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Historical Collectibles and Americana Memorabilia Value Guide

How Much is Your American Historical Memorabilia Worth?

Finding the value of your historical and Americana collectibles is easy as 1-2-3! First, check the list of valuable historical collectibles. Next, search the Heritage Auctions archives to find the value. Ready to sell? Request a free appraisal.

1

What Historical Collectibles and Americana is Worth Money?

Formerly the Americana collectible category, historical collectibles we seek include early American political items, autographs, and manuscripts, plus rare books, space artifacts, photography, and natural history. Read more

Formerly the Americana collectible category, historical collectibles we seek include early American political items, autographs, and manuscripts, plus rare books, space artifacts, photography, and natural history.

YES
  • Advertising from 19th and early 20th centuries.
  • Early Photography from Civil War, important people, and Black Americana.
  • Coca-Cola before 1950 and other soda items
  • Tin toys and early board games prior to 1920
  • Mickey Mouse and Disney prior to 1940
  • Other comic character items before 1950
  • Cast iron toys, still and mechanical banks
  • Colonial and early ephemera and autographs
  • Newspapers from the 1600s through Lincoln's Assassination
  • Political items prior to LBJ,
  • Presidential manuscripts and relics
  • Rare and early books and manuscripts
  • Historical posters and broadsides
  • Early Suffrage material
  • American Indian art and artifacts including pottery, beadwork, and textiles
  • Western expansion and Wild West manuscripts, photographs, posters, and documents
  • Period Civil War material including uniforms, flags, edged weapons, firearms, accoutrements, and important documents
  • Air and Space collectibles including original material the early days of aviation and quality original space memorabilia
  • Original material relating to the early history of Texas
NO
  • Advertising with pitting or damage
  • Lithographs that are stained, torn, or have pieces missing.
  • Pinback buttons that are cracked, defaced, or stained.
  • Franklin Mint or Danbury sets
  • Jim Beam or Avon bottles or any modern "Limited Edition."
  • Reprints of any type
  • Damaged items, except for very rare cases
  • Nazi material
  • Picture postcards
  • American Indian arrowheads
2

How to Lookup Historical Memorabilia Values

Search the Heritage Auctions archives to find the value of similar items. Read more

Search the Heritage Auctions archives to find the value of similar items.

The best way to find out what Americana items are worth is to look at what collectors are actually paying for it. Heritage Auctions archives show actual prices paid at auction for thousands of fine historical collectibles and Americana memorabilia.

Search Archives

3

How to Get a Free Appraisal for Historical Memorabilia Online

Most people and even many collectors struggle to determine real market value from sentimental value. If you still think your historical collectible is valuable and you want to sell, look to the experts at Heritage Auctions. Read more

Most people and even many collectors struggle to determine real market value from sentimental value. If you still think your historical collectible is valuable and you want to sell, look to the experts at Heritage Auctions.

Request a free appraisal for your Americana memorabilia. Get a free estimate of auction value for books, manuscripts, Americana collectibles and historical memorabilia. Cash advances available when you consign to Heritage Auctions.

Free Appraisal

Headshot photo of Don Ackerman

Meet our expert: Don Ackerman

Managing Director of Political Americana
1-877-HERITAGE (877-437-4824)  x1884
Specialties: Americana, Civil War & Militaria, Historical, Political Memorabilia
View Biography

Don worked as an antique dealer in Ridgefield, Connecticut in the late 1970s  and issued mail auction catalogs of Americana in the late 1990s. He was a founder and president of The Association for the Preservation of Political Americana which operated for close to ten years and has maintained continuous membership in the American Political Items Collectors since 1964. In 1995, he helped found “The Rail Splitter”, a hobbyist organization for Lincoln collectors which issues quarterly journals and periodic auctions. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief.  He has written dozens of articles on American political history and collectibles which have appeared in a variety of publications. He helped organize  three public exhibits:  the Dr. John Lattimer Collection at the Metropolitan Book Exchange 1995, Grant memorabilia at the Re-Dedication of Grant’s Tomb 1997, and the bicentennial “Abraham Lincoln in New York” at Federal Hall.

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