Abraham Lincoln Memorabilia

Factual Questions
1

A friend is considering buying a piece of Abraham Lincoln memorabilia (with autograph). Can anyone suggest a reputable dealer that has an on-line presence that specializes in this or might have it available.

Also, I figure that something like this goes in the range of $5,000-$25,000, depending on its historical importance and condition. Does this seem about right?
Thanks in advance.

2

There are a number of dealers related to Lincoln ephemera, but no one comes to mind right now. I’ll keep an eye out for people that should know. I just got two catalogs for political items (I collect or rather used to collect political items and still am a member of the American Political Items Collectors) and one has a Lincoln signed Army Commission esimated at $7900. The auction house is LaBarre and the web address is www.labarre.com. The other was for Heritage Galleries at www.heritagecoins.com. It was just political items. www.mastronet.com also has items and has a Lincoln legal brief but no estimate.

These are a few places and there are others. EBay is not one of them. I would seriously doubt the authenticity of any Lincoln item on Ebay, just because there are better ways to sell a good item. There are probably good stuff there,but I would be very leery.

Try to find an autograph or paper antique dealer in your area that you can trust. Lincoln items are out there because the Civil War made him sign a lot of documents. There have been some issues with who really signed them, like aides and secretary, so be careful even there.

3

I would suggest that before your friend starts shopping, s/he should do some research. S/he should learn what types of paper were in use at the time, for starters, and become familiar with the collector terms, such as “foxing.”

Armed with a little knowledge, s/he should be able to spot obvious forgeries. (Unfortunately, many people are duped because they don’t know much about what they’re buying.)

Secondly, s/he should learn how to care for a historical document. Improper care can destroy the value of such an item.