Collecting Football Programmes
Football enthusiasts and collectors alike have been collecting football programmes for quite some time although they didn’t receive as much attention as other sports memorabilia until recently. This is largely due to the fact that football programmes came to be regarded as collectibles only in the second half of the 20th century when it became clear that the earliest programmes are extremely rare and difficult to find.
Starting Your Own Collection
Collecting football programmes is very similar to collecting other sports memorabilia. In addition to being difficult to find, they are also quite expensive, especially the most desirable ones. Not only these are almost always the rarest ones but they are also highly sought after by serious collectors who don’t ask for the price.
If you would like to start collecting football programmes and have a limited budget, you are recommended to either focus on programmes from the later periods because they are firstly, less expensive and secondly, easier to find. But regardless on which period or area you decide to specialise, be patient. While it is possible to find many programmes at club shops, the finest ones are available only occasionally at dealers and online auction websites.
But before you get started, you should learn everything there is to learn about collectible football programmes in order to avoid overpaying for them and to be able to recognise an opportunity when you see one. It is very important to be patient and make sure that you don’t break your budget but sometimes you have to react immediately because there may not be a next opportunity to become a proud owner of a rare football programme.
A Brief Overview of Collectible Football Programmes
Obviously, the most desirable and highly valued are the earliest football programmes because only a few have survived. Back in the late 19th and early 20th century, people didn’t think it may be worth keeping them because they may be worth something later. In addition, they were printed on a poor quality paper and even if they weren’t thrown away, they got destroyed over time if not taken care of really well.
Though the late 19th and early 20th century football programmes are highly sought after, not all are very valuable and not programmes from the later 20th century are inexpensive. The price is pretty much driven by demand and supply, and above all by condition. The latter is discussed in more detail in “Condition, Condition, Condition”.