Ever since I was a kid, I’ve enjoyed collecting autographs. I’ve not been an autograph hound by any stretch, but whenever I order a CD or album directly from the artist, I ask if they’ll sign it before sending. Same with books. I’ve attended signings and appearances at stores a few times. And I’ve even gone to a convention or two and paid too much money for certain people’s signature. I have no interest in selling them, so I always get them personalized (something celebrities prefer, I’d imagine, since it means you actually want the person’s autograph because you respect their work and not just because you think it can be resold).
It’s funny, though, how a signature — scribbling one’s name on something with a Sharpie — can be so valuable. Apparently Neal Armstrong‘s signature is one of the most valuable, worth about $7500. Now, I don’t have his signature, but I do have Gene Kranz‘s (flight director for Armstrong’s Apollo 11 mission, the “failure is not an option” guy).
I do have a few favorites, though they may or may not be worth much of anything. Among them, signatures from nearly the whole cast of Sleepaway Camp and Run-DMC’s (minus JMJ, though he was alive at the time).
Do you have any signatures? Have you ever been asked for your autograph by anyone other than the clever checkout teller at the grocery store?
Posted in Miscellaneous
Ryan April 4, 2010, 4:02 pm
Double Ping!
http://www.dailyping.com/archive/2008/03/03/
Paul April 5, 2010, 12:27 am
Too bad Ryan isn’t eligible for our secret rule: when you’re the first commenter on a double Ping, you get $10,000 if we call your house and say, “WMAQ is going to make me rich!”