hmm161-78/82 Posted February 8, 2011 Share #1 Posted February 8, 2011 Does anyone have a ballpark value on a John Basilone autograph? I know alot of people don't like to give free appraisals, but I have found nothing doing an online search. HELP! Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brig Posted February 8, 2011 Share #2 Posted February 8, 2011 I think the value of autographs actually depends on what it's on...those are a whole different world than your average militaria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted February 8, 2011 Share #3 Posted February 8, 2011 Does anyone have a ballpark value on a John Basilone autograph?I know alot of people don't like to give free appraisals, but I have found nothing doing an online search. HELP! Rod I looked on worthpoint.com which searches ebay listings back to about 2006 and on the Christies auction site and nothing. It would be in the thousands - I could see one of the big autograph/signature dealers asking $5,000-10,000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p2tharizo Posted February 8, 2011 Share #4 Posted February 8, 2011 Could we see a picture of what it's on? That would really be something to have! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmm161-78/82 Posted February 8, 2011 Author Share #5 Posted February 8, 2011 Could we see a picture of what it's on? That would really be something to have! The signature is on a Collier's magazine with Basilone on the cover. Don't have a picture to post, sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted February 8, 2011 Share #6 Posted February 8, 2011 I recall seeing a price guide/collectors guide on autographs in a Half Price book store.I briefly looked at it and saw various military autographs.... Ike,Churchill,Hitler,etc.Dont recall Basilone.Worth checking into. RD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted February 8, 2011 Share #7 Posted February 8, 2011 I recall seeing a price guide/collectors guide on autographs in a Half Price bool store.I briefly looked at it and saw various military autographs....Ike,Churchill,Hitler,etc.Dont recall Basilone.Worth checking into. RD The Basilone autographs just aren't out there. You can go to the websites of the large dealers and pretty much find anything you can think of, except Basilone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrrldoc Posted February 8, 2011 Share #8 Posted February 8, 2011 The Basilone autographs just aren't out there. You can go to the websites of the large dealers and pretty much find anything you can think of, except Basilone. I have collected autographs for about 10 years (though not lately) and NEVER recalled seeing one of his. The Sanders Price Guide is the bible for autograph prices. Several years ago I spoke with George's widow, Helen - who is (was? - don't know if there has been a new edition lately) a co-author. A super nice lady, lives in a small town in North Carolina. The folks at Sanders would be the ones to try, I think. Steven Raab or Cahterine Barnes are also very good ones to try. My Dad's house was "catty corner" to the Basilone's in Raritan, NJ, and both my Mom and Dad (still living at 84) recall his various sisters and brothers - it was a big family. He was my Uncle John's age (my Mom's older sibling by 12 years). My Dad was thrilled with the Pacific DVD series I got him for Christmas, with its focus on Basilone. My Mom recalls the parade they held for him along Main Street (it was featured in a Life magazine article), and they still have Basilone Day there. As a kid, I was always fascinated by the bronze statue of him, bare-chested, holding a machine gun, at one end of the town. Too bad my Dad never got his autograph!!! I'll have to settle for one of Lee Van Cleef, who was in his high school class and signed Dad's yearbook (next to a photo of himself in a US Navy uniform...) Melanie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmm161-78/82 Posted February 8, 2011 Author Share #9 Posted February 8, 2011 Thanks to all for the help. Still no luck with online search. I will keep an eye out for one of the mentioned price guides and see what I can find. Again, thanks to all Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted February 9, 2011 Share #10 Posted February 9, 2011 Make an inquiry with the folks at Heritage Galleries, they will know if and what the market is: http://www.ha.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted October 12, 2011 Share #11 Posted October 12, 2011 Just appeared on ebay today: http://www.ebay.com/itm/290619158402?ssPag...984.m1438.l2649 I suppose this is another exapmle of "a leap of faith" :think: Here is sellers on-store: http://autograph-store.info/?s=basilone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted October 12, 2011 Share #12 Posted October 12, 2011 Autographs can be a "grey area" for collectors because they can be easily faked. That's why provenance is all-important, especially when large sums of money change hands. Reputable dealers will usually supply a certificate of authenticity. I have the autographs of WW2 fighter ace "Gabby Gabreski", the pilot of the famous "Memphis Belle", Robert Morgan, and Fred Olivi co-pilot of "Bockscar", the B-29 which dropped the second A-bomb. These gentlemen make /made personal appearances at airshows and sign (sometimes sell) autographed pics of themselves...that's how I got mine. However, they do this 100s of times so there are lots of such autographs out there which determines their collectible value. Nice to have but not necessarily rare...as appears to be the case with Basilone's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted October 12, 2011 Share #13 Posted October 12, 2011 Another example from: http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/sho...ad.php?t=511906 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted