THEY cost the princely sum of sixpence, or 2.5p each, when they were new.

But now, 84 years later, two 1928 Huddersfield Town v Blackburn Rovers FA Cup final programmes are expected to sell for around £500 each.

That might sound a lot, but if these programmes were in finer condition they would be worth even more. Not so long ago, one 1928 FA Cup final programme sold for £800.

Two more copies are coming up for sale at Graham Budd Auctions at Sotheby’s in London later today and they are set to fetch between £550 and £650 and between £450 and £550.

The more valuable programme has “a fairly light vertical fold” and “rusty staples have been removed” otherwise it is in “overall good” condition.

The second programme has “light folding” and is “a little grubby” but overall it is in “reasonable condition.”

The condition of football programmes is very important to serious collectors.

Creases, folds, rusty or missing staples, team changes in ink, Sellotape repairs, food or drink stains and missing bits of paper will devalue most programmes and can sometimes slash hundreds of pounds off the value of rarer programmes.

Huddersfield were beaten 3-1 by Blackburn Rovers in the 1928 final.

It was Town’s third FA Cup final appearance – they won the cup in 1920, but were runners up in 1922 – and it was a memorable final in another way because it was the first time BOTH teams had scored in a Wembley FA Cup final.

Huddersfield, then managed by Jack Chaplin, beat Lincoln City, West Ham, Middlesbrough, Spurs, and Sheffield United (after two replays) to reach the 1928 final.

No overseas players featured in that final. Huddersfield’s team contained nine Englishmen and two Scots – David Steele and Alex Jackson, who scored Town’s goal in that 1928 final.

The Huddersfield line-up was: Billy Mercer, Roy Goodall, Ned Barkas, Levi Redfern, Tom Wilson, David Steele, Alex Jackson, Bob Kelly, George Brown, Clem Stephenson and Billy Smith.

Just moments before the 1928 FA Cup final programmes are sold in London, an “exceptionally scarce” 1909 Manchester United v Bristol City FA Cup final programme will be offered for sale at the same auction. It is expected to sell for between £18,000 and £22,000 and could set a new world record for a football programme.