Sports Collectibles: Not Worth as Much If They Commemorate a Losing Team

Most people who collect sports memorabilia prefer to collect mementos that remind them of their favorite teas victories. The Philadelphia Phillies, with their dubious distinction of having achieved their ten thousandth recorded loss have brought a new type of collector to light. People oriented towards gathering collectibles of their home teams loss. This may be good news for people who gather Buffalo Bills Super Bowl souvenirs when they went 0-4 against the Dallas Cowboys, but the collector looking for investment value should be wary. Most such tokens are not worth as much as people would think

The news may have added to the sales of "Philly Loves its Losers T-shirts" but objects associated with victory especially come from behind victories offer bring more money from the hands of serious collectors. Perhaps one good example comes from the early days of American baseball where tradition dictated the losing team painted one of the game balls and presented to the winner. One such artifact, which record a loss of the Boston Red Stockings (now the Red Sox) in 1875 sold at an auction for $7000 this year. Although the team lost the game, they did in fact go onto win the championship.

Sometimes the loss of a collectible is more of a personal nature. The watch issued to all astronauts in the early days of the space program was the Omega Speed Master Professional which included a stop watch feature. Unlike many other equipment issued to the early astronauts, the watch was not made specifically for the space program. Many retail outlets around the country carried the wind up watch. The one worn to the moon by astronaut Neil Armstrong was lost and has never been recovered. The company put out a series of watches to commemorate the moon landings of 1969, but as a collectible piece the special edition does not command a high value. If Neil Armstrong's lost watch were to resurface however, it undoubtedly would fetch a high price. (The company still makes watches issued to the people on the shuttles.)

So even if you did for example have t-shirts predicting that the third or even a fourth time is a charm for the Buffalo Bills in their battles against the Dallas cowboys, you better hold on to them for a while. It'll take decades for you to even recoup the investment you made in the team. If you just want to show your support in the hopes that things will turn around for your losing sports team.

Sources

"Philly Sports Fans Collecting Losers." Dr. Lori. Sunday, July 29, 2007. The Daily Item. Sunbury, PA

http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/omega.html