EVEN BEGINNERS CAN STAGE A WORTHY COLLECTION WITH THESE TRIED-AND-TRUE TIPS AND TRICKS
By Merritt Martin | December 16, 2025
Radio, newspaper, or poster. Before the internet, these were the three main ways to let fans know their favorite band would be playing a show. After the concerts were over, the radio and newspaper ads would cease, of course, but the posters remained. None of them were meant to be saved, however. In fact, after the curtain calls, concert posters were pulled from windows and light posts and typically tossed into the nearest trash bin.
“Only in the early 1970s was collecting music memorabilia really born,” says Pete Howard, Director of Concert Posters at Heritage Auctions. “For even the biggest artists up to the mid-’70s, most stuff was thrown away after the show. But then this collector’s world was born, and more and more was saved.”
By the 1980s, people knew to start hanging on to their concert memorabilia. Now, scarcity, eye appeal, condition, and the musicians or bands themselves are obvious considerations in poster collecting. But there are some factors that Howard – a dealer and collector who has also spent his entire career in practically every facet of the music industry – ranks supreme for creating a concert poster collection worthy of an encore.
This original poster promoting The Beatles’ August 23, 1966, concert at New York’s Shea Stadium realized $275,000 in an April 2022 Heritage auction.
Unplanned Is Grand
“A huge line in the sand is what was printed before and after the show,” Howard says. Anything printed before a performance automatically is more appealing to a collector. This includes handbills or flyers, the tickets themselves, and, of course, posters. “Repros, reprints made after the show, even designed after the show – that all falls in the category of merchandising posters,” Howard says. “Those are so low-value, that’s basically eBay stuff.” Of course, these days artists also create posters specifically for fans to commemorate shows, and online merch sales make them easier to procure than advertisements from earlier eras. Modern, limited-edition (often numbered) posters are referred to as “created collectibles” and can be valuable, but that value rarely increases, unlike with vintage materials meant to advertise. “The most electrifying collectibles were never meant to be collected,” Howard reminds.
Of note: Some posters were not produced for individual shows but were printed for tours, with blank spaces left at the top or bottom so show details could be written in for each city. Howard loves to see these posters arrive at Heritage and assures that those with a vintage scrawl of details and a personal connection to that historical event only up the value.
Jimi Hendrix’s 1968 ‘Flying Eyeball’ poster set an auction record for a psychedelic rock poster when it sold for $175,000 in a May 2023 Heritage auction.
Play Personal Hits
“There’s an old adage: Only collect what you love, because then if the value falls off, you still have something you love,” Howard says. He even has some clients who would disregard a middling grade from CGC because they just adore the design of a poster or the artist. However, based on his experience, Howard recommends staying open to new opportunities. Beginning collectors can find their criteria and priorities shift several times in their first couple of years. A person might start out collecting Bruce Springsteen, for instance, and then end up finding their passion in early folk or psychedelic artists – or trend into Motown after starting at Elvis Presley. “Everybody’s got a different personal journey,” he says.
Rarity is a driving force for many poster collectors. A prime example is this 1959 poster from ‘The Day the Music Died.’ The rarest known Buddy Holly poster, it became the most valuable concert poster ever sold when it realized $447,000 in a November 2022 Heritage auction.
Track Priorities
When planning the next song in the perfect setlist, smart artists know what emotion they want to elicit from the crowd. Likewise, is it the art and design, the rarity, the musician, the historical context, or the investment potential that draws a collector to purchase a poster? Howard suggests one reflect on these factors and decide what means the most. “I have Heritage clients who say, ‘The art is everything. I don’t care if I don’t know the band or don’t like the music,’” Howard says. “And I’ll have other people say, ‘The rarity is first on my list, because why should I buy something now if I can buy it again in six months?’” Others are completely driven by the music, while some are bargain-hunting, in hopes their finds turn into investment pieces. The key is to find what moves you when collecting, then follow your heart.
One of the most coveted concert posters of all time is the Grateful Dead’s 1966 ‘Skeleton & Roses’ poster advertising two nights of shows at San Francisco’s Avalon Ballroom. This example, in near-mint condition, realized $137,500 in an April 2022 Heritage auction.
Tune Into Trends and Online Education
As much as a fan might love the Grateful Dead, for example, and the band’s iconic 1966 “Skeleton & Roses” poster by Alton Kelley and Stanley Mouse, a budding collector won’t start out knowing everything there is to know about procuring one wisely. Howard recommends that beginners start by looking at auction results on the Heritage website, eBay, and other places, as well as talking to dealers and other collectors. He also says one of the most important lessons is to never spend more on a poster than you can afford, because “being forced to sell something is tremendously disadvantageous.”
This 1955 poster promoting Elvis Presley’s first concert after signing to RCA measures a shade under 14 by 22 inches, a size Heritage’s Pete Howard calls ‘perfectly frameable.’ The poster sold for $187,500 in an April 2024 Heritage auction.
Pay Attention to Format and Storage
Just like crowds determine the popularity of a show, size and style can affect a poster’s value and desirability. Howard notes that because standard sizing appeals to most collectors, those posters retain the most value. Smaller sizes are worth less, but value often decreases for larger posters as well. For example, the standard-size “boxing style” posters of 14 by 22 inches up to the British posters at 20 by 30 inches are “perfectly frameable,” Howard says. “Getting too far past two or three feet, it becomes difficult, expensive, and impractical to frame.” Even storing posters of that size can be challenging, so collectors tend to stay away from those. That’s important to note when collecting, especially if trading and selling are goals. As for posters that have been graded and slabbed by a third-party grading service, Howard assures that they can be easily framed with or without their grades on display. For storing posters, he recommends acid-free, clear, semi-rigid art holders. That way they’re protected and ready for trading, selling, or simply admiring.
