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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Either way, the Harris sig is fine. However, there are signature removals on the ball (which the auction house properly mentions in the description). For investment purposes, I would personally stay away from such an item. A true Bucky Harris single is far tougher than one would think and, in my opinion, a stellar example should command a higher premium than it does. This is a poor man's alternative. Items like these are fine if your objective is not turned toward future financial gain. Somebody obviously purchased an inconsequential Senators team ball and had the additional signatures painted over by Mr. Berman's daughter or someone else. I have to commend her on her artistic ability, but can't say that I condone the practise of signature removal. In all fairness, "Signature Magic" does not hide the truth of what they do; my worry is what the next guy decides to do. To a trained eye, the majority of signature removals are fairly easy to spot. In some instances, however, the use of a video spectral comparator is a great asset. Unfortunately, this piece of equipment costs as much as a new mid-grade automobile, so laymen are never going to have the upper hand. Prior to the purchase of a single-signed ball, please consider the following:

1. How rare is this player on a single-signed ball?
2. Know the baseball-signing habits of the player at hand. It's safe to say that most of us realize that Babe Ruth favored the sweet spot. Conversely, Maris preferred the bottom of a side panel. A collector once asked Roger about this, and Maris humbly replied that he always reserved the coveted sweet spot for The Mick. Munson, too, preferred the side panel. This leads into #3.
3. Positioning of the signature. I.E.: Why would Babe Ruth sign a blank ball in the middle of a (vertical) side panel? Normally, this would make no sense.
4. Hold the ball in question up to a bright light bulb. Earlier efforts at "painting over" entire panels are fairly easy to spot--kind of a "Coffee Mate crossed with Liquid Paper" feel. Later examples are done with much more admirable artistry.
5. Using a black light (hand-held versions are inexpensive), step into a dark room or closet and examine the surface of the ball up close. Be certain to pay special attention to the areas of leather close to the seams. If parts of the ball glow and other areas exhibit a matted appearance, chances are there might be a problem.

I could expand this further, but these steps should help for now. I'm sure many of you already know such things, but perhaps the preventative measures detailed above will help others in not making costly mistakes.