Lots of great signed pieces posted recently, so I thought I'd start a discussion on the subject. This post will probably bring out some strong reactions, which is fine, but please keep it civil and remember that everyone's collection is different. What one collector finds to be the most amazing significant piece of Genesis history could seem worthless to another collector, and vice versa. I often joke that there is a collector out there that says "Cool autographs on that item!" while another collector says "Cool item, if can you clean that marker off!"😜 Although I do have quite a few signed items in my collection, I am not a huge signature collector. Most of the signed items I do have are tied to a particular show or event or were signed for me, and I don't tend to value just the signatures alone that highly. But that is just me. Signatures are posted here quite often. Sometimes it is me joking that a particular signature is laughably fake, and yet comes with some sort of "iron clad blood soaked certificate of authenticity" when in fact those sorts of certificates do not necessarily guarantee anything. And a signature authenticated by one company is often deemed a fake by another. However, the strange thing to me about the certificates is that in some cases they can bring the value up quite a bit. For example, if an unauthenticated signed item is worth $200, but then gets a (let's say reputable) certificate of authenticity and sells for $1000, one would have to ask themselves "Which does the buyer value more, the signature or the certificate?" The other thing to keep in mind for even an authentic signature, is that part of the value surely must be that the signature is nice, legible, and representative of the one doing the signing. If someone is signing something in a hurry and the signature is rushed or smudged or doesn't look like their signature, I wouldn't think it has the same value or meaning as one carefully signed, even if it is authentic in both cases. One thing that surprises me about the Genesis signature market is that they are not particularly rare. Genesis as a band has been very generous over the years, signing so many things that there surely must be (taking a wild ass guess here) 10s of thousands or more authentic Genesis signatures. Yet they can still sell in the $1000+ range, while another Genesis item made in very limited quantities could sell for far less. Although I can certainly understand that even a rare Genesis item originates from the record company, radio station, or the record store while a genuine autograph comes directly from a band member. In the world of Genesis signatures, value to the collector surely must take into account when something was signed. Genesis signatures changed a lot over time, from late 60s "Phillip" Collins to Phil Collins, from 1970s "Anthony" Banks to Tony Banks, from a reasonably legible Peter Gabriel in the 70s to one that now looks like "PGA" - older signatures, or at least signatures that match the period of the item being signed are certainly more interesting and valuable than one signed many years later. One thing that I feel uneasy about with signatures, and probably why I'm not a huge signature collector, is that unless you personally get the item signed yourself, the "meaning" behind the signature may be missing. An example could be a charity item that says "Thank you so much for your support" or a dedication that says "Hello Dave". A signature bought from a charity is an amazing contribution and deserving of the handwritten thank you. But it would make me feel uneasy to get certain signatures second hand that are clearly dedicated to someone else. This is absolutely not to say that signatures cannot be amazing collector pieces! An authentic autographed copy of A Trick of the Tail hanging on the wall is surely far more interesting than a plain copy. And just because it is not worth $1000+ to me does not mean it's not worth $1000+. It just may mean more to another collector. Because at the end of the day, absolutely none of our collectibles have any value other than the values we give to them. If someone buys a copy of A Trick of the Tail with a clearly fake Peter Gabriel signature (see photo) but they love it and believe it's real, that's all that matters. And it's certainly not my place to tell a collector that something they love is fake, unless they ask of course. Just as I'm sure there are items I love in my collection that that person would find worthless too. As keepers of the collection, what we think about our own collection and what we value is all that matters in the end.

Lots of great signed pieces posted recently, so I thought I'd start a discussion on the subject. This post will probably bring out some strong reactions, which is fine, but please keep it civil and remember that everyone's collection is different. What one collector finds to be the most amazing significant piece of Genesis history could seem worthless to another collector, and vice versa.

I often joke that there is a collector out there that says "Cool autographs on that item!" while another collector says "Cool item, if can you clean that marker off!"😜

Although I do have quite a few signed items in my collection, I am not a huge signature collector. Most of the signed items I do have are tied to a particular show or event or were signed for me, and I don't tend to value just the signatures alone that highly. But that is just me.

Signatures are posted here quite often. Sometimes it is me joking that a particular signature is laughably fake, and yet comes with some sort of "iron clad blood soaked certificate of authenticity" when in fact those sorts of certificates do not necessarily guarantee anything. And a signature authenticated by one company is often deemed a fake by another.

However, the strange thing to me about the certificates is that in some cases they can bring the value up quite a bit. For example, if an unauthenticated signed item is worth $200, but then gets a (let's say reputable) certificate of authenticity and sells for $1000, one would have to ask themselves "Which does the buyer value more, the signature or the certificate?"

The other thing to keep in mind for even an authentic signature, is that part of the value surely must be that the signature is nice, legible, and representative of the one doing the signing. If someone is signing something in a hurry and the signature is rushed or smudged or doesn't look like their signature, I wouldn't think it has the same value or meaning as one carefully signed, even if it is authentic in both cases.

One thing that surprises me about the Genesis signature market is that they are not particularly rare. Genesis as a band has been very generous over the years, signing so many things that there surely must be (taking a wild ass guess here) 10s of thousands or more authentic Genesis signatures. Yet they can still sell in the $1000+ range, while another Genesis item made in very limited quantities could sell for far less. Although I can certainly understand that even a rare Genesis item originates from the record company, radio station, or the record store while a genuine autograph comes directly from a band member.

In the world of Genesis signatures, value to the collector surely must take into account when something was signed. Genesis signatures changed a lot over time, from late 60s "Phillip" Collins to Phil Collins, from 1970s "Anthony" Banks to Tony Banks, from a reasonably legible Peter Gabriel in the 70s to one that now looks like "PGA" - older signatures, or at least signatures that match the period of the item being signed are certainly more interesting and valuable than one signed many years later.

One thing that I feel uneasy about with signatures, and probably why I'm not a huge signature collector, is that unless you personally get the item signed yourself, the "meaning" behind the signature may be missing. An example could be a charity item that says "Thank you so much for your support" or a dedication that says "Hello Dave". A signature bought from a charity is an amazing contribution and deserving of the handwritten thank you. But it would make me feel uneasy to get certain signatures second hand that are clearly dedicated to someone else.

This is absolutely not to say that signatures cannot be amazing collector pieces! An authentic autographed copy of A Trick of the Tail hanging on the wall is surely far more interesting than a plain copy. And just because it is not worth $1000+ to me does not mean it's not worth $1000+. It just may mean more to another collector.

Because at the end of the day, absolutely none of our collectibles have any value other than the values we give to them. If someone buys a copy of A Trick of the Tail with a clearly fake Peter Gabriel signature (see photo) but they love it and believe it's real, that's all that matters.

And it's certainly not my place to tell a collector that something they love is fake, unless they ask of course. Just as I'm sure there are items I love in my collection that that person would find worthless too. As keepers of the collection, what we think about our own collection and what we value is all that matters in the end.

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