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There are events in our lives that stand out like no others. Most of us in my generation know where we were and what we were doing on Nov. 22, 1963 when we learned that John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
In the hours and days that followed, we lived the tragedy through media coverage of an almost unreal series of events culiminating with his funeral. It consumed our lives and we saved the newspapers and magazines with their black borders and bulletin-sized headlines. Later we bought commemorative items like glassware salt and pepper shakers that we dutifully packed and unpacked whenever we moved.
More recently, high profile estate sales brought us closer to the personal side of JFK when the combs he used, the sunglasses he wore, and even his underwear went up for auction. Prices reached astronomical levels.
But what about the value of everyday JFK items we’ve lived with all these years? Did their values rise as well? Yes and no. Let’s review the JFK collectible market and see why that is.
PERSONAL VALUE: Like any collectible of a significant national event such as the JFK assassination, items directly associated with the person have a higher collector value. If JFK touched it, owned it, gave it away, signed it, displayed it, wore it, bought it, loved it, cared for it, sat in it or visited it, that item is a first-level of collectible and commands a higher value. This is true of any historical figure from George Washington to George W. Bush.
ASSOCIATION VALUE: Items related to his political years of Congress, Senate and White House would have a relatively high level of value based on its proximity to JFK. The sign on the door of his office or on his desk, campaign signs, bumper stickers, schedules and business cards would bring values about half of those associated with items that held personal value.
EVENT VALUE: The newspapers, magazines, the funeral items and any item associated only with the assassination itself, but not a personal link or an-association with JFK, have a third level of value. These are more common items, but limited within a brief time frame.
COMMEMORATIVE VALUE: Glassware, photos, books, jewelry, plates, buttons, posters, recordings, movies, salt and pepper shakers, videos and other items were mass produced and sold to gift outlets well after JFK’s death to keep his memory alive. These commemoratives are quite plentiful and are not considered scarce or even limited. Their value continues to be the lowest in the collectible JFK market.
There are exceptions. For example, a set of keys to his Dallas limousine came to my attention some time ago. However, the keys couldn’t be verified as authentic and so the value dropped to about $10. Who knows how much they could have been worth? The keys would have had an event value, but an unusual one, so its value could be more significant than a normal event item.
Naturally, condition plays an important role, too. A personal item, such as a book in very poor condition, still would command a higher value because of its personal connection, but not as high as it could have been.
It may seem odd or a bit unseemly to consider JFK in the context of collectibles. After all, many of us remember his life and his tragic assassination with deep emotion. You might well have carried some of that attachment to your special JFK items nearly 45 years after his death. But like stocks, bonds, and real estate, our collectibles eventually need to be evaluated as to their investment value, too.
If you know where your item fits within the JFK collectible world, the better you’ll understand its value and the value of your collection overall.
Tags: George W. Bush, John F. Kennedy, political memorabilia, president, presidential memorabilia, Tom Carrier, White House
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Tom Carrier,
I tried to contact you, but was unable to do so.
I have an Inauguration Album. It is the 33′ size and it is difficult to find a turn table these days so have not been able to hear it.
It is in perfect condition. Have no idea of it’s value.
Would you be interested?
binkydee7@yahoo.com
Brenda Shelton
i liked jfk….my grandmother saved alot of his stuff magz covers pics papers too……
I have some JFK items my deceased father-in-law from Boston left me. They are two photo-electrostatic copies of letters to the deceased from JFK’s personal secretary, Mrs. Evelyn Lincoln. They are in reference to assistance my late father-in-law made to JFK regarding aid to disabled people. I also have an enlarged 35mm black and white photo print of the three Kennedy brothers (circa late ’50’s , early ’60’s) standing (close up) shoulder to shoulder. Would you be interested in purchasing these items? I know they are of some value.
Thank you;
LEH
To Louis:
Copies of letters have only sentimental value to the family, I’m afraid. What happened to the originals? A personally signed letter by Evelyn Lincoln has a value from $20 to $40 depending on the content of the letter.
The value of the photo depends on its context. Is it a professionally produced photo for the White House, was it a photo shot for a news event, perhaps it was a pose for a magazine or newspaper article, or maybe just a commercially produced one for resale as a souvenir. If it was a personal shot from an individual’s camera, then it could be more interesting. Who can say without looking at it to be sure. My feeling is that the enlargement by itself would have only an ephemera value to a collector, perhaps $10 to $15. Do you also have the negative? That might make a bit of difference.
