Walter JOhnson Signed Baseball
 

Hi Everyone.

I have the attached baseball, signed by Walter Johnson, Clark Griffith, and Sam Rice. It is a Norton American League baseball, authenticated by PSA/DNA. What do you think of the value? The Johnson is very faded, as evident in the picture. The others are OK. The ball itself is pretty good. I've been offered what I think is too low. Please let me know your opinions. Thanks for the advice as always!!!

If it were mine I would probably ask $1000 and hope to get an offer over $800 for it. The signature of the key (Johnson) is so light that it would be a tough sell at a level higher than that in my opinion.

I might go just a bit higher on the value... The Griffith and Rice autos on their own separate panels is rare/desirable, and I can see the Johnson sig ok (although it's no doubt light). I think the flash might be washing it out a bit as well.

I would estimate $1,000 - $1,250 for this one... (just my .02)

FWIW, I would agree with Mark in his guestimate of price.

To me this is about a $1250-$1500 Johnson signed baseball, legible and fairly dark. He shows up quite a bit on multi-signed baseballs and therefor people can be a little picky when pulling the trigger.

http://cgi.ebay.com/1927-Walter-John...efaultDomain_0

The one in question would be more valuable I think as a Griffith or Rice either of which would be about $1000 in that condition as a true single, but of course they are not. That Johnson looks like about a 2/10 and the ball is not even an official one plus there is a hole right in the middle of his signature. I figured $800-$1000 and others are saying $1000-$1250 so there is overlap there, but if I had that ball I would ask $1000 for it and I bet it sits for a LONG time with no takers if it ever sells.

Just my thoughts, but either way three knowledgable people have given estimates all pretty close at $800/$1000 to $1250 so if your offer is in that range you are not being taken advantage of.

Rhys

Hey Rhys,
Nice job of reasoning through your valuation of this ball. All of this makes good sense. Thanks!

Yup... it's value is probably right in that "overlap" range. Figure $800 on a rough day and $1,200 on a good day. Of course a lot hinges on the Johnson sig (and how it really looks in person).

These balls can be quite tricky to photograph, and I know from experience that the flash can really wash out the image. If you want to re-post a photo of the Johnson auto with ample lighting (and no flash) we can probably get a clearer impression of the signature strength.

When I stare hard at the Johnson, it looks faint, and when I relax my focus a bit, it looks bolder. I was thinking it's a "3 - 3.5" in strength, and Rhys said it's a "2". That's probably a key reason for the slight difference in our estimates. Hope this helps :)