19339

"1940's Jim Thorpe Single Signed Baseball, PSA NM-MT 8"

Currency:USD Category:Sports - Cards & Fan Shop / Sports - Autographs (Original) Start Price:19,000.00 USD Estimated At:30,000.00 - 50,000.00 USD
 1940's Jim Thorpe Single Signed Baseball, PSA NM-MT 8
<B>1940's Jim Thorpe Single Signed Baseball, PSA NM-MT 8.</B></I> It's overkill, really, a Thorpe single of this exceptional quality. Offer any weather-beaten, faded and shellacked ball bearing the autograph of this Football Hall of Famer, 1912 Olympic Gold Medalist and member of the 1913 National League Championship New York Giants, and thousands of collectors will still sing its praises. Ask yourself--when was the last time you saw one, in any state of disrepair? We can't remember one either. And while we won't be so bold as to claim that another will never surface, we feel entirely comfortable in claiming that you couldn't possibly ever find one finer than the OAL (Harridge) ball you see before you here. The side panel autograph from this uniquely gifted Native American legend is rendered in black fountain pen ink so bold that you could read it from the next county, rating a "9" on a scale of ten according to PSA/DNA, which explains that a point was deducted only due to the fact that the tail end of the letter "e" in Thorpe brushes the ball's stitching. In the absence of this rather insignificant issue, this sixty-year old autograph would be deemed unimprovable. The composite grade of NM-MT 8 is the result of a grade of "6" for the ball itself, resultant of light, patchy toning and fading of the ball's stamping. As our catalog imagery should surely convey, however, the visual appeal of the ball and the autograph itself are not harmed by this natural aging process. Like a gourmet chef supermodel, or a Big League pitcher that bats .300, this ball is better than anything of which we could have possibly dreamed. <I>LOA from PSA/DNA.</B></I> <BR><BR><B>Important notice:</B> Heritage usually auctions material at the rate of 200-250 lots per hour. On some occasions eBay Live bid software or the Internet may not be able to keep up with the pace of the auction. We recommend placing a realistic absentee bid now as insurance to avoid disappointment. Occasionally the auctioneer may eliminate or reject an eBay Live bid, and the auctioneer may also reopen a lot after the close of the eBay live bidding (usually because we missed an audience bid), and may reject your bid even if it shows you as the winning bidder. By bidding via eBay Live, you agree that Heritage may award the lot to another bidder at its sole discretion under the circumstances described above or any other reasonable circumstances. Since eBay bids are not shown to us until we open the lot on the floor, we treat those bids just like floor bids. In most cases the floor responds before the eBay bid is presented to us, due to Internet lag time, so for consistency we have made it a policy that floor bids are always considered first over tie eBay live bids. Also please note that all Heritage lots purchased through eBay Live carry a 22.5% Buyer's Premium. Please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions before you bid. This lot is being auctioned in conjunction with a live floor auction by Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers. All final auction and invoice information will be supplied by Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers, and all other information should be considered preliminary. Lot:19339 <BR><BR><B>Winning Notification and Billing:</B> After the FINAL session in this auction is complete, Heritage will send e-mail and snail mail invoices. This process normally takes several days. All final auction and invoice information will be supplied by Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers, and all other information should be considered preliminary. <BR><BR>This auction will be conducted on a live auction floor and over the Internet through eBay Live. If you choose to place an absentee bid, please take a moment to <font color='#0000ff'><u><a href='http://pages.ebay.com/liveauctions/help/before/laabsentee.html'>learn how eBay Live absentee bidding works</a></u></font><font color='#000000'>