As a Worthologist, I can’t buy items I evaluate, so I might refer you to WorthPoint’s Buy and Sell Board as a way to sell your items.
All the best. Tom
what would be the value or significance of the the flag that had thee presidential seal that was on the car when JFK was killed
Matt: Over the years there have been several times when a family has said that they have a personal presidential item attributed to the limousine JFK was riding in Dallas in 1963. One collector provided a set of keys said to belong to the car itself. However, the chain of provenance couldn’t be definitively proven and so the keys had no collectible value.
That would be the same question I would have to ask you. Can you definitely trace the flag back to the limousine in Dallas through paper records. True, many Secret Service, FBI, and local police officers were just given items at the time, like the set of keys, but because it couldn’t be positively proven to have come from the car, a collector may buy them only as a curiousity, not for its true value.
There were a set of flags that were definitively identified as coming from the car in Dallas auctioned from the Robert White collection several years ago for about $450,000 the set (includes the US and presidential flag). He was a well known JFK items collector and had the provenance of these flags to prove it. However, as with the keys, there are several other sets of flags used on the car as well. Could that be one of yours? If you can prove it.
Hope this helps. Tom
As of now I do onot have any documentation that could prove it although I know it is from the car JFK was riding in in Dallas. The story of it is, My father was in the army and stationed at the white house garage at the time. The car came straight to him and another man once it got back to D.C.. I’m sure, by looking up some old White House logs, it could be traced back to the very car that JFK was assasinated in. The Flag has not left his possesion since he got it. He said the man that was with him got the American Flag, and that he was able to prove it. He regretted not doing what was needed to authenticate it.
Matt: Unfortunately, the late Robert White estate has already sold the actual flags that were on the JFK presidential car in Dallas in 1963. The final bid was about $140,000 or so. It was known that several sets of flags existed for the presidential limousine then and perhaps you may have another set. However, without documentation, or provenance, what you have is a set of presidential flags with a value of about $1200 or so. The story just doesn’t add more than that, I’m afraid. All the best.
Tom Carrier
Worthologist
Tom,
I have an original 1961 government printed picture of the Ask not speech with Kennedy’s picture on it. Is it worth being restored? It has some smoke stains? on it. It’s been in my parents posessions since I can remember. Thanks
Brenda: Your “Ask Not” commemorative from the GPO (Government Printing Office) is not worth restoring. Because so many of the items were printed and sent out to anyone who requested one, there are entirely too many still available. Without actually seeing the item, I would have to suggest it has more sentimental value than a monetary one, that is, less than $5.
Thanks for asking the question.
Tom Carrier
Worthologist
Just a question I know where you said newspapers fall on the list but what if you have a copy of every newspaper ever written on JFK from election to death. My grandmother collected and kept all of them.
Christina:
If your grandparents collected every newspaper that referenced JFK from “election to death” meaning from November 1960 until his assassination in November 1963, you have quite a collection to dispose of.
Within that group of newspapers, there would be the first mention of sending “advisors” to Vietnam, a war begun with Dwight Eisenhower, but nevertheless expanded by JFK while in office. The new program called the Peace Corps would have had a mention and so many other newsworthy events such as the pledge to “..send a man to the moon and return him safely to the earth…before the decade is out”, the 40th anniversary of which we just celebrated.
Still, what could they be worth as a whole? Hard to say, since so many individual newspapers were printed and continue to survive today. Separately, any individual newspaper would have a retail value of between $1 and $3 at the very most, depending on content, but sold mostly for its curious advertising content. The ones mentioning the assassination could each have a higher value, but not by much unless they were the early editions of the newspapers from Dallas.
Selling them individually online is probably the key to making more on the collection overall. But that brings in the added headache of registering each item, writing the content, taking photos, monitoring the auction, securing the payment, and then shipping the item, all to be done to the satisfaction of someone else. If you have the werewithal to do all that, it could be worth it over time, but you probably won’t get even minimum wage for the effort you’ve expended.
Of course, you could just sell the entire collection as a lot, too, with just one shipping cost.
Or, donate the collection, to the library, to a museum, to a JFK club, to a classroom journalism class, but understand that the collection will have to be broken up to hang on to the “good stuff.”
I once had a large collection of newspapers and magazines with significant front page stories. Some I had framed as a source of interest, but most just sitting in a large box that I moved from place to place. It became too difficult to continuously maintain these items, especially as so many other ‘newsworthy’ events kept piling up. And the long term value of ‘newsworthy’ wasn’t very high.
