Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by James on January 5, 2017 at 6:25pm

And this completes your 1960 Presidential Election collection!

I have a friend who knows a woman who sometime in 2015 found an Ernest Hemingway book in a bin at the local Goodwill. It had a 50 cents price tag. She opened it up and found a Hemingway signature, but didn't know if it was real. So she bought it, took it home, and did some research, and then decided it was probably real, which it was. She put it for sale on a book collectors website and a Hemingway collector offered her $10,000 for it...which she accepted.

I sometimes wonder how these books make it undiscovered into these venues. My guess is most come from estates where family members essentially throw the baby out with the bath water, not looking closely enough at what they are getting rid of.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel on January 5, 2017 at 6:52pm

That is exactly what I suspected. That someone passed away and their kids either didn't even look, or briefly saw it and, like I did, did not recognize it as a Kennedy signature. Here is the conundrum. I agree with you. This completes my 1960 presidential election collection. I have to be honest, unless I was overwhelmed I'm probably going to keep it, if only for the story alone. I have told my kids over and over that when I pass away they need to look at every single book to make sure they are not throwing away one that is signed. It's all going to end up on eBay anyway :)

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Permalink Reply by terrier8HOF on January 5, 2017 at 6:57pm

Daniel, that is one hell of a great find. congratulations!

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Permalink Reply by Josh Board on January 5, 2017 at 8:04pm

DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT have it authenticated. First, it looks like the real deal. Second, what's the point? If you aren't selling, it doesn't matter. BUT...here's something to keep in mind. Your story is EXACTLY WHY, all of us...need to let our kids know, "When I die, open every friggin book, look at every album cover, before just selling my thousand albums for $100 to somebody, that's going to discover hidden signatures. Or, when you're older and ready to "cash out"...that's when you can go thru all that stuff, and for high end items like JFK, then you can pay for the authentication. Why do it now, though?

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Permalink Reply by Daniel on January 5, 2017 at 8:13pm

Hey Josh. I kind of agree with you. I don't think I'm going to sell it. But it would be nice to know for sure if it's real. To your second point, I have told my kids over and over and over that they should go through every single item I have and check it out to see if it is signed or anything after I die. But honestly, they were the first ones I told about this, and I think this story has brought home the lesson more than all of my admonitions.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on January 5, 2017 at 8:26pm

Hello. Member Herman Darvick would be able to render a valuable opinion on this - maybe leave a message on his wall asking him to look?

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Permalink Reply by James on January 5, 2017 at 9:03pm

Daniel, you can be sure it's real. Just to give you a little more assurance, here is one that is authenticated by JSA. Note the signature is nearly identical to yours. JFK had MANY different styles, and yours is one of them.

Attachments: No photo uploads here

• IMG_4426.PNG, 2.8 MB

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Permalink Reply by JMS1223 on January 5, 2017 at 8:25pm

Even if you are not going to sell it, it is a good idea to have it authenticated for insurance purposes. If your house ever burned down or there was a tornado or flood you would want that expensive book covered.

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Permalink Reply by Edward Siebert on January 6, 2017 at 12:25am

Amazing! Definitely real! A great get.

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Permalink Reply by a pug called eva on January 6, 2017 at 9:26am

First of all, congratulations! That kind of find drives me to brave fleamarkets early on a Saturday morning - though even I won't be doing it tomorrow morning as it will be around -12C at 09.00!

For two bucks I would have just bought it and checked later. At worst you would have had a surplus book that probably has some references to Nixon, and which I guess is worth $2 anyway. I assume you didn't check in front of the bookseller - that really would be having your cake and eating it!

I have had a few lucky finds myself. In my case the seller has usually had some idea that the item may be of some value so it has cost more like $50 - $200 but if something is worth hundreds or even thousands more it is pretty academic whether the price is $2 or $200.

I guess the value of your book would be even higher if you could find out who the recipient was. I cannot make out the christian name but if he or she really was a friend of JFK and perhaps lived in the Boston area it might be possible to track them down. It can be fun doing that kind of research.   

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 11, 2017 at 10:44am

I just noticed this discussion, Daniel. What a find! I sent a link to a dealer who knows JFK well and he says it's genuine, too. The condition and whether it's a true first edition can make a big difference in the value.

He said he's interested in buying it if decide you want to sell at some point.

The condition and whether it's a true first edition can make a big difference in the value. Find out, and be sure to store it properly.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel on January 11, 2017 at 12:35pm

Thank you Steve. Should I still bother to get it authenticated by PSA/DNA? It does not have a dust jacket, so I'm also wondering whether I should buy a similar edition of the book unsigned and use the dust jacket from that book. It looks like unsigned additions are about 200 bucks. With regard to selling it, I'll have to think about that. It's tempting but I also collect presidential memorabilia. I guess it depends on the offer. I will say this, everybody on this website has been great and helpful and informative. If I find out that it is not authentic from PSA I will not come on here and say anything because I don't want to destroy everybody street cred! LOL

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