Martin Luther King, Jr. is one of the greatest historic figures of the twentieth century. While there are many books and documentaries about MLK, there is also a dedicated national holiday to honor this man’s deeds and contribution to equality, voting rights and race issues in America. And with many great historical figures, there are countless numbers of collectibles that have sold over time.

People who collect trading cards may not think of historic items that belonged to MLK, were signed by him or which pertained to exact dates around his life as their first thought when it comes to collectibles. Well, there are many such collectibles for and about MLK which have been bought and sold over time.

Collectors Dashboard wants to look at some of the key collectibles that have sold that fit within the life and honor of “MLK.” As a reminder, collectibles can help preserve moments and periods of history. Magazines and newspapers, photographs, signatures, letters, books and other items can all become pieces of history that help current and future generations get a deeper learning about history.

This is a look at many key items that are within collectibles tied to Martin Luther King, Jr. We have broken these out by auction house or by destination. The only order assigned has been based on availability of data and images, and collectors and historians will have many other websites and destinations that can be sourced for Martin Luther King, Jr. collectibles and historic items.

HERITAGE HAS BEEN QUITE ACTIVE

Heritage Auctions sold a lot of 8 Martin Luther King, Jr. autographed notecards in October 2013. This lot of notecards contained notes for a speech given to his congregation at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church circa December 1959. These notecards were also shown to be entirely in Dr. King’s own hand. The 2013 auction had a final selling price of $31,250.00.

Signed books by famous people are quite common within the collectors’ world. A first edition of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s book Stride Toward Freedom, The Montgomery Story from 1958 recently sold in December 2021 for a price of $30,000.00. Heritage Auctions noted that this first edition and first printing was also signed by the author. The book does show wear and tear, particularly on the outside jacket with stains and splits. It also came with a certificate of authenticity from University Archives. (Image by Heritage Auctions)

Heritage Auctions has also sold other signed letters by Dr. King:

• Martin Luther King, Jr., signed letter sold for $18,750.00 on October 17, 2013
• Martin Luther King, Jr., autograph letter twice signed sold for $17,500.00 on October 17, 2013.
• Martin Luther King, Jr. “important typescript outline of a portion of a speech with extensive autograph additions and emendation” sold for $14,400.00 on December 18, 2012.
• Martin Luther King, Jr. signed typescript sold for $12,501.25 on May 11, 2017
• Martin Luther King Jr. autograph letter (Draft) Unsigned from 1960, sold for $12,500.00 on April 3, 2014

Heritage Auctions also sold signed guestbooks from the TV programs of “Face the Nation” and “Washington Conversation.” This pair of guestbooks contained hundreds of autographs, many of which were duplicate entries by guests who appeared on the long-running shows. The list includes American politicians, foreign diplomats, heads-of-state (Nasser, Nehru, Ben-Gurion, King Hussain, Aga Khan and Abba Eban). Heritage noted that John F. Kennedy’s signature appears 4 different times, Jacqueline Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson (3 times) –and Martin Luther King, among many others. This lot sold on May 13, 2017 for $12,500.00.

Time Magazine covers are easy enough to recognize. Heritage sold a Martin Luther King Jr. Time magazine as the ‘Man of the Year’ edition cover dated January 3, 1964. Heritage sold this lot for $11,250.00 on May 19, 2021. (Image by Heritage Auctions)

SCP AUCTIONS

SCP Auctions has also had some key MLK auction items sell. These have been broken out by price and then by year/auction, followed by the SCP Auctions description and lastly by price. Here are three key items:

