When getting a baseball signed, it’s best to try and have the player sign in the narrowest area between the stitches, known as the “sweet spot” if it’s the only autograph you plan on having on that particular ball.
Sweet spot signatures do tend to sell for a premium in the market. Most collectors prefer non-personalized autographs in case they want to re-sell at a later date, but players are sometimes insistent because they don’t want their autograph re-sold. It may not affect the grade of a baseball if you have it authenticated, but it may hurt the resale value if it’s made out “to Tommy”.
Always use a high quality ink pen when obtaining signatures. Don’t use a Sharpie like you would on an 8x10 photograph, bat or jersey. It won’t smear if handled correctly and the autograph shouldn’t bleed.
What type of baseball should you use to get the autograph or look for when you’re buying one? Typically, a signed Official American or National League ball will sell for more than an ordinary ball. There are various types of balls that are used to acquire signatures. They’re relatively inexpensive, available at better sporting goods stores or online and will hold your autograph better than a cheaper ball.
Should you coat your autographed baseball with anything? At one time, shellacking was a very common method of attempting to preserve autographed baseballs. According to authenticator PSA/DNA, “if the extent of the shellacking is light and does not affect the eye-appeal greatly, a baseball may still achieve a grade of "7" but no higher”. A ball that has been shellacked may show cracking over time, which will impact its value. Of course, it’s not possible to undo the shellacking and it’s common knowledge that many older balls will exhibit this.
Since plastic autographed ball holders weren’t available for most of the last century, coating a ball was one way to preserve it, but later on, putting it in a drawer, wrapped in a plastic baggy or sock was another way fans and collectors saved them.
Removing signatures has become a modern era practice employed to turn a multi-signed ball with some lesser names into a more valuable single-signed ball. If a grading company determines that one or more signatures have been removed from a ball, that ball can no longer qualify as single-signed ball. Be sure to examine the ball closely to see if any names have been removed.
Another thing to keep in mind about signature preservation. Beware of the 1984-1990 baseballs carrying the signature of AL President Bobby Brown. The baseballs with "Haiti" placed under the Rawlings logo stamp were made without using distilled water that has permitted enzymes to potentially change the color of the ball as time passes. These balls often contain a yellowish-brown color.
You can check out autographed baseballs on eBay
to see what's available.
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