Autographed baseball assistance
 

Hi,

I would appreciate some assistance. I was offered two autographed baseballs for purchase : a 1952 Dodgers ball and a 1955 Yankees ball. I would plan to have them authenticated, though the provenance is excellent. I searched online for similar items, though the prices are all over the place. Any thoughts on how to get a sense of a fair price? I haven't seen them in person yet, so I don't know exact condition. Thanks!

Why are you concerned with "prices?"

Hi Christopher,

I'm concerned with prices because these were offered to me for a specific price. I am interested in them but my collecting has always focused more on cards, and I was hoping for some assistance to avoid paying more than what they are worth. Thanks so much.

Without images it is very tough to give an accurate appraisal. Strength of signatures, cleanliness of the balls (that sounds dirty), are any of the primary signatures clubhouse, etc...

The Dodger team balls from that era are wrought with clubhouse signatures.

Any of these things can greatly diminish the value. Light sigs on a nice ball with no clubhouse won't have a ton of value. Nice sigs on a crappy ball with no clubhouse won't have a ton of value. Nice sigs on a clean ball with key sigs being clubhouse won't have a ton of value.

Translation: pics please.

Tom C

Thank you Tom. I should be able to get some pictures this week. I will post them when I get them.

Gotcha.

Enter PT Barnum

:)

I would think if I had purchased the ball without due diligence, that would make me a sucker (assuming that's what the PT Barnum reference was about). The balls are now headed for authentication. But thanks to those who provided constructive assistance.

Realistically, any big purchase without making an attempt of research or due diligence, would make you foolish as well as a sucker.

As for "prices", he has every right to be concerned about what he might be spending. Perhaps, if they were cheap enough, he could just go and blindly buy the balls with no research and, take his chances.

The cautions about clubhouse signatures is VERY valid, especially for Brooklyn, regardless of the provenance. An "in person" account of actually receiving the signatures, as opposed to WHO I bought them from, would make me feel better about buying them.

Hopefully, you've found an artifact that you're happy to be the caretaker of.

Witster

Adam,
You could have saved yourself a whole lot of headache by asking for assistance prior to buying the items that you have admittedly not much knowledge in. Now, you are sending them for "authentication" and paying probably at least $200 more to be told what you could have had for free by posting some photos. I don't know if you're a sucker, but you're in the right ballpark.

I'm not sure why many on this site, where I came as an admitted novice in this area, looking for help, have assumed I'm a sucker. Maybe my prior posts implied that I bought these balls already - I have not. These items were brought to me by a family acquaintance who is also not an expert in this area. When I explained to her that I would feel uncomfortable purchasing these items without having them authenticated, she stated that she was going to pay to send them for authentication, not me. After that we were going to discuss whether I would still be interested in purchasing the items. She was going to bring them for me to see them in person later this week.

Insults aside, I have not seen the balls yet, I have purchased nothing as of yet, and would not have even considered purchasing the items without authentication. Just wanted to clarify for the record, as it seems some have interpreted my prior post to mean that I already bought the balls - I have not.

Moving forward, I wouldn't recommend considering buying anything, especially something autograph-related, without at least seeing pictures of the items. Particularly, an area where you aren't very knowledgeable.

Am I correctly presuming you are possibly buying the balls from a family member from someone involved with the Brooklyn Dodgers? If so, its also possible, that the stories vary over time due to varied memories of events which happened decades ago. Remember, you are likely dealing with 2nd and 3rd hand stories on the origins of the ball.

The authentication will be pricey for someone. The high majority of authenticated Brooklyn balls I've seen online, have some level clubhouse signatures. I'd consider saving images of authenticated Brooklyn balls. That will help with your future buying decisions. I don't know if you're a Brooklyn fan, or if you're only wanting to reap the benefits of an opportunity to buy fresh items.

Good luck to you. And hopefully, both you and the family acquaintance are both happy, if you complete a transaction.

Witster

I'm not sure why many on this site, where I came as an admitted novice in this area, looking for help, have assumed I'm a sucker.

Not only do the members on this site err on the side of caution, they are always skeptical of someone new coming in (in general) and asking too many questions. The members here are not only a tight-knit community, they can also smell something fishy from a mile away. Thus, many of them can be a little brash at first. With that being said, the knowledge on this site is unsurpassed...and free. The best word of advice is to come in....introduce yourself....and have a little mouth and big ears for the first couple of months.

Thanks Brendan,

I've actually been reading (and buying) on the card side for years, though infrequently posting. Appreciate the thoughts. And I should have some pictures to post this weekend.

Adam

So here are the photos...first set is 52 Dodgers, then 55 Yankees

I apologize in advance as I don't see how to rotate these.

Adam

Yankees ball
 

Yankees ball

Not an expert by any means but I know that a lot of Dodger team balls from that era were signed by the bat boy. In my research it shows that a give away is the almost always Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and Carl Erskine are stacked in that order.
I won't opine on the authenticity of most but I do know Carl Erskine's and unfortunately that is not his in my opinion.

No help or opinion on the Yankees ball. Sorry.

Drew

Yankees ball looks to be in great condition with a nice early Mantle. Dodgers ball in super shape too but beware clubhouse possibilities on It.

Once again, by simply posting some photos or doing a simple search on Dodgers team balls you could have learned quite a bit without your family friend spending a dime. Now your family friend or acquaintance is going to be throwing money away for the same opinion you are getting here for free. I dont get it???? If you have been around here for a while you should know that you can't give an opinion without a photo. You post photos after the balls were already sent to whomever and paying a large sum. By simply saying "hey, I'm a card guy. Could anyone give me some opinions on these two balls I was offered?" Now you are basically saying, "what is a good price for a 53 Mantle".

Jason,
When I met with the woman yesterday was when the photos were taken. They have not been sent for authentication yet. She was planning to do so, however, she has not yet. And I suspect she will want to do so regardless of the opinions on this website, as she acquired them as a child and will likely believe they are authentic regardless of what is said here. However, I trust what is said here immensely, perhaps more than any authenticator. That is why I have posted them here, and I will share the group opinion with her.

And I understand your frustration Jason. But when this started out, it was from an email that had nothing more than a list of the autographs on the balls and a price (which sounded high to me). So I came here just to find out what a reasonable price would be. I now realize this was not the proper way to proceed. My apologies. Thanks again for your suggestions and I look forward to the group's thoughts on the balls.

I believe that the Dodger ball is mostly, if not entirely, the work of "The Brow".

Tom C

Thanks for the responses. Unless someone has any thoughts to the contrary, looks like the Brooklyn ball is a fake.