Anyone have any idea what something like this would be worth?
Depends on many things. Authentic NL ball? Signed in the sweet spot? Signed in person (as opposed to signed in bulk for resale)? Signed while an active player? Condition of the ball and signature?
It may be telling whether it’s “Hank” (which he hates) or “Henry” as well.
I didn’t know that.
You don’t tell us much about the object in question. Where you got it, how you got it, what leads you to believe it is authentic, etc.
I have heard numbers thrown out suggesting that as much as 80% of the autographed memorabilia out there is counterfeit.
I have an autographed Willie Mays baseball that I won in a raffle. It came with a “certificate of authenticity”. I would not be the least bit surprised if it is found to be counterfeit. I still display it but I don’t consider it a major keepsake. Something about it looks too “clean”, if that is the right word.
Spend some time looking at eBay completed sales.
As an appraiser of sports memorabilia for about 14 years, most of Mr. Aaron’s signed baseballs sell in the marketplace for $50-$200, depending on the conditions mentioned above. A really fine example could sell for as much as $400 retail.
Could you post a picture of it?
I’ll bet it is even higher than that, now that eBay has been around for over a decade.
I’ve told this story before but it bears repeating. I had a friend who worked for the Washington Bullets (yes, before they were the Wizards).
He told me that one of his jobs was to sign autographs for the players for a number of items… Like a basketball that was being sold off at a charity. He would practice the players signature for a while, and then sign away.
I son’t know if this was an isolated thing, but I doubt it. ISTM that this would make sense for things like a team signed ball that the team was donating for one reason or another to be handled in this way, since getting all the players to sign something at once isn’t the easiest thing to do. And if the person signing it denies doing it, and the player takes credit for it, how do you prove otherwise? Must be authentic! Plus, players usually get paid to sign their names now, so the odds that the entire team would continually sign things for free is probably low.
I also remember seeing a special on the “authenticators”, the guys who give you that “rubber stamp” that you can use to sell an item. Not surprisingly, some of these guys can be bought to authenticate a signature. The show i saw i believe was on 60 minutes, or a similar news program. I’m sure there are honest people out there, but the temptation is very high and it is relatively easy to fool someone that isn’t an expert. Which is almost everyone. The other thing is, you pay for the authentication service, so a guy might honestly think he’s told you the truth but has been fooled by someone who is good at forging a signature.
A Sharpie is very cheap, and so are baseballs, basketballs and footballs, considering the return you can get with the right signature(s) on it.
That’s why the only things that are worth collecting (to me at least), are the autographs you gather yourself. If you want to sell something, get a picture of the guy autographing the thing with you in the photo. Even then, as a buyer i’d still be a bit skeptical but at least I’d feel slightly better about the purchase.
I’m surprised it’s that cheap. I am under the impression that Aaron, like Reggie Jackson, does not usually sign autographs (at least, not for free).
I vaguely remember one of my brothers writing to the Atlanta Braves asking for his autograph, and they actually sent one back, but the consensus seems to be that it was a cyclostyled signature.
Here’s a linkto a reliable sports collectible source. I was talking from memory. You’re right, there are ones for over $400, but the majority are at that level or lower.