Most valuable magazines worth up to £3,000 – and popular BBC series is 'gold mine'
Do you have boxes full of your favorite old magazines in the attic?
If you're lucky, they can make you some extra money.
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“Collectibility and rarity are the key factors determining whether a magazine is worth money or not,” says Larry Viner, valuation expert at vintagemagazines.org.uk.
“Bestsellers include Vogue and certain other fashion magazines, underground comics like Oz and Viz, anything with early photos of Marilyn Monroe, covers of Taylor Swift and first issues of various magazines.”
Another factor for values is generation.
“Magazines featuring big stars and personalities from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s may decline in value as the next generation of younger buyers take over,” Larry tells The Sun.
Read more about collectibles
“So Dad's collection of Playboy magazines from the 1960s and Mom's collection of Woman's Weekly are starting to decline in value, but anything to do with punks or mods from the '70s and '80s is still popular.”
Add to that the interest of cult collectors and you could be sitting on a gold mine – the perfect example being Doctor Who.
“Doctor Who is good because it's still on TV, so there's a new generation of fans, as well as fans in their 40s and 50s – and they're the ones with the money.”
An old star who still has a remarkable collector's value is Marilyn Monroe.
“When people disappear from the public eye, the price of their magazine covers generally drops.
“The big exception is Marilyn among serious collectors,” says Larry.
“For example, there is a magazine called Razzle, which was then a 'gentleman's magazine'. The 1948 version, with her on the cover, is highly collectible and worth about £300.”
Nostalgia is also a draw – although that collection of Smash Hits, Just 17 or Cosmopolitan from your youth will not always fetch the highest prices.
“They do sell and sometimes make quite a bit of money, but I always tell people to sell them now,” Larry advises.
“Don't hold on to them because they won't increase in value.”
It also depends on the specific problem.
“For example, if it has David Bowie on the cover, it will make good money.”
Vogue is also valuable, especially because fashion literally never goes out of style. For style enthusiasts, all sartorial eras are interesting and inspiring, and trends always return.
Events, such as the Barbie movie, can also increase magazine prices.
“The Barbie magazines will be more collectible and make more money thanks to the movie release,” says Larry.
However, some magazines that people expect to make them a pretty penny are worthless – including those that highlight important world events. So the issue about 9/11 or Barack Obama becoming the first black American president will not make a fortune.
“I get hundreds of emails every week asking for collection valuations, and I have to disappoint so many when I tell them that John Lenon is shot, a man lands on the moon and most things to do with the Royal Family have little or nothing to do with the royal family. no value,” Larry explains.
“They are the magazines and newspapers that no one has thrown away, so there are too many available to have any real value.”
There are exceptions to this: if it is a magazine with a low circulation and if you work quickly when important events are taking place.
“There's definitely a spike in the first week or so, but then it levels off because everyone is putting their old magazines on eBay and that brings the price down,” says Larry.
'A good example was when the queen died. Old magazines that featured her on the cover sold for up to £400 within 24 hours of her death.
“Then prices dropped again to around £15.”
Technical magazines and specialized magazines for DIY or hobbies such as photography should also only be thrown in the trash.
“I had someone email me and say they had inherited a large collection of modelling, craft, military and railway magazines and they wanted to sell the collection for around £3,000,” Larry explains.
“I had to tell them they are worthless because the information is outdated within months of purchase.
If you have magazines that could be valuable, how should you sell them?
“EBay is the best and fastest place to get an idea of values, but don't be fooled by the asking prices, which can vary wildly,” advises Larry.
“Find the item you want to sell, but then look at 'items sold' to get a more accurate idea of values.”
Once you have a box full, Larry recommends grouping the magazines by the year they were published.
“If you have the time to do the research, to keep looking at the listings and checking the prices, then sell them individually, but if you just want to get rid of stuff, it's better to sell them as a lot to sell. Larry suggests.
Ten of the most valuable old magazines sold
Playboy, December 1953
The very first edition of Hugh Hefner's iconic magazine, featuring Marilyn Monroe on the cover, sold for £3,000.
Oz magazine 1963
The first editor of Oz, the underground 1960s counterculture magazine, fetched £1,500 at auction.
Harper's Bazaar, April 1965
This famous cover by model Jean Shrimpton has often been reproduced as an iconic image of the Swinging Sixties – a rare example that sold for £500.
Radio Times 1964 Dr. Who
This cover of the very first Doctor William Hartnell is highly sought after by Whovians and could fetch between £200 and £400 at auction.
Penthouse 1965
The very first issue of 'the magazine for men' is selling for up to £300 on eBay.
Dandy Annual 1947
Old annuals from the famous strip can command high prices on eBay – this one sold for £200.
Bitcoin magazine 2012
The first edition of this piece of Bitcoin history sells for between £50 and £800 – the official store is selling the remaining new copies of the original print run for $2,100 (approximately £1,650).
Fashion
Vintage issues of the famous fashion magazine can be sold for £100.
Examples range from the first issue of Italian Vogue, which sold at auction for £700, to the classic January 1990 cover of British Vogue starring supermodels Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford and Tatjana Patitz – sold for £275.
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