Auction sales can throw some curveballs when it comes to how much people are willing to pay for certain items. This is true of a recent pair of sales during a recent Prop Store auction, where two lots of signed DVD covers were sold for very different prices, with one lot going for more than double the amount of the other. Celebrity signatures have been one of the most accessible pieces of movie memorabilia, whether it is a quick scrawl grabbed at a stage door or a prized item signed at a fan convention. That is why seeing two collections of 15 DVD covers signed by stars of the movies becomes more of a curio than the usual lots of costumes, props, and scripts that usually make up Prop Store’s auctions. Both sets comes with heavy hitters like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s name on the covers of Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer, while Tom Cruise’s name adorns Top Gun and Risky Business artwork, with both Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren both appear on Universal Soldier. So, whose signature was the one that really seemed to be worth a lot more than the others?
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The first lot of 15 covers ended up selling for $1,512, not something to be sniffed at considering both of these lots came with an estimate of between $200-$400. That lot also included signatures of Dame Judi Dench (Quantum of Solace), Sean Bean (LotR: The Fellowship of the Ring), and Ron Perlman (Hellboy and Hellboy II), but even those names could not push it to the height of $3,780 that the second lot ended on. Although most of the names appeared in both lots, the one name that stands out in this second lot is a copy of The Patriot containing Heath Ledger‘s signature. Unless someone really has a soft spot for comedian and actor Omid Djalili (and who doesn’t), then it seems that much of this super-sized sale price was down to the late The Dark Knight star.
Heath Ledger Became an Icon in a Short Time
One thing about celebrity signatures is that they tend to become more valuable when the celebrity has passed away. This is the age-old aspect of scarcity, as once an actor has died they will not be signing any more items, therefore the chance of owning something with their signature on becomes less likely as time goes by. Heath Ledger’s death in 2008 at the age of just 28 shook Hollywood, and as an actor who had not been excessively prolific by the time of his tragic death, the number of examples of his signature out there are fewer than most actors. For that reason alone, any serious autograph collector would pay more than usual to acquire such an item, which is most likely what happened in this instance.
Ledger made just 19 movies in his career, with The Patriot being one of his first major movie appearances along with films such as 10 Things I Hate About You and A Knight‘s Tale. In a short time, the Australian carved himself a path to the role of a lifetime when he took on Christian Bale’s Batman as the Joker in The Dark Knight – a role regarded as one of the greatest performances in movie history. However, it was shortly after completing filming on the superhero epic that he was found dead in his apartment, the result of an accidental overdose of sleeping pills according to the inquest into his death. Ledger posthumously won over 30 awards for his role as the Joker, including a Best Supporting Actor Award at the Oscars. As a much-loved star who passed too soon, it is perhaps not surprising that someone would be willing to pay to hold onto a piece of his legacy in auctions such as this Prop Store sale.
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Courtesy of Universal Pictures
