posted 06-03-2010 07:30 AM               

Unfortunately I may have to part with my collection so was hoping that someone might be able to give a general indication as to what they could be worth should I have to sell.

posted 06-03-2010 11:24 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by JSAGuy:
I have 12 photos bearing the complete signatures of all 12 moonwalkers and was wondering if anyone had any idea as to estimated value.

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Would you have scans of the items? Knowing what they are on and the condition they are in will affect the value.

posted 06-03-2010 11:46 AM               

1. Are the signatures personalized? Personalized items tend to have less value on the marketplace than unpersonalized items.

2. Are the photos in excellent condition? Bends, creases, tears, fading, water damage, etc. will all reduce their value.

3. Are the photos are of a similar theme... such as the white space suit (WSS) portraits for the astronauts? Or are they a mix of WSS portraits, walking-on-the-moon photos, and other photos? Some astronauts are more rare in WSS format (like Irwin), while others are more rare in walking-on-the-moon photos (like Armstrong and Shepard). Having 12 consistent images will greatly help the value if you choose to sell all 12 photos together as a set.

posted 06-03-2010 12:41 PM               

The collection is a mix of NASA portrait photos as well as on the moon photos. The details are as follows:

Color 8x10 NASA photo of Armstrong posing in his flight suit against a lunar background, signed and inscribed in black felt tip “To the Lewises—With best wishes, Neil Armstrong.” In fine condition, with Armstrong’s signature and inscription a few shades light, but completely legible.

posted 06-03-2010 12:48 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by JSAGuy:
I do have scans but how do you attach things in the forum?

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posted 06-08-2010 07:36 AM               

If you are trying to sell, you will likely get more by selling individually than you will selling them as a set.

Armstrong is, of course, the key. Yours is nice, but it is faded (as is often the case) -- in my opinion, it would sell in the $600-800 range.

The Shepard is nice, but inscribed -- probably worth around $225 or so.

The inscribed other inscribed ones are anyone's guess. If you find someone with the same name, that would help.

The Duke, Mitchell, and Conrad are nice because they are not inscribed to anyone and they are on original NASA lithos.

The one of Scott on the moon is nice also. Not terribly uncommon, but nice nonetheless.

If you are looking to sell, you could try R & R or possibly Astro Auction -- might be too late for the upcoming Lunar Legacies auction.

You could post them as "for sale" here at CS, but you might get more $$$ with more exposure at an auction.

Good luck!

posted 06-08-2010 08:50 AM               

That said, below are my rough estimates for each item.

Armstrong - inscribed, faded - $500+
Aldrin on moon - inscribed - $50-100?
Conrad - WSS SP - $50-100?
Bean - WSS ISP - $15-25?
Shepard - WSS ISP (To Brian) - $200+
Mitchell - WSS SP - $20-40
Scott - SP - $150?
Irwin - ISP - $30-50
Young - later ISP - $30-50?
Duke - WSS SP - $30-$50?
Cernan SP - $50-100?
Schmitt - WSS ISP - $40-$60?

I'm sure people will correct me if I'm way out on any of those.

As for where to sell them, eBay is the obvious choice and reaches a lot of people. The buyer/seller fees from most auction houses make selling low-end signed items pretty tricky.

posted 06-08-2010 11:35 AM               

The Irwin ISP would have been worth more a year or two ago but since that seller dumped a huge number of uninscribed versions on the market for peanuts I'd be surprised if an ISP would sell for lots these days.

John's estimate of $600-800 for the Armstrong may be right. I put $500+ but didn't put an upper limit. You never know on the day.

posted 06-09-2010 02:21 AM               

The Armstrong always sells for more than $800 and certainly looking on other websites which sell Armstrong photos even with an inscribed and fading signature worse than mine they price it at $1595 - $1650. They surely cant be putting a 100% markup on??

As for the other estimates these also look rather on the low side. I appreciate we are just finishing a recession but $925 for 11 photos and thats at the max prices as well. So this would work out to be $1725 for the full moonwalker collection?

posted 06-09-2010 07:52 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by JSAGuy:
The Armstrong always sells for more than $800 and certainly looking on other websites which sell Armstrong photos even with an inscribed and fading signature worse than mine they price it at $1595 - $1650. They surely cant be putting a 100% markup on?

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And, quite frankly, some online sellers have items WAAAYYYYYY overpriced. I think that they either don't want to sell the Armstrong so they can have people come to their web site and see the Armstrong they have for sale, or else they will take less than the listed price if you contact the seller.

Bottom line is, yours might sell for more or less than my estimate. There really are a lot of Armstrongs out there (as well as most of the other moonwalkers).

posted 06-09-2010 08:58 AM               

You need to bear in mind that the inscription/lack thereof and the signed media can make a HUGE difference to autograph values.

For example, for the Irwin inscribed on the moon piece I put $30-50. A couple of years ago I'd have said $150+ but the market has been flooded with nice signed examples since then. Maybe you'll get more, although $100 would surprise me. An uninscribed version of the same image would still fetch $50-100+.

If you had an identically-inscribed Irwin WSS litho instead you'd be looking at $800-1500. An uninscribed version could top $2000.

posted 06-09-2010 12:35 PM               

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Originally posted by capoetc:
There really are a lot of Armstrongs out there (as well as most of the other moonwalkers).

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I think this is a key point. None of the moonwalkers signatures are rare. All 12 have signed a lot of items over the years and their signatures are fairly plentiful. Discriminating collectors will spend their money on the more desirable pieces...and many will not settle for personalized or faded items.

As Chris pointed out, it's what they signed that makes the big difference. Certain items can be somewhat rare or hard to find, thus commanding prices above the norm:

• Armstrong - Signed photos of Armstrong standing on the moon are difficult to find, partly because there are so few images of him on the moon. Signed letters on NASA letterhead are also really desirable.
  
• Conrad - Nice color photos of Conrad on the moon are also getting increasingly tough to find. Many now sell in the $300-500 range.
  
• Shepard - Again, nice color photos of Shepard on the moon are getting harder to find. Most sell in the $500-1000 range.
  
• Irwin - As Chris pointed out, Irwin's signed WSS litho is very desirable and can be an $800-$2000 item, depending on personalization.

posted 06-09-2010 12:40 PM               

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Originally posted by mjanovec:
After four Novaspace signings in five years, the same items have depreciated about 75% in value.

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