Autograph Baseball Question - Shellac

Johan Santana 57 · Jan 3, 2010

Just a question for some people on the boards here. Would you care if you were buying a "shellac'ed" baseball that was autographed (great condition) even though it was shellac'ed. For those that don't know, it was for older autos and it was a protective substance, but it did change the color of the ball to a yellowish color. The autos on the ball are still good though. Would you devalue it drastically, or not care since it is for PC?

Thanks for the opinions
Tom

Pine Tar · Jan 3, 2010

you may run the risk of ruining the auto

Johan Santana 57 · Jan 3, 2010

Pine Tar said:
you may run the risk of ruining the auto

The ball already has it on there, and the autos are fine currently and none were blurred due to the shellac.

moxacaine · Jan 3, 2010

i wouldnt want one in my PC but its all a personal preference. It also depended on who the player is and how tough his auto is.

Johan Santana 57 · Jan 3, 2010

moxacaine said:
i wouldnt want one in my PC but its all a personal preference. It also depended on who the player is and how tough his auto is.

Can I ask why you wouldn't want it on there? I am debating about buying one with this on there so would like to hear both sides.

pigskincardboard · Jan 3, 2010

As long as the shellacing is clear of drips or runs, especially along the seams, I don't particularly mind 'em at all.

spahnandsain · Jan 3, 2010

Johan Santana 57 said:
moxacaine said:

i wouldnt want one in my PC but its all a personal preference. It also depended on who the player is and how tough his auto is.

Click to expand...

Can I ask why you wouldn't want it on there? I am debating about buying one with this on there so would like to hear both sides.

I would feel that way because of the yellowing. Nice white balls look so much better. It all depends on the ball. If it was a 1957 Milwaukee Braves team signed ball, I wouldn't care one bit.

Jastermereel · Jan 3, 2010

Shellac GREATLY affects the value of auto'd baseballs. It's like laminating a baseball card.

thegreathambino · Jan 3, 2010

if your OK w/ it. Thats all that counts!

stlalways94 · Jan 3, 2010

I really don't care, as long as the shellac is not dripping, dirty, etc.

Johan Santana 57 · Jan 3, 2010

Thanks for the opinions guys, if you have any more I would appreciate you posting them.

Thanks
Tom

Austin · Jan 3, 2010

Jastermereel said:
Shellac GREATLY affects the value of auto'd baseballs. It's like laminating a baseball card.

It's similar, but not the same.
Laminating a baseball card makes it worthless.
Shallacking a modern (1980s-current) signed ball of a living player makes it virtually worthless.
But a vintage ball's value is not nearly as adversely affected.
A shallacked Ruth, Cobb, Gehrig, Wagner, etc. ball is worth thousands of dollars.
But of course, a non-shallacked ball is worth considerably more.

Jastermereel · Jan 3, 2010

Austin said:
Jastermereel said:

Shellac GREATLY affects the value of auto'd baseballs. It's like laminating a baseball card.

Click to expand...

It's similar, but not the same.
Laminating a baseball card makes it worthless.
Shallacking a modern (1980s-current) signed ball of a living player makes it virtually worthless.
But a vintage ball's value is not nearly as adversely affected.
A shallacked Ruth, Cobb, Gehrig, Wagner, etc. ball is worth thousands of dollars.
But of course, a non-shallacked ball is worth considerably more.

I disagree. A laminated 52 Mantle is not worthless either.

Shellacked balls of high-value players are usually worth about 1/3 of what a non-shellacked ball is worth.

Johan Santana 57 · Jan 3, 2010

Jastermereel said:
Austin said:

Jastermereel said:

Shellac GREATLY affects the value of auto'd baseballs. It's like laminating a baseball card.

Click to expand...

It's similar, but not the same.
Laminating a baseball card makes it worthless.
Shallacking a modern (1980s-current) signed ball of a living player makes it virtually worthless.
But a vintage ball's value is not nearly as adversely affected.
A shallacked Ruth, Cobb, Gehrig, Wagner, etc. ball is worth thousands of dollars.
But of course, a non-shallacked ball is worth considerably more.

Click to expand...

I disagree. A laminated 52 Mantle is not worthless either.

