The Unexpected Value Of Your Old Concert Posters Today

From $40 T-shirts to $80 hoodies, there's no shortage of pricey merchandise available to buy at modern-day concerts. Yet, such bank-breaking items don't quite have the same nostalgia factor as memorabilia from shows of decades past ... especially when it comes to concert posters.

In the '50s and '60s, there was no social media or websites to promote upcoming tours and gigs. Rather, advertisement posters were plastered around a town in the weeks leading up to the show, informing fans that their favorite band was on its way, and providing vital information, such as location, ticket prices, and, occasionally, dress code.

Often, fewer than 100 of these promo posters were printed, making them extremely rare and coveted commodities (like this Great Depression-era $10,000 bill) among music collectors. For fans who were lucky enough to find and snag one before they were taken off poles and out of windows, and kept it in good condition over the years, they have in their possession something that's potentially worth a fortune (like old valuable Barbies).

Of course, not every poster from that era has a high value, including those advertising lesser-known artists or performances that aren't very memorable decades later. However, if someone has in their attic a poster promoting one of the top rock and roll bands to ever exist, or a concert that has strong significance in music history, they're looking at a massive payday.

In the summer of 1966, promoter Sid Bernstein had posters go up around New York to advertise the Beatles' August 23 concert at Shea Stadium. The yellow window card bore a black-and-white photo of the Fab Four and necessary details for fans on how to obtain tickets (which ranged from $4 to $5.75).

This wasn't your average Beatles show. Rather, it was part of the band's final world tour, which ended only six days later in San Francisco. Despite enjoying live performances for the bulk of their career, it was becoming tiresome for the group. "In 1966, the road was pretty boring," said Ringo Starr in the "Beatles Anthology" documentary (via Rolling Stone). "It was coming to the end for me. Nobody was listening at the shows. That was OK at the beginning, but we were playing really bad."

Given the significance of that concert in New York (speaking of which, who gets to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange?), those in possession of a promotional poster can sell it for a small fortune. On April 16, 2022, Heritage Auctions sold one for $275,000. According to Pete Howard, director of concert posters for the auction house, this marked the fifth Beatles Shea Stadium poster sold in three years' time, though this one was by far the most valuable, with the others selling for between $106,250 and $150,000. That's because, unlike the other four, it didn't require any restoration. Said Howard, "It has had zero repair work."

On November 11, 2022, a concert poster advertising the February 3, 1959, Winter Dance Party tour date of Buddy Holly & the Crickets, Ritchie Valens, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, and Dion and the Belmonts in Moorhead, Minnesota, was sold by Heritage Auctions for a whopping $447,000, making it the most valuable concert poster in history.

There's a heartbreaking reason why this concert poster was so highly coveted among bidders: It marks "The Day the Music Died," as coined by Don McLean in the 1971 hit "American Pie." In the early morning hours of February 3, the four-seat plane carrying Holly, Valens, and Richardson crashed in its wintry journey from Iowa to Minnesota, killing the musicians and 21-year-old pilot Roger Peterson, who wasn't accustomed to flying in such conditions. They never made it to Minnesota to perform those two shows advertised on the poster.

"In my mind, it's the most important poster that's ever come to auction," explained Andrew Hawley, concert poster dealer and collector. "It's sad to say, but that poster was hanging up as that plane was in the air and went down. It was advertising that night up on a pole somewhere in Moorhead, Minnesota, this little innocent town." The poster, which never received any restoration, was found on the street by a maintenance man, who kept it in his closet for half a century. According to Hawley, it is highly possible that this is the only one in existence.