Signed baseball youve been looking for inked with a Sharpie....

[primeradriver]

So, I found the signed baseball I've been looking for (for a long time). The down side; all the players signed in fine tip Sharpie. If it were a standard Sharpie I would pass with the quickness. The sigs are still crisp. My question is, does anyone have first hand experience with a baseball signed with a fine tip Sharpie? I'm trying to think of ways to store it beyond the standard baseball care practices. I really want the ball but don't want bleeding over time. Has anyone tried silica packs inside a display? Thoughts?

[jake33]

Honestly, I sometimes when getting autogrpahs I have the athlete use sharpie on a baseball. Then i seal it in a zip lock bag for 6 months out of the sun and the autograph really doe shold well.

I know people do not like sharpie on signed baseballs at all, becasue of bleed and fading, but if done right, they look great.

[primeradriver]

Thanks for the response, Jake33. Will keep that in mind.

[mdube16]

You know I have a Musial in blue sharpie on an authentic NL ball that was signed in 1982 and its still great.

[vdsporty25]

As long as its black sharpie on the ball I think you should be ok in my experiences...I have a few official major league balls (American or National) signed in black sharpie that look just as good as the day I got them. Blue on the other hand will bleed like no tomorrow.

[spartanservitto]

So true, I have 2 Ichiro signed all star balls under the logo I got in person, he was using black, and they look the same as the day I got them.... blue is awful.

-Tony

[AutographAddiction]

If it's a ROMLB, they seem to hold up very well(in my cases). If it's a slick, shiny team logo ball, or a cheaper off-brand ball, they tends to smear or fade significantly throughout the years. I have a few balls signed by minor league prospects I got 10 years ago on a slick, team logo ball and they are half-faded. But I have some ROMLB's signed within the past 7 years, and they are all perfect--the same beautiful crisp autographs that were there on the days that Chipper Jones, Bobby Cox, Tom Glavine, Joe Torre, and Jeff Franceour signed them...

Hope that helps...

It seems like all evidence leads to ball-points pen lasting longer, which is probably true, but in my experiences, black sharpie on ROMLB's have remained in pristine condition...

[mlupo]

I would stay away myself, but mostly because I hate the way sharpie looks on a baseball, for me it's blue ballpoint only.

[legaleagle92481]

I think two factors are important: 1. Who is the player? Is it an active guy or living retired player? If so there are very few guys out there in that group that are truly "rare" and if you have doubts about whether you should buy it pass until a non-sharpie example comes along. 2. Are you buying for your collection or as something that you will hold for awhile and then resell? If its the later sharpie graphs have less value than ball point pen ones to most collectors so again you may want to pass until a non-sharpie example comes along. If your just buying for your collection and want to save some cash go for it.

[trsent]

Plain and simple - When someone is selling an autographed baseball the value is much stronger in ball point pen then anything else. That is the public perception.