Expert: Pattie - 8/23/2009

Question
I have a good friend who is the daughter of one of the two men who created and produced the San Francisco International Pop Festival so many years ago.  As you can imagine, she has had a very interesting life.  She wants me to possibly try to sell on ebay, a Ringo Starr autograph that she has.  It amounts to the front and back cover of the 1964 Teen Life magazine, which features Paul McCartney on the front cover.  Inside, there is a picture of the four Beatles.  My friend says that she was in the car with the Beatles, and asked Ringo for his autograph, so he signed above his picture. IF she decides to try to have me sell it on ebay (she doesn't have a computer), we were wondering how much to ask, or maybe a minimum amount it is worth.  I don't know if she will decide to sell it or not, I guess it just depends on how much it may be worth.  Can you give us an IDEA???

Answer
Hi Sue!

Well, I'm not sure if you know about Ringo's recent "unpopular" decision to stop signing autographs. Because of that, his signature has gone up in value (not that it wasn't already). If you check eBay, you'll find all sorts of prices, some fair and some outlandish. Truly, in order to get a really good idea of what it's worth, I'd need more information. Is it inscribed or just signed? Did he add anything like "Love" or "XXX"? If it's inscribed, it won't be quite as valuable unless your potential buyer has the same name. However, I'll go out on a limb and say if it's authentic, it's worth minimally about $1000.00. Ringo's doesn't go up as high as the other three, but he was still one of the Fabs, so that makes it valuable. I think the story of how she got it adds to it's value, but others may not. Honestly, if she's not desperate for money, I'd frame it and create an heirloom out of it. The biggest problem she may encounter in trying to sell it (especially on eBay) is that the Beatles signatures are the most forged in the world. They have computers that can fake a signature so well, they couldn't tell themselves if they signed it or not. Because of this, most buyers of Beatles memorabilia are VERY skeptical about signatures that don't have a certificate of authorisation (COA). You can get one of these, of course, but it's not cheap. The best in the business, "supposedly" is Frank Caiazzo. You can reach him at http://beatlesautographs.com/ My understanding is he's sort of expensive, but if he authorises it, you can get much more for it than if you used another source. I really hope this helps. Tell your friend she's got something really cool. I've got John's and George's and am hoping to some day have Ringo's and Paul's too. In fact, if she does decide to sell, please contact me at pattie@luvmedeux.com and let me know...maybe I'll bid myself!

Good luck and thanks for the question!

Peace,
Pattie
8^)