The world is going sports memorabilia crazy with some incredible prices reserved for the rarest items. While many of these originate in America, with a Mickey Mantle baseball card selling for $12.6m (£15.7), prices for rare rugby memorabilia have been rising quickly. Some of the highest prices have been achieved for pieces which delve right back into the history of the game and with oldest club, Guy’s Hospital Rugby Club, starting in 1843, there’s an awful lot to go at! We take a look at some of the rarest pieces and guide you on what to look for now.
In 2016 ‘The Laws of Football as Played at Rugby School’, the first rugby rules’ book sold at auction for £13,000. The small red book, owned by former prime minister of France, William Henry Waddington, was printed in 1851. In 2020 a rare French International Rugby Cap from 1910 went under the hammer for £24,000. It was presented to Julien Combe of Stade Français on his first outing for his country during the first 5 Nations Championship. In 2015 an incredibly rare shirt worn by Dave Gallagher, the first All Blacks Captain, from 1905 sold at auction for £180,000. It was given to a van boy, Thomas Mahoney at his laundry business, and kept by the family ever since. Gallagher’s statue stands proudly outside the Eden Park ground in Aukland – a true legend of the game, who passed away in 1917.
Moving forward, a rare 1973 Sir Gareth Edwards’ match-worn Barbarians shirt sold at auction in Cardiff for a world record sum of £240,000 in 2023. Finally, Philip Green, the fallen retail tycoon, paid £500,000 for a signed England World Cup Final shirt in 2005. The price was way over the odds as it was bought at a charity auction in aid of the Rainbow Trust children’s charity, but officially remains as the most expensive piece of rugby memorabilia ever bought!
These are the highest priced pieces, so aside from stumbling across a rare shirt in your Granny’s loft, what rugby memorabilia should you be looking out for today?
Modern rarities: L to R Signed England 2003 Shirt, All Blacks’ Shirt, Signed Jonny Wilkinson shirt, Springboks’ shirt & Signed Jac Morgan shirt – Firma Stella©
Predictably, the highest prices go for the most highly regarded teams and players, hence England, Wales and New Zealand items riding so highly in the list. If you are going to start a collection or are looking for a one off piece then our advice is to collect pieces that mean something to you. It might be that you were at the final in 2005 and as a raging England fan you want to own a piece of the action. Something that connects you with the team or player. Aside from historical items, signed shirts are the rarest and highest priced pieces of memorabilia you can buy today. Expect to pay up to £3500 for a fully signed England shirt from 2003, £2,500 for a signed Springboks jersey. Individual player shirts from Antoine Dupont and Jonny Wilkinson going for around the £500 mark and All Blacks’ Dan Carter £1,250. Clearly it is an expensive business, but you don’t have to break the bank to get involved. Signed photos go for as little as £10 so you can start small and work your way up over time as finances permit; one day having that hallowed Jonah Lomu or Jonny Wilkinson on the wall!
A final word of advice is where to buy from. Be careful of the cheaper online auctions as there are many fakes around, with little policing and no recourse when things go wrong. If you stick to some of the specialist online stores, such as Firma Stella who have the largest collection of rugby memorabilia online, then you will be safe. Make sure you get a signed, (and preferably holographic), numbered certificate of origin (COA). This protects you should anything go wrong. The best stores will offer a lifetime guarantee and signing proof if obtained, as well, to give you absolute peace of mind. Good luck!
