Some of the more traditional areas of the antique collecting market may have declined in recent years, but these have been compensated by the development of sporting memorabilia. There have been specialist sales of golf and cricket-related memorabilia since the 1950s, while football has really taken off since the early 1990s. For much of this time, rugby union memorabilia has taken a back seat, but this is no longer the case with prices in the salesroom for rarer items easily competing with their sporting counterparts.
Anthemion Auctions of Cardiff are probably the market leaders in the sale of Rugby Union memorabilia reflecting the proud traditions of Wales in relation to the game. Their next sale on October 19 includes autographs, photographs, ceramics, books, menu cards, match balls, and of course, a vast number of programmes. The modern rugby programmes from the period post-1960, whether from British club or international rugby, are all fairly easy to obtain and have very little auction value. However, there are exceptions, especially matches played overseas, with a premium always being paid for those programmes from British Lions tours.
It is the older programmes and memorabilia related to the period prior to 1950 that carry the real weight at auction. This is reflected by some of the high pre-sale estimates on items already consigned to Anthemion’s October Sports Sale. Programmes from Welsh internationals against Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand, and England in the 1930s are all likely to sell for between £30-£100 per copy. Rare issues from Welsh tours overseas against East Africa, Fiji, Tonga, and Hong Kong during the 1960s and 1970s are available at £50-£250 each, whilst sets of programmes from British Lions tours in the 1950s and 1960s have been catalogued at upwards of £600 per set.
Unfortunately, the sale does not yet have a copy of the collectors’ holy grail – a copy of the 1905 Wales v New Zealand programme – so rare that only three copies have appeared on the auction circuit in the last decade. If there is a copy out there, then a figure of between £3,000-£4,000 would be a suitable asking price. So it’s always worth rummaging through the attic to search for father’s old programmes – a few minutes of searching might prove a worthwhile investment of time.
Further details on Anthemion’s next Sports Sale are available from Mike Ashton or Ryan Beach on 029 2047 2444.