The finest examples of Barack Obama's signature are worth £350, reveals the 2014 edition of Paul Fraser Collectibles' PFC40 Autograph Index, released today. Vladimir Putin's is valued at £100 - up 25% from £80 a year ago.

·         Pope Francis' autograph is worth £150 - up 20% from £125 in 2013.

·         Princes William and Harry are valued at £2,250 and £500, respectively.

·         At £18,000, James Dean is the most valuable individual autograph.

·         Fidel Castro is the most valuable living signature, at £3,750.

·         The PFC40 has risen in value by 5.8% since 2013.

·         The PFC40 has increased in value by 13.2% per annum since 2000.

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Paul Fraser, founder of Paul Fraser Collectibles, comments: "Getting Barack Obama or Vladimir Putin's autograph in person is close to impossible due to the close security surrounding them. Written requests also tend to fail - both have more important things to do. Obama's greater value reveals his global popularity - something that cannot be said for Putin.

"Pope Francis continues to gain admirers both within the Catholic Church and without. It's why his signature has grown by 20% in value since 2013.

"On the royal front, it's fascinating that Prince William's signature is three times more valuable than his younger brother. That's evidence of the extra cachet of the future king. Both signatures are rare - royals generally don't sign autographs."

Most valuable living signatures (signed photos unless otherwise stated)

·         Fidel Castro: £3,750 - up 7.1% from £3,500 in 2013

·         Paul McCartney: £2,500 - up 25% from £2,000

·         Prince William (basic signature): £2,250 - up 12.5% from £2,000

·         JK Rowling (signed book): £1,950 - up 11.4% from £1,750

·         Muhammad Ali: £1,750 - up 16.7% from £1,500

·         Ringo Starr: £1,250 - up 0.3% from £1,200

·         Madonna: £995 - no change

·         Prince Harry (basic signature): £500 - up 11.1% from £450

·         Barack Obama: £350 - up 16.7% from £300

·         Pope Francis: £150 - up 20% from £125

·         Vladimir Putin: £100 - up 25% from £80

Most valuable autographs in 2014

·         James Dean: £18,000

·         Bruce Lee (signed album page): £11,000

·         Lord Nelson (handwritten letter): £10,500

Best performing autographs between 2013-2014

·         Paul McCartney: up 25% from £2,000 to £2,500

·         Vladimir Putin: up 25% from £80 to £100

·         Pope Francis: up 20% from £125 to £150

·         James Dean (signed album page): up 20% from £15,000 to £18,000

Best autograph investments between 2000-2014

·         George Harrison: up 22.9% per annum, from £195 to £3,500

·         Neil Armstrong: up 21.6% per annum, from £550 to £8,500

·         Paul McCartney: up 20.9% per annum from £175 to £2,500