In short, keep the ones you like and either sell off the rest piecemeal (if you have the time), as one lot (but don’t expect very much more than gas money), donate them (but they probably won’t be kept either), or recycle them. I say all of this without the sentimental value your grandparents invested in collecting them. That has value, too.
Tom Carrier
Worthologist
Carol:
There are many different versions of the mass card attributed to the funeral mass of JFK. Many churches across the country printed their own card and so there are many variations. The value of each of these cards wouldn’t exceed $10 in good condition.
The official mass card approved by Jackie Kennedy, however, has a slightly higher value in good condition, around $10 to $20 or so. It featured JFK in a 3/4 profile with a black border like this one found on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/President-John-F-Kennedy-Wash-DC-Mass-card-JFK-1963_W0QQitemZ300342111882QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item45edc8ee8a&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
Hope this helps.
Tom Carrier
Worthologist
I have a mass card from JFK’s funeral. Should I hold on to it or is it worth something?
Tom,
I have an envelope used from the Kennedy presidency (back when the president actually sent letters in an inter office type envelope). It is addressed to the president of the Senate from POTUS. It has a wax seal on the back that is still intact, but the envelope was opened at the top with a letter opener. Any idea of its value? It came to me from a retired Senate guard who obtained it many years ago.
Thanks!
I have a slide taken by my grandparents of JFK waving to them at a conference. Not sure which conference, but I was just curious if it was worth anything.
Lysette:
Generally, no, slides or photographs of presidents or candidates on the campaign trail or at special events taken with personal cameras have any significant value in the collectible market (the current celebrity market notwithstanding). They would have more sentimental value, though, and that’s still something.
However, it does depend on the circumstances, too. If the image includes something of an historical nature, then personal images would enter the collectible market more easily. Think the Zapruder film. Under ordinary circumstances, the Zapruder film would have had only a curiousity value, not the historical value it has since become. Again, circumstances of the image matters.
Since I haven’t seen the image, if it is only of JFK smiling and waving from a distance, it would have an interest to a JFK collector, certainly, but it doesn’t come with a particularly high market value, say less than a few dollars. If the image was more of a closeup, then it could have a bit more value.
Tom Carrier
Worthologist
Ken: For official photos of a particular day and time, check with the presidential library. If a photo exists of the welcoming ceremony, their archives will have it.
All the best.
Tom Carrier
Worthologist
I was in the Air Force and was selected to be an Air Police honor guard for JFK on Nov. 21, 1963. I am trying to find photos of JFK at Kelly AFB when he was departing after the dedication at Brooks medical center. If there are any photos that were taken on the flight line that afternoon there is a slim chance I might be in them. Does anyone know where I might find photos from that day?
I found a flasher button at work in a pile of stone dust. Its about half an inch round an flashes J.F.K. face and then the American flag. Its in very good condition and was wondering if it may have any value to it Thanks Frank Dunn
Frank:
The flasher buttons of the era were usually made by Vari-Vu, a company based in Mt. Vernon, NY that specialized in these types of buttons. They are no longer in business, but other companies have followed in their tradition since then.
Your button is an unusual size. Most are in the 2 to 2 1/2 inch range. Your design is a bit unusual, too. JFK with an background of an American flag would be a great design.
These types of buttons have to be in very good condition to be of any interest to collectors and most of these types were scratched or don’t ‘flash’ as they were intended.
All things being equal, without seeing it, I would have to guess that your button may certainly have a value of $25 to $50. Depending on the actual design, condition and other factors that can only be evaluated ‘in person’, so to speak, the value can be higher to a collector.
Thanks for the question.
Brenda:
I’m sorry I am only now getting to your question.
There is some value to these types of items, but really not very much. There were just entirely too many of them produced. Perhaps in another 100 years. Right now, the value of such a record provided it is in good condition and can still be played [but how?] is about $10 to $15. That is the selling price, although many dealers mark them up to $25 or $30 with the understanding that someone will get a discount. They will probably give you $5 or so for yours.
I don’t have a personal interest in it, but you could use our Buy & Sell Board and list it there for $10. Perhaps someone will find it there.
Hope this helps. Tom
Sure, with the advent of Ebay so much more JFK items have entered the market to such a degree that prices have noticeably dropped. That is, the everyday items like yours have dropped in value. The more personal items have skyrocketed. We just need to be aware of the more unique items that will translate into a higher value collectible.
For example, see my blog about the ‘Evelyn’ coffee mug that may have belonged to JFK’s personal secretary Evelyn Lincoln. It still has to be independently verified, but that is still an unusual find.