack of a name made them look suspicious since the inscriptions had no context and were not believable as generic text not meant for any one person.

Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on January 5, 2026 at 10:48pm

+1 This was awful in hand. Clearly removed. Promptly returned.

Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on January 6, 2026 at 12:38am

Where the name was - that area was totally resurfaced and recolored. It looked very odd with the name removed - the placement was off after the "surgery." This is what Michelle was saying. 

Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on January 6, 2026 at 7:29am

Here are two very special items in this context:

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