COLLECTING AUTOGRAPHS

Collecting autographs of famous celebrities can be a great deal of fun.  From signed Beanie Babies to autographed magazines, signature of celebrities can add excitement and interest in your collection.

The signature of Ty Warner, the maker of Beanie Babies, is highly sought after.  Collectors have paid hundreds to thousands of dollars for his golden "ty."  He has autographed Beanie Babies to:

1. Help raise money for charities. In October of 2001, Ty signed the heart tag on an America Beanie Baby and listed it with Ebay's Auctions for America.  The winning bidder paid $24,000 for this one-of-a-kind bear which went directly to the September 11th Fund.

2. Reward Ty employees. Ty has signed the heart tag of four Beanie Babies that were given to Ty employees:  The #1 bear and Billionaire bear in 1998, Billionaire II in 1999, Billionaire III in 2000 and Billionaire IV in 2001.

3. Add interest and value to a prize package.  In October of 2000, a lucky collector in Germany received a complete set of autographed Zodiac Beanie Babies after winning Ty's Olympic Challenge Contest on TyTrade.

4. Build excitement at retail. In 2001, some consumers discovered autographed Clubby IV bears in their BBOC kits while a select group of Ty credit card users were randomly selected and received a signed MasterCard Beanie in the mail!

5. To reward Members of his Hotel Properties. The Coral Casino Beanie Baby was presented as a gift on December 9, 2001 at an open house reception dinner for members only of The Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club located at The Santa Barbara Biltmore Hotel! Only 588 had been autographed and number by Ty Warner. The first Coral Casino bear on auction sold for $4,250!  

Ty Warner has also signed one of every card in the four different series of the Beanie Babies Official Club Collector's Cards.  The highest price paid for the signature of Ty Warner was on a gold #1 Bear Collector's Card from the U.S. edition of Series 2.  The collector from Massachusetts paid $13,900 for this card in 1999.  

If you are looking for an autograph from your favorite celebrity, it may be possible to get one FREE by simply writing to the celebrity.  All you need to do is send a note of praise to the star you would like an autograph from and include a self-addressed  9" by 12" envelope.  Within time, you may receive an autographed photo! 

But where can you find the address to write to?
Check out The Star Archive.  They have over 2,400 celebrity addresses and a helpful legend that will tell you if the address has been tested and what was received!