In the succeeding sections, you will learn in more detail about the factors that can affect the value of your antique items.

While antique pieces do have an innate value in them, this value can fluctuate depending on other factors such as the brand of the sports memorabilia (typically used for assessing apparel, jerseys, caps, or other antique sports collectibles that can be worn), its authenticity, any history or provenance, and the overall condition of the collectible piece (this is why it is important to know how to care for your antique items).

Authenticity of Sports Memorabilia

If your antique sports item is not graded or certified authentic, you need to have it authenticated by a third-party expert before you can sell it. You can find an expert appraiser that can evaluate your items for its rarity and history. However, there are also certified sports memorabilia authenticators. Here are some of them:
 
Professional Sports Authenticator

This is an independent organization that is capable of grading and authenticating your sports collectibles. They have a 10-point scale and the quality of your items can be graded that way.

Beckett Grading Services

This one is affiliated with Beckett magazine, which also uses a 10-point scale like the PSA. BGS is unique though as they have a secondary rating for specific antique items like cards. They use secondary evaluation by checking the corners and edges of sports cards.

Global Authentication Inc.

This organization is specifically concerned with grading sports memorabilia such as trading cards, autographed items, and other documents that have historical value.

Caring for Antique Sports Collectibles

Antique sports memorabilia are considered rare since they are typically manufactured in small quantities. If you are lucky enough to get hold of these items, you need to take proper care of it (especially if you intend to sell it). The condition of a sports memorabilia can significantly cause its value to go up. On the flip side, an antique memorabilia that is in poor condition will not be as valuable as ones that are well cared for.
 
In order to preserve the antique items, you need to follow these 5 easy tips on how to care for and protect your sports collectibles:

1. Put them inside acrylic display cases. This type of display case is a good investment if you are a serious collector. It can also display a wide range of antique sports memorabilia in your possession such as sports cards, caps, jerseys, gloves, and balls, among other things. As a bonus, these cases allow 360-degree viewing of your items on display.
2. Enclose them in a binder or sleeve: This method of storing your sports memorabilia is better suited for specific types of items, such as sports cards. It is also a popular way to preserve other antique items such as sports jerseys.
3. Frame them: Putting your antique items in a frame is another great way to preserving them. This is especially useful for valuable collectibles such as autographed items, unique photographs, pennants, or anything that isn’t meant to be worn.
4. Place them in storage boxes: Another easy way to protect your antique sports memorabilia is to place them inside storage boxes. This is best suited for valuable collectibles that are not put on display.
5. Use card holders. This particular method of storing antique sports collectibles is best suited for vintage cards.

History of Sports Memorabilia Collecting

There is a diverse market for antique sports memorabilia. After all, there are sports fans across all generation and there is a wide range of sports to choose from as well. 

The history of sports memorabilia collecting started as old as the history of sports itself. When sports became an organized form of competition, it was then when the collecting culture began.

You can find antique sports collectibles that range from popular to bizarre. Indeed, you can collect sports trophies, cards, and even old sports items from popular sports personalities and athletes. 
If you are able to authenticate and provide documentation for these antique items, you could potentially command a high price for these items.

Antique sports collectors do so due to their emotional connection to the sports and their favorite sports teams. In addition to the connection with the favorite sports teams, there is also a decorative appeal to these collectible items. 

In auctions, the sports items that generate the highest bid are ones that have a distinctive feature or those linked with high-profile associations or history.

Want to know what your antique sports memorabilia are worth? 

You can start with our comprehensive guide so you can find out how these items are valued.

Types of Sports Memorabilia

When talking about sports memorabilia, there are plenty of them in the market. There are a variety of sports memorabilia collected by fans from all over the world. This is your list of sports collectibles to choose from:

	Football apparel and souvenirs NFL or National Football League is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. Therefore, there are plenty of NFL apparel and souvenirs that avid sports fans can collect.  The most popular NFL apparel collected includes jerseys, shirts, jackets, hats, watches, and key chains. Super Bowl memorabilia and gear, in particular, are highly in demand. There are also some NFL items that are used as home décor such as team banners, flags, signs, posters, and car accessories.
	Basketball apparel and souvenirs The NBA is the world’s biggest basketball league and also the most popular. Hence, you will find plenty of NBA apparel and souvenir items that are valued at a high price in the market, such as jerseys, jackets, caps, t-shirts, posters, cards, and more. If you can get NBA sports memorabilia linked with some of the greatest players in the NBA, you can also get a higher value for those. Some of these players include Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and so on. Apparel items that are associated with these players can cost a lot!
	Baseball apparel and souvenirs Just like NFL or football, baseball is also a popular sport worldwide. The MLB (Major League Baseball) is one of the most recognizable leagues in the world. Some of the most popular baseball items include baseball bats, batting helmets, bobbleheads, jerseys (autographed and game-worn), t-shirts, vintage photos, throwback jerseys, posters, and prints.
	Racing apparel and souvenirs  Racing fans are not as widespread as basketball or football fans; however, these are also loyal and die-hard fans. Hence, they are willing to pay a huge chunk of money to get their hands on rare souvenir items from their favorite racing teams and personalities such as Indy, Formula 1, or NASCAR shirts, jackets, caps, photos, posters, and other forms of souvenirs.
	Boxing memorabilia  Boxing is one of the globally popular types of sports. Hence, it comes as no surprise that boxing fans would clamor over rare and antique boxing items such as autographed boxing gloves, match posters, or any items linked to boxing legends such as Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Joe Frazier, and more.

 
There are a few other classifications of sports memorabilia that fans from all over the world are willing to pay a high price for. Some of these include hockey apparel and souvenirs, golf apparel and souvenirs, horse racing souvenirs, tennis apparel and souvenirs, soccer apparel and souvenirs, and cycling souvenirs.
 
In general, if you own any of these sports-related items that are antique, you should have an expert look into it so you can determine its worth:

• Autographed items
• Team jerseys or apparel
• Ticket stubs
• Bobbleheads
• Game-used equipment
• Sports cards
• Pins
• Handwritten letters