The Wall Street Journal interviewed me this week.
They're writing a feature about investing in collectibles. And wanted my insider's view on the new trends driving the market.
The article's due out in a few days (I'll send you the link). But I can give you a sneak preview of one of the key trends I highlighted to them.
In fact, I view this as one of the most undervalued areas in all collecting.
Original concert posters
Now, rare original concert posters have been popular with collectors for decades. That's because:
- They are works of art in their own right.
- They capture an exact time and place in music history.
- They can hold strong memories and inspire nostalgia in collectors.
- And they are almost always exceptionally rare.
Yet it's only now that we're seeing them gain mainstream acceptance as an investment proposition.
Why now? Because with prices soaring for other music memorabilia (such as signed LPs, stage-used guitars etc) collectors searching for bargains have begun looking elsewhere.
And they've found original concert posters.
Which explains why the five most valuable posters of all-time have all sold in the past three years. For example:
Four identical examples of the Beatles' 1966 Shea Stadium concert poster have auctioned since 2019:
- November 2019: $125,000
- April 2020: $137,500
- November 2021: $150,000
- April 2022: $275,000
That's 120% growth in less than three years.
Likewise a 1966 Grateful Dead poster for two concerts in San Francisco.
August 2018: $50,600
April 2022: $137,500
That's a 172% increase in value in less than four years.
Now, those latest prices above may not immediately scream "bargain" to you. And I agree. Yet because this sector is immature, you can still find lower priced options that also offer you considerable investment possibilities.
Call it untapped potential.
And I have two for you today.
These two original pop concert posters below shouldn’t still exist.
They should have been thrown away back in the 1960s.
Intended for shop windows. On disused buildings. Outside the concert venue itself.
Their purpose? To get teenagers to buy tickets. Nothing more.
And once the concerts were over?
To be thrown away. Their job done.
No one collected music posters in the 60s.
The idea that they might one day be worth keeping and worth money was preposterous.
So few originals survive from the 60s.
There were few to begin with. Likely around 50 made per concert.
These original posters are pure nostalgia.
They take you hurtling back to those days if you lived through them (I did).
And if you didn’t - to give you a small sense of the excitement that was the 60s music scene.
Here are the two posters you can own today.
The Animals at the Locarno ballroom, Swindon, UK - 1965
March 1965.
And Newcastle’s grittiest band are at the peak of their powers. Their latest single, Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, peaked at #3 just last month.
They’ve already scored a #1 with The House of the Rising Sun in 1964.
And in just four months, they’ll release their global hit We Gotta Get Out Of This Place.
This is one of the band’s last concerts before star keyboardist Alan Price leaves the band in May.
But do you know my favourite part of this poster?
The underbill: the Sole (sic) Savages featuring Paul Dean.
Paul Dean and the Soul Savages are just one of the hundreds of 60s bands that supported the big name acts up and down the country. Desperate for that big break. One that never came. But I’m sure they had great fun along the way…
The poster is a large 30 x 20 inches, with just the right amount of age-related wear.
The price is only £600.
Buy Now Here
And take a look at this second one:
Original Nashville Teens 1966 music poster
This poster advertises two upcoming concerts for the town hall in Liskeard, Cornwall, UK in 1966.
The Nashville Teens (who had a top 10 hit with Tobacco Road in 1964) are playing on July 8.
And The Truth arrive the following week. The Truth are a London duo who have just had a top 30 hit with the Beatles’ “Girl”.
The most evocative lines of all on this poster?
Naturally, “Mod dress competition”…
Yet also the reference to Ready, Steady, Go! This 60s British TV programme featured all the biggest bands of the day. Quintessentially 60s.
The poster wants the reader to know that bands that have appeared on Ready Steady Go! are appearing at Liskeard town hall every Friday. That’s big news for a small town.
Impressive 30 x 20 inches. Good condition for its age. Put it in a nice frame and you have a piece with sizzling eye appeal.
Price: just £450.
Click Here To Buy Now
Feel the age of the paper.
Smell the 60+ years drifting off the printed page.
These posters drop you straight into the 60s:
- Pounds, shillings and pence
- The quintessential 60s typefaces
- The limited two or three-tone print jobs – which placed huge demands on a poster designer’s ingenuity
These aren’t just striking wall decorations. They’re time machines.
Buy with confidence
I have authenticated both posters personally. Both come with my lifetime moneyback guarantee of authenticity. And my certificate of authenticity.
You also get free, fully insured delivery to any address in the world.
Plus, if you don’t love the poster when it arrives, return it within 28 days for a full, no quibble, refund.
Don’t miss out
Original concert posters from the 60s are among the most popular areas in collecting.
Demand and prices are on the up.
Yet both these posters are available for a bargain price. Because I managed to source them cheap several years ago.
Buy now
Click on the links above. Call +44 (0)1534 639 998. Or reply to this email.
And remember:
- Few original 60s concert posters have survived
- This is a rare opportunity to own a piece of 60s nostalgia
Until next time,
Paul Fraser
PS. The Animals were huge in the US as part of the British Invasion. This poster has major sell on potential over there and in the UK.
PPS. If you're into esoteric 1960s bands, check out the poster for these guys
