Quote:
Originally Posted by prewarsports
I want to add that I have never owned a belt ball or Lemon peel in my life despite wanting one for years, which has led to my paranoia on the subject. I have seen some that you just know are good, mostly based on the uneven wear and the patina of the ball especially in the stitch holes but you cant really get a sense of that from a photo on ebay.
Rhys
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Rhys, I had a couple about ten years ago. I bought them separately on ebay and felt very comfortable that they were both real, but at the time, we discussed them on the board, and the consensus was that it's nearly impossible to date such items, mainly because they were hand-made from whatever material was available at the time, most old string and leather did not change that much from the late 1800's to the early 1900's, and the balls were then played nearly to death - it's a miracle that any survived. They could have been 1800's, but also could have been early 1900's. Most of the 1800's dates applied to such balls (by sellers, of course) are just wishful thinking.