To a speedway fan a programme is as important as a baton in the hand of a conductor, a bow to a violinist or a wig to a barrister at the Old Bailey. But once the action is over where does your record of sporting endeavour end up? Does it have any residual value, especially if like me your handwriting, particularly on a freezing cold October evening, resembles the studious efforts of a toddler with a crayon? And what about the other track souvenirs you have picked up over the years? Should you decide to let go, is eBay always the best option? Reviewing my own collection – adorning the walls of my office and boxed away in the attic – I decided that the time was right to establish if I had the speedway equivalent of a John Harrison pocket watch that eventually made Del Boy and Rodney Trotter millionaires at Sotheby’s.
But before I flicked through the pages of Horse and Hounds looking for my new country pad, I sought the sage advice of Graham Budd one of the UK’s leading sports memorabilia auctioneers.
Unsurprisingly Graham confirmed that football related items are the most potent market movers, representing around fifty percent of his business. Rugby, cricket, golf and boxing figure highly too, albeit Olympic memorabilia has seen a steep increase in domestic values as Graham explained, “Following the 2012 London Games we had a one-off auction of six hundred lots. Our record house price was for a 1952 Olympic torch from the games held in Helsinki that sold for £420,000.” I was keen to establish if there was the Stradivarius violin equivalent in speedway?
Graham let me down very gently, although gave me some cheer in that early speedway programmes do extremely well. However, if I had an Ivan Mauger helmet knocking around, he would be very excited! Asked about the saleability of completed or blank programmes Graham concluded that there are two camps of collectors – those that favour a literal account, scribbles, the all-important heat times and the odd fold, and the purists who demand a blank, pristine, and high-quality product. On balance the latter had a higher value. Autographed copies also create a significant uplift. As a result, from this season onwards, in order to bolster my own financial portfolio I will buy two, placing one in a hermetically sealed plastic folder after harassing every rider to sign it!
I was beginning to realise that my dream holiday in the Maldives, being waited upon by supermodel Karlie Kloss wearing an Oxford Cheetahs body colour, was perhaps some way off. Graham all but destroyed my fantasy when he described the eyewatering sums of money paid for Stateside sporting memorabilia, with a pair of Michael Jordan Nike Air trainers selling for one-and-half million dollars at an auction in Las Vegas! Nonetheless I was still keen to fully understand why collectables are so popular.
Graham outlined the three main strands of memorabilia – music, movies, and sport – suggesting that we are all passionate collectors of something. When I reflect on the ‘stuff’ that usually fills the typical home, he has a point!
In terms of sport, each souvenir has a tangible link to the game and a unique moment in time, connecting with the team and the personalities that we often idolise, even after their passing. Furthermore, Graham reflected the importance of preserving the history of the sport for future generations. I suddenly felt like a custodian of social history and immediately dismissed my son’s declaration that upon my demise he will simply place my collection in a Grundon bin. Thanks to Graham’s professional help I instinctively knew that I was more akin to the Indiana Jones of speedway collecting! Indeed, I have loaned the Museum of Oxford one of my prized assets that now sits centre stage in the newly created sporting wing above the City’s athletic and football heritage.
But before I concluded our appointment, I had one last throw of the dice and invited Graham to estimate the value of some of my older pieces of speedway memorabilia …
And my glorious Oxford body colour (minus the supermodel)? £40 – £60
Unfortunately, no lovely jubbly! Happy collecting and don’t forget to drop into www.grahambuddauctions.co.uk!
© Ian Kirke 2022 and all uncredited photograph’s