October 12, 2011 Share #14 Posted October 12, 2011 :think: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted October 12, 2011 Share #15 Posted October 12, 2011 They match: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manayunkman Posted October 12, 2011 Share #16 Posted October 12, 2011 That definitely looks like the same hand writing in both those examples. I have run across autographs over the years but mostly presidents and generals. I have bought many groupings over the years and some came with documents. It is amazing sometimes who hand signs a document. Good luck. M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted October 12, 2011 Share #17 Posted October 12, 2011 That definitely looks like the same hand writing in both those examples. I have run across autographs over the years but mostly presidents and generals. I have bought many groupings over the years and some came with documents. It is amazing sometimes who hand signs a document. Good luck. M I've bought and sold signatures for Presidents and world leaders and from what I see with these two examples I'd feel quite comfortable saying they were signed by the same person. I think this would be a cool one to own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manayunkman Posted October 12, 2011 Share #18 Posted October 12, 2011 You can definitely see that it is hand written. The ink is thicker on the pressure points and thinner where the hand is lifted. He has a buy it now that might be reasonable ? He hasn't been selling much lately but has good feedback. M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted October 12, 2011 Share #19 Posted October 12, 2011 My hunch is, it is not worth the asking price. No doubt Basilone signed hundred's and hundred's of autographs like this one during the Bond Drive. Being w/o a certification from an autograph authenticator and being a "cut autograph" (much less desirable than the magazine cover autograph shown) and scotch tape all over... its value is maybe $100, on the high end? Just my2cents... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patriot Posted October 12, 2011 Share #20 Posted October 12, 2011 He should have jumped on the "The Pacific" bandwagon when such things were quickly sold at insane prices. Now that the plate has cooled he MAY have a tough time selling it at this price. But you never know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted October 12, 2011 Share #21 Posted October 12, 2011 He should have jumped on the "The Pacific" bandwagon when such things were quickly sold at insane prices. Now that the plate has cooled he MAY have a tough time selling it at this price. But you never know... Basilone autographs just aren't out there: the one shown on WAF is a great find, but I've searched eBay sales for the past several years (via worthpoint), Christies, Heritage and other auction house past sale and found nothing. If my hadn't just informed that the IRS wants us to pay the US government's expenses for the last quarter of 2011 I,'d have to at least do the minimum bid on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine1958Fury Posted November 22, 2011 Share #22 Posted November 22, 2011 Did anyone on here get the Ebay Basilone? I was 2nd highest I think I was at $860 and it went for $866 which was still a great great buy. I did not want to weigh in during the auction but I'm an autograph guy and 1. It was good and 2. It is worth a lot. I would have went around $1500 but was a bad time for me just getting out of hospital. Thats one I will kick myself for many years on as it is 1 of the hardest sigs to get. I have seen most everyone thats sold the last 10yrs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted November 22, 2011 Share #23 Posted November 22, 2011 Did anyone on here get the Ebay Basilone? I was 2nd highest I think I was at $860 and it went for $866 which was still a great great buy. I did not want to weigh in during the auction but I'm an autograph guy and 1. It was good and 2. It is worth a lot. I would have went around $1500 but was a bad time for me just getting out of hospital. Thats one I will kick myself for many years on as it is 1 of the hardest sigs to get. I have seen most everyone thats sold the last 10yrs Thanks for the update. If it sold for that much on Ebay then I expect a place like Heritage Auctions would ask $3,000 or more. I sold LBJ, Jackie Kennedy, FDR and other notables' signed documents this past year and saw first hand this difference, and just this morning I checked on an autograph house sale of a military logbook full of VIP signatures. They bought it this year from a dealer I know for about $2,500 and sold it for $8,800. The dealer knew it was "worth" that much, but it's just almost impossible for a non-specialist to get the kinds of prices that places like HA and Nate Sanders can. Imagine what they'd ask for that signed Colliers cover of Basilone! I think that one would hit $5K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manayunkman Posted November 22, 2011 Share #24 Posted November 22, 2011 Why do these specialist get more ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted November 22, 2011 Share #25 Posted November 22, 2011 Why do these specialist get more ?? I think it may have to do with buyer confidence. I have a friend who sells a lot of nice art through Ebay and he gets maybe one-half to one-third of what a gallery would get. I can see the same type of thing happening with certain types of militaria: if one of our members known for their expertise and integrity offers up something that is often faked, they will likely get a lot better price than some anonymous ebay seller because there's no risk (well hardly any). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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