[benjulmag]

Buying an autographed anything without provenance or some other corroborating information atttesting to its genuiness requires a large leap of faith, regardless who gives the LOA. Given that the value of genuine single signed Ruth balls can be well into six-figures, probably as we speak there are forgers practicing their Ruth signatures. There is little down-side to the crooks. Period balls are relatively inexpensive and easy to find, and if even the signature doesn't pass muster with an authentication company, the forger can simply say he bought it at some flea market and got duped himself. I think that as time goes on, just as with baseball cards with pedigrees, autographed baseballs with pedigrees will sell for substantial premiums over balls with no pedigrees.

EDITED TO ADD that the notion of Peter Nash putting himself out as the good guy in exposing such forgeries raises the bar of hypocrisy to a new level.