By MICK HOLIEN
After I recently began to sell sports and other memorabilia and autographs I have been collecting as an investment in some cases since the sixties, I am often asked first what my most prized possession is and what my most valuable piece is.
A couple of questions I never really gave much thought to until I started pricing some things to put out on the national scene because I have come to discover especially locally my top-end stuff seems overpriced.
It’s been an interesting prospect mainly because I wasn’t sure how I wanted to do it and how much time I was willing to spend to be successful.
Nothing like thinking you could move things that it took 40 or in some cases 50 years to acquire in a few weeks.
The initial sale, held at my Polson residence, quickly brought surprising and sudden results in some cases even prompting me to sell some things that were hard for me to let go of.
Now keep in mind I have been packing around baseballs for all these years and have an abundance of non-baseball players signed on the horsehide where in many case they told me they’d never signed one. Aha thought a unique item.
Many are political, actors or actresses, musical performers or bands, a few albums, quite a few never played signed Cds, football, basketballs, a couple of pucks and then of course there’s the hundreds of 8x10s, programs and odd items like a Dave Niehaus autographed phone card that currently is misplaced.
Then there’s the autographed cards most of which I collected by sending them directly to players for a particular reason.
One year I sent three cards to every player whose address I could find who 80-years old was asking if they sign one, send one back to sell or trade and keep one for themselves. In most cases they returned all three signed of course and often with a note replying to what I had written.
To say the collection is eclectic is an understatement and there are even some Griz team footballs I’d be willing to part with.
So the top items. Well Johnny Unitas on a baseball or one signed by Jimmy Stewart or maybe Cary Grant could be right up there but more thoughts later.
Just sayin’
