HOW TO VALUE HISTORIC LETTERS

If someone told me that they have a letter from a famous historical figure for sale, I would begin by asking three questions: a) who is the person in question? b) is the letter handwritten? c) is the letter signed?

Normally, I would prefer the answer to be "yes" on the two latter questions. Either way, you just got to accept the outcome. However, the outcome defines what type of letter it is, and obviously also the value. If a letter is handwritten and signed by the same person, it's known as an "Autograph Letter Signed" (ALS). If the letter is handwritten by a secretary but hand-signed by, for example, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, then it would be known as a "Letter Signed" (LS). The third alternative is called "Typed Letter Signed" (TLS), which simply indicates that the letter is typewritten and hand-signed.

As written above, I would indeed fancy a so-called ALS. In my opinion, an ALS is more of a personalized item, and you know that the person who wrote the letter spent a fair amount of time writing it – instead of just signing.

Nevertheless, even though there are two ALS from the same person or perhaps two TLS from the same person, it's still a difference between them. Not only may the signature be different as it could be a first-name-only but also a full-name signature. Another difference regarding the signature could be exemplified by the case of the legendary actress Grace Kelly. After becoming the Princess of Monaco, she changed her signature to "Grace de Monaco", whilst before that, she signed "Grace Kelly".

Moreover, one should not underestimate the power of the content of a letter. This could very well be the most essential aspect in terms of valuation. Good content can make a letter worth multiple times more than other letters by the same specific person. For example – a handwritten and signed letter by John Lennon addressed to a fan, in which he writes something like "Thank you dear for your kind letter, love John Lennon" is worth roughly $4,000 USD. However, if the content is highly interesting, such as my imaginary example: "I wrote all Beatles songs… McCartney is falsely credited! He didn't even write Yesterday! Dylan did it for him. McCartney is a fraud…" then the letter could very well be worth $75,000 USD. So, if you feel like writing a letter to George W. Bush – don't ask him about his life after the presidency. Ask him about 9/11.

There's one exception, though. Sometimes, the item is so incredibly scarce that its content is of little interest. Talking about a name like the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei. There are only five known examples of handwritten and signed letters by Galilei in existence. Whatever the content may be, the value would exceed $1,000,000 USD. The same could be said about Leonardo da Vinci, William Shakespeare, and others.

In short, there are a few key aspects to consider when evaluating a letter. An ALS is more expensive than an LS and a TLS. The condition is also important as the eye appeal of the item could attract more potential buyers. Not only can bad condition mean that the paper is damaged and folded, but it could also refer to the ink being very faded, etc. The content, as written above, is highly relevant for the valuation. And lastly… is the item authentic or not. For a more in-depth article regarding authenticity, please read HOW TO DETERMINE AUTHENTICITY. Needless to say, if the item is fake, then everything regarding its condition, content, etc., is entirely irrelevant, as the item is worthless. But if it's authentic, it could also be beneficial if the items are accompanied by a letter of authenticity from a respected third party.

Another feature that could benefit the value is the provenance. The history of the item is, in some cases, documented by a letter of provenance. If the provenance is spectacular, e.g., a handwritten and signed letter by Isaac Newton that's been previously owned by Albert Einstein, then that would add enormously to the value. The ownership doesn't necessarily need to include famous names for it to increase its value. For example, if a JFK item was previously owned by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, then that's a big plus. Similarly, if an item was previously part of a spectacular collection, e.g., The Collection of Malcolm Forbes.

Considering all that has been written, it's fair to say that there could be a massive price difference between a letter and a letter, even though both have the same signature on the bottom.

/Alexander Bitar