football jersey

If you happen to be a football fan, chances are you’ve already set your mind on collecting memorabilia. The sport's popularity has reached new heights over the past years, meaning memorabilia is more accessible and affordable. The only downside is that not all of the pieces are easy to find. For example, a collage of old photos from Germany and England was once a rarity, but now, many of these items can be found in online stores and auctions.

As you set out to collect football memorabilia, here are some iconic items you can look for:

1. Autographs

Autographed photos of professional football players have a lot of value. For example, an autographed photo of Dimitar Berbatov from Manchester United that shows him holding the Carling Cup can be sold for £50. 

Additionally, a 1966 England shirt that many World Cup players have autographed can be sold for nearly £800. If you are willing to trade via auction houses, there are some enticing collectables, including a photo of Cameron Jerome with his autograph, which sells for about £15.

2. Esso Coins

Complete versions of the World Cup collectable coins are still affordable and surprisingly easy to find. Other recent attempts at getting people to collect coins have not had much success; the coin sets made by Sainsbury's with the 1998 World Cup design on them are still easily available for a couple of pounds. The old Esso coin sets are also easy to find and maybe a few pounds more expensive, but they've got a better history behind them.

3. Cigarette Cards

In the late 1920s, cigarette card companies began publishing football cards. It had started with cards in cigarette boxes. Its spread was slow at first, but in the 1930s, the industry took off and grew significantly.

The most popular companies during the pre-war era included Ogdens, Singleton & Cole, Churchman, John Player and Lambert & Butler. These cards featured either caricatures or actual photos of the footballers on them. 

Although pre-war examples are expensive and can sell for thousands of pounds in some cases, they usually cost closer to £200. On the other side of World War II, paper rationing phased out the cards themselves (they were mainly collected for the pictures of the footballers), and examples tend to sell for about £5.

4. Programme Collecting

Football programmes are often sought after, but their value can fluctuate from a few pounds to over £1,000. Auction houses can be particularly helpful with job lots that feature bundled collections spanning multiple decades. Although some may be worth more than others, it's best to search auction listings to find individual rarer examples.

The same applies to individual match day programmes: Knights Auctioneers estimates the value of an Ipswich Town programme collection at £40–60, and only individual rarer programmes fetch the highest prices. Meanwhile, Cameo Auctions estimates the value of a 1921 FA Cup Final at £1,650, while they estimate the value of a 1930/31 FA Cup Meeting at £650.

5. Tickets

The thriving market in old tickets is inevitably focused on high-quality examples of sought-after games—that or games that were played many decades ago. For example, a pair of 1966 World Cup Semi-Final and Quarter-Final tickets recently sold for a few thousand pounds. Meanwhile, a Glasgow Rangers UEFA Cup jaunt of last season can only go for a few pounds. However, if that team had won the final match, that would have greatly changed the price.

Conclusion

Football memorabilia is one of the most popular choices among collectors. The rarity of some items makes them attractive to collectors, and the return on their value can be enormous. These items are also frequently displayed at auctions, making them easy to find. Be sure to keep these tips in mind when pursuing your collection.

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