Shellacked balls of high-value players are usually worth about 1/3 of what a non-shellacked ball is worth.

I am not sure when the ball was made, it is an Official Eastern League baseball. Not the eastern league minors Im assuming. Its an older ball, with HOF signatures of some great players on it, so it is before 1980 Im guessing.

19braves77 · Jan 3, 2010

If the shellac has keep the appearance of the autos nicer to the point it displays better when compared to a ball with no shellac from the same time period then I dont mind having it.

AMAZIN HOF COLLECTOR · Jan 3, 2010

moxacaine said:
i wouldnt want one in my PC but its all a personal preference. It also depended on who the player is and how tough his auto is.

My feelings exactly. If it was a Babe or Christy I would consider a shellaced ball, otherwise absolutely not. Not sure? Check out the ending auctions (from major auction houses) and see the difference shellac makes...

Johan Santana 57 · Jan 3, 2010

AMAZIN HOF COLLECTOR said:
moxacaine said:

i wouldnt want one in my PC but its all a personal preference. It also depended on who the player is and how tough his auto is.

Click to expand...

My feelings exactly. If it was a Babe or Christy I would consider a shellaced ball, otherwise absolutely not. Not sure? Check out the ending auctions (from major auction houses) and see the difference shellac makes...

Would it change your mind though if it were for PC and not for resale?

AMAZIN HOF COLLECTOR · Jan 3, 2010

Johan Santana 57 said:
[quote="AMAZIN HOF COLLECTOR":3khle8mw]

moxacaine said:

i wouldnt want one in my PC but its all a personal preference. It also depended on who the player is and how tough his auto is.

Click to expand...

My feelings exactly. If it was a Babe or Christy I would consider a shellaced ball, otherwise absolutely not. Not sure? Check out the ending auctions (from major auction houses) and see the difference shellac makes...

Would it change your mind though if it were for PC and not for resale?[/quote:3khle8mw]

For my PC I would not want a shellacked ball. (Except if it was an extremely tough signer like Babe, Christy, etc..). I have moved balls from my PC for very minor reasons (minor tonning on the sweet spot or stray ink spot, etc..). The shellacked ball would drive me crazy especially if it was a modern player. I have seen people shellack balls signed in sharpie to keep it from bleeding, but again I only collect blue ink SS autos and would never keep a sharpie auto.
For resale (flip) I would only if it was a really old player.

Johan Santana 57 · Jan 3, 2010

AMAZIN HOF COLLECTOR said:
[quote="Johan Santana 57":1i7lsdbm][quote="AMAZIN HOF COLLECTOR":1i7lsdbm]

moxacaine said:

i wouldnt want one in my PC but its all a personal preference. It also depended on who the player is and how tough his auto is.

Click to expand...

My feelings exactly. If it was a Babe or Christy I would consider a shellaced ball, otherwise absolutely not. Not sure? Check out the ending auctions (from major auction houses) and see the difference shellac makes...

Would it change your mind though if it were for PC and not for resale?[/quote:1i7lsdbm]

For my PC I would not want a shellacked ball. (Except if it was an extremely tough signer like Babe, Christy, etc..). I have moved balls from my PC for very minor reasons (minor tonning on the sweet spot or stray ink spot, etc..). The shellacked ball would drive me crazy especially if it was a modern player. I have seen people shellack balls signed in sharpie to keep it from bleeding, but again I only collect blue ink SS autos and would never keep a sharpie auto.
For resale (flip) I would only if it was a really old player.

[/quote:1i7lsdbm]

Yeah I see what you mean. This one isn't in the class of Babe, Christy, Gehrig, but does have some major players on it.

What's weird is that before I knew what it actually was, I thought it looked kind of cool. Then when I found out what it was, it kind of changed my mind so I'm still up in the air.

GTJ558 · Jan 3, 2010

the best of times for collecting baseballs was when the past cooperstown electees started signing at shows in the '80s and '90s especially....those should not be shellaced...guys like Duke Snider and all could be had for $25. Since that's not the case anymore, when you see a ball from the golden era, it might be hard to pass on it whether it's had the "treatment" or not. I guess I hadn't thought about it until the post. For my PC, I like the raw baseball.

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Autograph Baseball Question - Shellac

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