This week we continue to discuss the most important aspect of valuing any collectible … state of preservation, or condition. The February 23, 2009 issue of Barron’s featured an article on the current state of the collectible automobile market.

The article was reporting on a major national auction that took place at the very low point of our most recent financial crisis.

“The market for collectible vehicles has lost some power. But demand has hardly stalled, here’s what’s hot. Some things haven’t changed. Quality and authenticity are still king. The finer a car’s condition and the closer it matches its original state, the better. Differences in condition can drastically affect prices of the same model.”

This is what makes collecting 1960’s Psychedelic Rock Concert Posters so exciting. Collectors are just now recognizing how rare and desirable pristine pieces are, making this a true ground floor opportunity.

Call Glen Trosch today at 410-464-6180 to discuss how we can help you build a beautiful portfolio of these wonderful pieces of history.

If there is one message that we’ve tried to convey over and over, it is that when it comes to collectibles, Quality is King. This is not theory, or our opinion, it is a simple fact that can’t be ignored.

In the Spring 2009 issue of heritage Magazine, there is an extensive interview with Super Collector Steve Geppi. Steve is the largest, smartest and most sophisticated Comics and Pop Culture collector in the world, and he also happens to be a minority owner of The Baltimore Orioles baseball team.

Geppi is quoted as follows” I had a voracious appetite for buying quality comics in High Grade. I learned early that condition was critical from an investment standpoint. The higher the grade, you couldn’t get stuck. No matter what you paid for a high-grade book, even if it was over market, if you sat on it long enough it would eventually turn into a good investment because they are not making them anymore. Today, with the stock market and the Real Estate market in the tank, I’ve been waving the flag. I even wrote an editorial for the local newspaper. The real true supply and demand market, if that’s what escalating value is about, is over here in collectibles. People are recognizing that this stuff is really, truly something that can’t be replaced. You don’t wake up looking at some newspaper that tells you your Superman #1 is worth half of what it was yesterday. I knew if I bought high grade…not to say that you can’t make money in lower grade, but in Blue Chip investing it’s clear. When you buy a Walt Disney poster and there is only one known, and it’s in high grade, you have to pay the price or you don’t get it.”

To read the entire article click here:

http://www.ha.com/magazine/images/highlights_spring09.pdf

In the same issue is an article written by Scott Tilson, co-founder of Psychedelic Art Exchange.

Those of us who are frustrated at the lack of availability of quality vintage psychedelic concert posters have an opportunity to obtain hard to find items this coming weekend.

The Heart of Rock and roll auction is an auction that is a collaboration between SF rock posters and sixties posters.com. They are about to launch their 14th Rock poster offering. This auction has several posters that meet the criteria that is defined in the psychedelic Art exchanges Insiders report.

The auction goes live May 14, 2009 at 12 Noon EST. The auction runs for two weeks and lots begin closing on May 24th. To preview the auction visit The HeART of Rock and Roll Poster Auction

I just returned from the fortieth anniversary of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Jazz Fest is perhaps the greatest combination of food, music and good times available at a music festival. That combined with the Crescent city as a backdrop, provides an incomparable experience. I witnessed wonderful performances by Neil Young, Bonnie Raitt, Doc Watson, Solomon Burke, Emmylou Harris , and the Neville Brothers to name a few.

I wanted to thank the friends of PAE who joined us for our reception at the Ritz Carlton. It was nice to meet with folks who share our passion for concert poster art and live music. I kept holding out hope that Neil Young ( his gleaming vintage tour bus parked out front), who was also staying at the Ritz, would somehow appear for a drink.

Not only is Jazz Fest a source for a top shelf eclectic gumbo of music, but the festival organizers have been producing a wonderful series of posters for several years.The Jazz Fest poster was first produced in 1975, and in recent years has featured portraits of New Orleans’ musical royalty . This years edition featured an image of Allen Toussaint and was created by New Orleans artist James Michalopoulos. The Congo Square poster was introduced in 1979. This year the Congo Square poster showed an image of one of thebest young emerging New Orleans musicians today, Trombone Shorty.

The Jazz Fest poster is a terrific example of limited run posters that are currently being produced. Posters, although still being used to advertise live musical events, are more predominantly being sold in a commercial vein. Today’s poster artists are using all of the modern printing techniques & papers that are available to them. Although the posters are beautiful and collectible (I have several Jazz Fest posters myself) they will never have the scarcity or the potential value that vintage 1960’s concert posters have. Any poster that is manufactured as a collectible rarely has the qualities that grace them with the high pedigree of the psychedelic concert poster.