Curtis Martin Forum

I have 5 personally autographed Curtis Martin cards that he signed for me when I mailed them to him in 2006. I have no idea of their value.

Theyare:
1995 Summit #166
1996 Leaf #74
1997 Pinnacle #100
1998 Upper Deck #176
1999 SP Authentic #61

I have pics if you need to see them. 

Any help?

Autographs are tricky.  Many collectors feel it ruins the value of the card.  But you have the value of the autograph.  Plus you have no certificate of authenticity.  Your cards are worth what someone will pay for them.

That's a typical reply to what anything is worth. It's worth what someone will pay for it. I'm pretty sure that doesn't really help you too much. I suggest you look at completed listings on eBay of similar cards to see what they have actually sold for. That would give you an answer to what someone is willing to pay for it. I took a quick peek at Curtis Martin signed cards. It looks like some have sold for in the neighborhood of $20-$25 and those are on cards numbered to 25. I would expect the value to be somewhere in that range. You might look to see if your signatures resemble the ones listed also. If they don't match up well, you may not have authentic autographs at all. If that's the case, your cards would be basically worthless. 

I am with Spliter_9, adding a TTM/IP autograph, to me, usually lowers the value of the card depending on the card. A base card with an auto might be worth purchasing if the autograph is well placed but a more rare card I wouldn't normally be interested.

Thanks for the replies. I'm not trying to sell them ,just curious about their value. They are authentic, although no certificate goes along with them, I mailed them to the Jets facility and they were returned from the same Jets address with them signed. His autograph matches others I have seen. I'm pretty sure they are real as Curtis doesn't operate that way. 

I have loads of 1989/1990/1991/1992 Pro Set football cards I did the same with. Mailed to the teams with a short note and SASE, and most of them were returned signed, sometimes with extra goodies like stickers, etc. I used to do the same with Pro FB HOFers, mailed to the HOF in Canton. I even sent some to US politicians in Washington D.C. (Jack Kemp, Steve Largent) and these were always returned signed. I am not planning on selling any but they do make a nice addition to the completed sets. Especially the Pro Set cards, which include most of the coaches and owners also.

It really all depends on the card and the autograph as to the value of the card. Here's an example of a card that has a median price of $2.75 on TCDB. That same card in poor condition, but signed, is being offered for $950. 1963 Topps Jim Umbricht Many times the autograph value can far outweigh the value of the card. There are collectors looking to complete sets of cards that are signed. The rarity of that can also drive the pricing. I've been looking for a signed 1970 and 1971 Topps Randy Bobb card for years. Never seen one. Heard of one being sold once, that's it. Sometimes value is a hard thing to gauge on the surface and blanket statements rarely hold true for all instances.

You can check my 1969 Topps autographed cards in this User list. 

http://www.tradingcarddb.com/List.cfm/lid/5674/Autographed-Cards-of-the-1969-Cubs

And more at my website

http://letsplaytwo.weebly.com/1969-chicago-cubs.html

Click on a players name at the bottom of the list to see their signed Topps cards.

Corky wrote:

I am with Spliter_9, adding a TTM/IP autograph, to me, usually lowers the value of the card depending on the card. A base card with an auto might be worth purchasing if the autograph is well placed but a more rare card I wouldn't normally be interested.

My reply was not meant to call their authenticity into question.  However, prospective buyers may want some sort of proof of authenticity.  Not having any may cut the potential buyers pool down.