The Real Market Value of the Shakespeare-X Message
People ask me about the market value of the Shakespeare-X Message.
I've been offering it for sponsorship in exchange for a corporate underwriting of $150M, and casually estimating the marketing value of the Shakespeare-X Message at $500-$600 million in terms of long term publicity value.
So let's see if we can justify these figures.
The Value of the Shakespeare-X Message
There is nothing to which the Shakespeare-X Message can be easily compared, but let's use the Mona Lisa, which is the only thing of comparable rarity and cultural importance.
The Value of the Mona Lisa.
In recent years a number of paintings have been sold at auction for $100M; paintings by Warhol, Picasso, Klimt, and even a sculptural skull created by Damien Hirst.
The Impressionist masters would surpass these figures at auction, and in turn the Old Masters would go still higher.
If a Warhol painting can be worth $100 million, It seems very reasonable therefore to place an auction value on the Mona Lisa of three to five times as much, perhaps $300-500 Million.
And at only three times the price of a 50 year old Warhol silkscreen on canvas, of which there are many hundreds, the Mona Lisa would be quite a substantial bargain.
The rarity, uniqueness and cultural value of the Shakespeare-X Message.
It's difficult to estimate the relative rarity and importance of the Shakespeare-X Message compared to the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa is not really rare at all, since it has not been lost for 400 years. Rather it is unique.
Also the Mona Lisa, though beautiful, carries little true cultural significance. Leonardo Da Vinci's identity does not hinge upon it. Nor the interpretation of his entire oeuvre. And Leonardo has not shaped the soul of the world in the way that Shakespeare has.
Furthermore the Mona Lisa has never influenced an entire field of creative endeavor, as Shakespeare has clearly done in the field of drama, which we consume daily in the form of television.
And there are an estimated total of 22 Da Vinci paintings in existence, and a further number of them which are known to have existed, but which have been lost.
There has only ever been one Shakespeare-X Message to the world. And it is a clear statement of identity.
It seems quite reasonable to suggest that the Shakespeare-X Message, in terms of cultural significance and rarity, is perhaps ten times as valuable as the Mona Lisa. And I might argue even higher..
A Market Conclusion.
If the Mona Lisa is worth $300-$500 million at auction, and the Shakespeare-X Message is ten times as rare and culturally significant, then it should probably have an estimated value of perhaps five times the value of the Mona Lisa. That gives a probable value for the Shakespeare-X Message of $2.5 billion.
It seems it's really quite a fantastic bargain at $150 million.
I'm so glad I bought it off a guy with a weird hat at a flea market!
