...yes - basically too many people have too much knowledge so there's not been enough time for prices to filter down to the joe bloggs (similar to house prices but not as bad when you get gazumped) before some canny banksy forum user snaps it up - when 'we' (in the royal sense, because i once drove past buckingham palace on the way to a club) start chasing unsigned pieces, the market will rise...we are the market! ( i stole that off someone else's post earlier but can't remember who)

I sold four unsigned for one signed. In time I will buy some unsigned to replace them as the prices will probably stay quite level unlike the signed.

Its all a bit silly the whole art market if you think about it. Banksy has some of his best art on his web site for free which when framed look amazing but so many people are not interested unless its a limited edition. The only reason why a limited edition print is sexier is because you have something thats rare. Its a bit twisted like buying diamonds. Saying that, there is one good rational reason why people want something rare and thats because it will probably hold its price and maybe make a few bob one day. Hence being cheaper than a cheap copy. In my opinion if you are going to go down this road you may as well go the full hog and spend your cash in the way that makes this concept as fruitful as possible and get a signed print. The main reason why I think Banksy's signature is very important is because I, like many others, love the idea that this modern day robin hood character has actually touched the print and added a little personal artistic touch to it by signing it. Its my opinion that Banky's signature will actually become loads more important than other artists signatures because of the nature of his legend. The fun of Banksy exists partly in his secrecy and anonymity and because of this anything that anyone can directly attribute to his existence during his period of disguise will increasingly be worth more than an unsigned print. For me Its the difference between an arrow certified as being owned by Robin hood compared to an arrow with his blood, fingerprints and DNA on it.

Yeah, I think many people dont have the wall space to hang every piece so people are selling unsigned and getting signed ones. But if the signed pieces keep on going up like they are at the moment the unsigned pieces are gonna become more sought after ;D

hi - i have been giving this some thought recently too after seeing the prices of signed rise and rise . A couple of months ago you could get a signed grannies / applause / reaper for about £ 2.5 k . Now they are nearer £ 4 k +.

i think that there will be a time soon when the unsigned start to climb too as the signed prints become ever more unobtainable to mere mortals.

in the case of the recent prints from grannies i would'nt expect to see much in the way of price rises from around the £ 500 mark until yr end maybe as SURELY by then all the LA prints would be released .

It does amaze me that Mary for example never goes for much more than £500 - £ 600 though, v underated in my opinion.

I reckon Napalm and flying copper are a sign of the prices other unsigned works will go for soon.

The bubble won't burst, there are too many people hooked now. It's a hobby , it's a religion , it's a passion and we all feel part of something amazing . It's great to be around at this time. If there is ever a blip and prices fall off then those of us who missed out first time round will be waiting to take up the slack and this will give rise to another upturn.


It's a great time to buy some of the more recent unsigned prints. You can't really lose if your doing so for the love of the work . If they appreciate in value in the future obviously it's a bonus.

Totally agree CBL
Respect from this dude+++

...and Ive thought some more about it too - the unsigned are only as good as the prov that comes with it, and given that they are so easy to copy (some of the talent in this forum alone on the Banksy rip-off thread) you may as well hold fire and wait for the signed to come up...though totally agree they are not affordable anymore

you definatly cant rely purely on a signature for provenance!! especially when its reasonably simple.

I tend to agree with you perry, i cant see unsigned rocketing in value as they will never be of much interest to investors. and most galleries only carry signed and originals. all the unsigned left to us!!!

...i think the unsigneds are just one step too easy to fake

I think I feel happier buying an unsigned piece maself, If someone goes to the effort of making a fake print they might as well sign it and triple the value.

As I have said before - an email from POW is not a worthwhile piece of provenance! they would be so easy to fake, so they really are not worth worrying about.

Nope, POW have never sent an actual letter, the only proof they send is the email receipt with the print number on... and the addition of the print number is only a recent thing!

I coming to the damning realisation that the only way i'll ever own a Banksy is to go the unsigned root (unless I finally get lucky on a mental pow release day) and I'm (pretty) cool with that when alls said and done I want a banksy I can cherish

Now't wrong with unsigned IMO that's all I've got, the image on the wall is exactly the same, just the investment value will be held back, but then again how many unsigned can you get for the price of one signed, 8 maybe.