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Vintage posters are valuable due to limited supply and intrinsic attractiveness. Movie posters are the most commonly collected, with pre-WWII posters being the most expensive. Autographs and political posters can also increase value. The most expensive movie poster sold was for Metropolis, at $690,000 USD. Collections can be more valuable than individual posters.
Vintage posters are like any other commodity: their value depends on how many are available and how many people want to own them. Posters can command high prices for a couple of reasons. First, supply is often limited because they are so easily torn or damaged, making intact copies in good condition quite rare. Second, because posters are designed to be attractive, they have intrinsic value – people will want to own them for reasons other than just an investment, such as to display in their homes.
Movie posters tend to be the most commonly collected type. Vintage posters from before the end of WWII cost the highest prices, likely due to their rarity. At least 13 different posters for over $100,000 US Dollars (USD) were sold in the auctions.
The most expensive movie poster ever sold is thought to be for the 1927 film Metropolis. Only three known copies exist, one of which is in the Museum of Modern Art in New York and one in the Austrian National Library. The Library had two copies but sold one in 2005 to a private collector for a record $690,000 USD.
Collections can be more valuable than the sum of the individual vintage posters involved. An example would be a collection of posters from different countries for a single film. Another is those in a sequence such as a collection auctioned in 2008 with a starting bid price of one million dollars. This collection had 76 of the 79 movie posters that had won the Best Picture award at the Academy Awards.
Autographs can make vintage posters more valuable. This is especially true in cases where multiple celebrities are depicted and the poster is signed by several or even all of those present. The value of an autographed poster will be significantly higher for celebrities who are deceased, as the supply of such autographs will become more limited. However, there is always a risk that such autographs will prove to be counterfeit which will severely reduce the value of a poster.
Political manifestos can be especially valuable because they have both historical and aesthetic value. Vintage posters from the Cold War era, especially from the Soviet Union, can sell for high prices. Another valuable category of political posters are those produced in North Korea. Even the most modern North Korean posters can be very valuable simply because so few foreigners visit the country and have the opportunity to take them away.
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