I saw Brandi Chastain…to be honest, I saw her incredibly defined arms and bulging biceps, did a double-take, and then realized who it was while almost walking into a sunglasses booth…in the San Jose Airport a few months after the 1999 World Cup, and I just happened to have my grandmother’s copy of the Newsweek with Brandi (sans-shirt) on the cover because my grandmother had wanted me to read an article about Atlanta’s urban sprawl.
I approached Brandi and her male companion and asked if she’d sign the magazine, and she did. She expressed regret that the only pen available was a ball-point, and not a Sharpie, but the autograph is legible.
"To Kate,
Thanks for watching!
Best Wishes,
Brandi Chastain
USA #6"
The magazine has been knocking around my work cubicle for many years now, and I know I should be taking better care of it.
Her moment of greatness passed rather quickly, so her autograph, IMHO, is probably not going to have long-lasting value. That means it will be worth nothing in another 10-20 years.
I’d put it on ebay, start it at $9.95 and whatever it brings, let it go. It certainly ain’t worth more than $25 IMHO.
One can never tell what the future may bring. Few people know who Honus Wagner was except that his baseball card is the most valuable. Sometimes, collectors can start favoring certain areas and it’s entirely possible that women’s sports collectibles from this time period could have value someday. And then again, maybe not. Collectors are weird.
If you like the magazine, I suggest you keep it. Right now, it wouldn’t really be worth your time/effort to sell it. It’s probably worth more to you for the sentimental value and as a conversation piece.
Reframe it in archival matierials, which means acid-free backing and UV glass. Modern magazines are made of piss-poor papers and ink and they break down prettyy quickly, especially when directly exposed to light.
Thanks for the info and suggestions. It is more of a sentimental conversation piece than anything. I did greatly look forward to that historic game, and watched it with gusto. That being said, Brandi was far from my favorite player on that team, no matter how many times she took her shirt off or how nice her arms are.
Wagner was one of the more well-known players of his day. And when he retired, he was a coach of the Pirates into the 1950’s. His tobacco card is the only valuable one of his many, many cards, and that is because it was discontinued as it was just starting to be produced, not because of the whims of collectors.
Brandi has probably autographed more items than Wagner ever did in his life, but her autograph will likely never be worth more than it is right now, while people still remember her moment of fame. And that’s what it was.
Honestly, as a long-time autograph collector - I can tell you that the resale value on this is very low for several reasons:
The ball-point. In the autograph collecting community, Sharpie is king - especially on photos or magazines or such (lots of reasons for this… sharpie shows up better, and also doesn’t dig into the paper).
The magazine is personalized to you. Unless you find someone named Kate who’s a big Brandi Chastain fan, it’ll be hard to find a market for this - especially when there are so many non-personalized autographs on the market.
If it’s been “kicking around your cubicle”, not to mention that it was already a used magazine - I can’t imagine the piece is in fantastic condition.
Basically, it all comes down to what the market is like. There are probably a ton of Brandi Chastain autographs signed in the preferred black or blue sharpie on mint or near-mint conditioned magazines or photos that aren’t signed “To Kate.”
If this was Honus Wagner, nobody would care about the inscription or ink because of how rare the signature is. All supply and demand.
Hope this helps… I’ve been collecting for many years and have tens of thousands of autographs… (though no Chastain…too bad my name isn’t Kate ).
).