Collecting Celtic football memorabilia has become something of a serious business with more and more items being offered by the UK’s most popular auction houses and stores. Prices for football memorabilia in general have been rising with items related the top teams and players going for the highest sums.
Tommy Gemmell
Information is sketchy, but here are some of the most expensive items of Celtic memorabilia ever sold. Some of the items that have gone under the hammer in recent years include a pair of Bertie Auld’s 1965 white shorts which sold for £1,900! Steve Chalmers away shirt, with a sewn on No,7 sold for £7000, despite him normally playing at No.9. Another of his shirts, this time a hooped one sold for £4,800. Tommy Gemmell’s football boots from the 1967 European cup final in Lisbon went for a staggering £14,000. Gemmell famously scored an all-important equalizer in the 63rd minute, and the team went on to beat Milan 2-1. Top of the tree though is a solid gold replica of the European Cup, made to celebrate the 1967 win, auctioned in 2016 and bought by Lord Willie Haughey for £58,000! This is and as far as we can ascertain, a record for a piece of Celtic FC memorabilia!
There are many ways of finding Celtic memorabilia, from scouring the online auction houses, some of which are more trustworthy that others, to stumbling over something. When we say ‘stumbling’, this can be from rummaging around your grandad’s attic to picking up a rare and forgotten item at a car boot sale. Neither of which as farfetched as they seem. People forget what they have, and over the years rare football programmes, match worn shirts and caps turn up. They get trotted out on Antiques Roadshow – the look of excitement on the experts’ faces is priceless as they reveal the values!
If that seem a little too adventurous for you then take a look online. Online memorabilia stores are a great source of rare football memorabilia, from simple autographed pages, captain armbands, signed boots, footballs and of course signed football shirts, but where do you start if you are a novice collector?
L to R: Signed Henrik Larsson shirt £349.99, fully signed 2024 double winners shirt £549.99, signed Marco Tilli football £99.99, signed Marc Burchill photo £6.49 – all available at Firma Stella©
Our advice, if you are new to the collecting market and funds are tight, is to start small. You can pick up signed photographs for under a tenner, then work your way up as fund allow. Apart from the obvious, like collecting the team you support, focus on the best known and most collected players. We’ve mentioned a few above, but also look out for items signed by Billy McNeill, John Thomson, Roy Aitken and record goal scorer, Jimmy McGrory. Everyone has their own favourite player, so collect what you love and you’ll never tire of it.
A great piece of advice is to try and spot the up-and-coming players as well. These are the future stars of the game and values for items related to them will increase in the future. Also, don’t forget the women’s team. Women’s football is on the up and along with it, rare items of women’s Celtic football memorabilia.
Finally, look after your prized piece of memorabilia. Framing is a great option as it protects the autograph from light and dust. Many online stores sell pre-framed shirts and for those unframed items, in most cases, they will offer a framing service as well. It’s worth the extra cost and comes with the added advantage of being able to mount your purchase on the wall. Balls, boots and other items can also be framed, in bubble frames and Perspex boxes, so look out for the option at the checkout! Enjoy what you buy and happy hunting!
