Autographed Photo of Honecker

How much do you think would be reasonable to pay for a photograph of East German leader Erich Honecker, autographed by him during his term in office? Would this be a very rare piece of history, warranting a substantial investment?

There's a great chance it was fake
It isn't really a "very rare" piece of history
I say 30 bucks.

Loz wrote:

There's a great chance it was fake
It isn't really a "very rare" piece of history
I say 30 bucks.

Here is what the signed picture looks like:

http://www.autogramme.com/shop/produktbilder/z_22535.jpg

Here is a photograph of Honecker's actual, confirmed signature:



It certainly looks like the same style of handwriting. If it is a forgery, it is a good one. The seller says it dates from 14 August 1989, two months before his resignation and 3 months before the demolition of the Berlin Wall began. It comes with a printed Certificate of Authenticity and "lifetime guarantee", whatever that's worth. They say it includes a document detailing when and where the signature was obtained.

The question is whether it is worth the price. The seller is asking US $168.30, and will sell it right away rather than through an auction. Pretty steep.

However, such items often go for considerably more. Yasser Arafat is going for US $468:

http://www.autogramme.com/shop/produktbilder/18004.jpg

Other examples: David Ben Gurion's autograph is going for US $390.60 and Ronald Reagan's for US $899. You can get a document signed by Napoleon for US $2,970 and a personal note signed by Vladimir Lenin for US $110,000 (ouch; do they really expect someone to drop that much money on ebay?).

Well,ok,but it would be wiser to spend that money on books actually.

I'm no handwriting expert by any stretch of the imagination but the H's seem to have significant differences in stroke. Usually people who sign their name frequently (and I assume Honecker did) usually use the same strokes every time. I dunno, I'd be pretty skeptical of this though.

Loz wrote:

Well,ok,but it would be wiser to spend that money on books actually.

These are not mutually exclusive. Besides, I'm a library member.

Dagoth Ur wrote:

I'm no handwriting expert by any stretch of the imagination but the H's seem to have significant differences in stroke. Usually people who sign their name frequently (and I assume Honecker did) usually use the same strokes every time. I dunno, I'd be pretty skeptical of this though.

I think that's just because one is signed straight across and one is signed at an angle. If I really wanted to, I could ask the police to do a handwriting analysis to confirm its authenticity. But I can't imagine that Honecker's signature would be in such high demand that someone would start making forgeries in order to capitalise on it.

Why would you spend money on that?
I mean,statues,flags,busts are cool..but paying so much for an ordinary picture with a signature?

Loz wrote:

Why would you spend money on that?
I mean,statues,flags,busts are cool..but paying so much for an ordinary picture with a signature?

Pictures are closer likenesses than busts. I could always frame it and put it on display.

Then again, I could always get a Karl Marx bust instead, which is less expensive (though still a significant investment).

Well you can always print whatever you like and frame it.
I mean,if you're not rich you shouldn't spend so much on such luxuries,like Honecker's signed portrait.

Loz wrote:

Well you can always print whatever you like and frame it.
I mean,if you're not rich you shouldn't spend so much on such luxuries,like Honecker's signed portrait.

I won't necessarily buy it, as the price is rather prohibitive. I'll have to think of what else I could get for that amount.

Incidentally, I do have a red wax candle in the shape of Lenin's head from Czechoslovakia. I won't light it, though, as then his head would melt . . .

Quote:

Incidentally, I do have a red wax candle in the shape of Lenin's head from Czechoslovakia

Lol,this is bizarre.
You sure that it ain't some post-'91 mockery?

Loz wrote:

You sure that it ain't some post-'91 mockery?

Very possibly. It looks like this:

http://www.projectgoodluck.com/blog/uploaded_images/lenin-head-731512.JPG