• (2021 Fall Premier Auction) EXTREMELY RARE AND HISTORIC AUGUST 28, 1963 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. ORIGINAL PHOTO TAKEN DURING “I HAVE A DREAM” SPEECH – PSA/DNA TYPE 1 sold for $36,404.00 (Image below by SCP Auctions)
• 2018 Fall Premier Auction 2018 — MID-1960’S MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SIGNED PHOTO INSCRIBED AND GIFTED TO PHILADELPHIA’S 1ST AFRICAN-AMERICAN DEPUTY POLICE COMMISSIONER (RECIPIENT’S SON LOA) sold for $4,555.00
• 2019 Spring Premier Auction — 1966 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AUTOGRAPHED WHITE HOUSE CIVIL RIGHTS CONFERENCE INVITATION SENT TO JACKIE “MOMS” MABLEY sold for $3,049.00

eBay HAS BEEN ACTIVE

eBay is another source for items under “Martin Luther King” in auction and/or Buy It Now formats. Here is a look at the more recent items that have been sold over the last 90 days or so:

• Dr. Martin Luther King 1964 Type 1 Original Photo at Vatican with Pope Paul VI PSA Certified Authentic ($3,000.00)
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Head Bust Original “One of a Kind” ESTATE FIND ($475.00)
• ORIGINAL MARTIN LUTHER KING EULOGY BENJAMIN MAYS DAISY ELLIOTT CIVIL RIGHTS ($375.00)
• An Autograph Cut Of Martin Luther King Jr. ($300.00)
• JAMES EARL RAY. Convicted assassin of Martin Luther King, Jr. 1976 signature. ($190.50)
• MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. 1967 CIVIL RIGHTS WAR PROTEST CENTRAL PARK SPEECH AD ($150.00)
• MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. Black Civil Rights Leader ASSASSINATION 1968 Newspaper ($137.00)

COINS & MEDALS VIA THE U.S. MINT!

Another source of collectibles is of course the U.S. Mint and commemorative coins. The coin programs are tallied by year of release The Mint released a Civil Rights Act of 1964 Silver Dollar in 2014 and it had 86,774 total coins sold. While this coin does not feature MLK himself, the coin uses his name tied to the United Negro College Fund. The U.S. Mint also sold The Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King Bronze Medal in 2004 from its Medals issues. These medals are in continuous production with no limits for mintage and production, available for $20.00 each. The Mint said:

This medal honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King for their many contributions to the Nation on behalf of the civil rights movement. It is a bronze duplicate of the Congressional Gold Medal awarded posthumously by President Obama – on behalf of Congress – to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. King delivered his “I have a dream” address in front of the Lincoln Memorial more than 50 years earlier on August 23, 1963.

RECENT SIGNED ITEMS (UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES)

University Archives also offers up troves of historical signatures and related items in its auctions. It listed three recent sales from January 2022, with sakes prices and estimates:

• Superb M.L. King Jr. Signed Record Cover from His “The American Dream” Speech at Syracuse University. With PSA/DNA LOA, sold for $9,000.00 (Estimate: $6,000 – $7,000)
• Martin Luther King Signed Print from the March on Washington, PSA/DNA Slabbed and Graded Mint 9 sold for $15,000.00 (Estimate: $5,000 – $6,000) (Image below by University Archives)
• Rosa Parks & Martin Luther King Sr. Signed First Day Cover PSA/DNA Slabbed & Graded NM + 7.5 sold for $1,500.00 (Estimate: $1,500 – $1,700)

SOTHEBY’S ALSO HAS MANY!

Sotheby’s is also an auction house which has featured many sales results for Martin Luther King:

• Dennis Hopper photo of MLK giving a speech sold for $8,190 in October 2020
• Charles Moore photo of an arrest of MLK in Birmingham for $5,292 in October 2020
• A Leonard Freed photo of MLK riding in a car shaking hands sold for $7,500 in December 2012
• A typed and signed MLK letter sold for $8,125.00 in December 2013
• A signed Time ‘Man of the Year’ edition from 1954 sold for $18,750.00 in June 2018

AND FINALLY, TRADING CARDS

This is from the breakoutcards Instagram account showing a very rare graded card of MLK from Shindana Toys in 1969.

The Trading Card Database also lists multiple card sets that may have MLK featured in them.

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The first admission here that needs to be mentioned is that great figures of history deserve much more notice than just looking at collectibles that have sold. That said, this is one of the means that will help keep history alive and well.