REACH Baseball 1940s in box

[Mountaineer1999]

Hey guys.
I found this ball in a West Virginia antique store. As you can see , the seal is broken but the box appears to have never been opened. The ball inside is covered with paper I can tell that much. Didn't want to damage the box further by trying to get the ball out. I paid $250. Anyone familiar with the ball with input on value and if i should try to do anything to secure the seal back to the box. Is the years correct? Thanks

[rand1com]

1940's may be correct. The value is much greater if the box was still sealed. Opened, you probably paid retail or above for it at $250.

Since it is not sealed, the key is the actual condition of the baseball inside.

It will be a William Harridge baseball and if it is in mint condition then it is better than just guessing about the condition.

It is easy to just replace a mint ball with an off condition one when the seal is broken and sell the mint ball outside the box.

Just my opinion of course.

[Mountaineer1999]

Originally Posted by rand1com

1940's may be correct. The value is much greater if the box was still sealed. Opened, you probably paid retail or above for it at $250.

Since it is not sealed, the key is the actual condition of the baseball inside.

It will be a William Harridge baseball and if it is in mint condition then it is better than just guessing about the condition.

It is easy to just replace a mint ball with an off condition one when the seal is broken and sell the mint ball outside the box.

Just my opinion of course.

Ahh ok. Well that's no fun. Guess I will get the ball out then and make sure it's mint. I really wanted to see the ball anyway.

[Hankphenom]

No. 0--wonder what that's about? So cool to find an old ball like that!

[Mountaineer1999]

The good news for ne is, there was a perfect untouched baseball inside.

[rand1com]

Really nice baseball. With a little online work you can determine the dating of the ball. You did OK at $250. You might make a little money on it. Really cool thing is to get a major star of today to sign a ball of that vintage. Derek Jeter comes to mind. Cal Ripken would be another great one to sign it. But I would get someone who actually signs a legible name on it, not scribbled initials!!

[jerseygary]

Nice baseball and box.

Looking at the keymancollectibles website dating guide, it looks like this could be the 1951-1959 model. I just did a quick comparison, so another model might be a better match when closely examined.

This website really comes in hand when trying to figure out the time frame of a signed ball. They did a great job with it.

Here's a link to the ball dating guide:

https://keymancollectibles.com/officialbaseballs.htm

and the 1951-59 ball page:

https://keymancollectibles.com/balls...seball1959.htm

[Mountaineer1999]

Thanks for that information. Based on this, the ball is 1951. The box changes in 1952 but the ball doesn't so 1951 it is! Unless someone sees an error in my result. 😁