With every new album, tour or television special, potential pieces of music memorabilia are born. This is a gigantic industry and determining the value of what you have can often pose quite the challenge. You may feel that your memorabilia is going to set you up for years to come, only to find it isn’t worth much at all. Here’s some information that will help point you in the right direction.
Different Types of Memorabilia
Getting to know the various types of music memorabilia always a good start, because it includes a wide range of items. Things like album covers, instruments, posters, concert tickets, novelty items and clothing signed or used by specific artists are usually memorabilia-worthy.
Music memorabilia is often grouped into different genres, including Rock and Pop, Country music, Rap and R&B, Jazz and Blues, Classical and Opera and Current or Contemporary music. As you can imagine, the range of artists represented within these genres is immense and the value of any items you may have depends on several factors.
Finding the Value
Quite often, the real value of any individual piece of music memorabilia is how much someone is willing to pay for it. That doesn’t help you in any way, but it shows that the value of many of these pieces can be subjective and influenced by current events, the story surrounding the item or whether the artist is still alive. A deceased artist means there will be no more original signings or items, so the value will usually rise.
To help you get an idea of what your items are worth, you can visit local pawn shops, vintage record stores, music festivals or online forums to see what similar items have sold for in the past. The age, condition, rarity and authenticity of your items are also a factor.
Just be sure to do yourself a favor and hold on to your stuff if you feel that it is worth more than someone is offering. On the flipside, don’t pay more than you feel something is worth, especially if the item doesn’t meet the conditions mentioned above.
Common Abbreviations
Here are some abbreviations that refer specifically to the condition of the piece of memorabilia in question. If you see any of these included in the description or in any literature surrounding the piece, you’ll be able to figure out its condition.
- ‘M’ means that the piece is in mint condition. No flaws, no issues, exactly how it’s supposed to be.
- ‘EX’ means excellent condition, which is not quite as good as mint, but still up there.
- ‘VG’ means very good condition.
- ‘G’ stands for good condition.
- ‘F’ means the piece is in fair condition.
- ‘P’ means it is in poor condition.
It’s up to you as the buyer to get all the details of the particular piece you want to buy, so make sure you ask as many questions as necessary before making any assumptions and forking over your money.
