My K. Puckett Autographed Baseball + C. Santana Autographed Bat

[holyWahoos]

Hi, first timer here. Just had some questions about my autographed memorabilia, any help provided would be greatly appreciated.

+ Kirby Puckett Autographed Baseball
1. Does it pass the eye test? (I've had this ball since I was a child, not that's relevant, but I'd be really surprised if it was fake as the uncle that gave it to me owned a card shop. But, ya' never know.)
2. Will there be a premium getting it authenticated by PSA instead of JSA? (A JSA rep comes into my local card shop, much easier.)

[Big Dave]

Having those graded is just a waste of money, and it will not enhance the value.

[MikeKam]

Originally Posted by holyWahoos

Hi, first timer here. Just had some questions about my autographed memorabilia, any help provided would be greatly appreciated.

+ Kirby Puckett Autographed Baseball
1. Does it pass the eye test? (I've had this ball since I was a child, not that's relevant, but I'd be really surprised if it was fake as the uncle that gave it to me owned a card shop. But, ya' never know.)
2. Will there be a premium getting it graded by PSA instead of JSA? (A JSA rep comes into my local card shop, much easier.)
3. Should I get it graded? If so, by which grader/authentication? (I personally think it's a really nice baseball but I'm not sure what grades well and if it helps the value that much.)






+ Carlos Santana Autographed Bat
- So I'm 100% confident that this is an authentic autograph. Justin Masterson's wife, Cheryl Masterson, did a silent auction/fundraiser.
- Authenticating/Grading it is something I would do for fun, just to be official, not worried about value increase.
- Should I grade it with PSA, or just authenticate it? Just wondering what it would grade out as without documentation from Carlos himself.
- Is there anyway to authenticate something as game/practice used without a written statement from the player?

1. Not familiar with his autograph
2. PSA might give a SLIGHT, VERY SLIGHT premium, but I'd just go with JSA if it's convenient.
3. Grading is a waste of money.

1. It looks fine to me.
2. PSA does in fact authenticate game used bats but it is costly and may not be worth it for a Santana bat.
3. Photomatching.

[shelly]

If you are going to sell the bat put it in an auction and let them cert it. Puckett is not worth paying the price.

[holyWahoos]

Originally Posted by shelly

Puckett is not worth paying the price.

Just wanted to clarify, paying the price for grading? Or even authenticating? I can't imagine being able to sell it for a decent price without authenticating. Appreciate the response.

[Duluth Eskimo]

The Puckett is right on the money and very nice. If you listed it on eBay without authentication, you would probably get $100-125. With authentication, maybe $150-200. Some people like grading, but it means nothing to me. It should grade well as the signature appears quite dark. I don't think it's a big deal either way.

No opinion on the bat

[Lordstan]

I am no expert on Puckett, but It does match fairly well with others I know to be good.No idea on Santana.

As far as getting stuff certed by PSA, JSA, etc is concerned, my feeling is this.
I would only submit stuff to the TPAs if I was going to sell them in the near future. Certing is expensive, and any of these companies is only 1 scandal away from their opinion being worthless. Who knows how PSA or JSA will be regarded in 10-20yrs. Look at what happened to GAI. At one time, they were right up there with PSA. Now their certs are mostly thought of as garbage. What if you had paid several thousands worth of fees to get items certed by them during their peak time?
If you're selling right now, I would get both certed only if you can recoup the cost of the cert in the sale price. Also, if selling now, I would only get the ball graded if you're going to get a 10. I'm sure there is someone out there who only wants to buy "the Best" and for them it means certed and graded a 10. You could probably get a very nice premium for the 10 grade, but I think anything less probably doesn't help increase sale price more than the plain cert.
Personally, I'd rather use the money to buy more autos.
Just my 2c. Others may think differently.
Good Luck either way.

[holyWahoos]

Just wanted to say thank you for the advice to those that helped, made me confident that I wasn't flushing $40 down the drain. It did indeed come back JSA authentic.

Is it unreasonable to ask for more than what I've seen other Kirby Puckett authenticated balls go for? Not a ton more obviously, but a little bit of a premium. This autograph is much prettier and better quality than other ones I've seen, and the ball is in great shape.

[Scott Garner]

I second the opinion of the previous poster.
The Puckett ball is a no-brainer and is 100% correct.
I personally would not waste your money on getting this authenticated, IMHO.