What is your prefered media for modern HOF autographs

[markf31]

Up until now, the majority of my HOF focus has been on vintage items, mostly including official league balls, GPCs, checks, contracts, letters and the occasional George Burke photo.

While I still have a long ways to go in the vintage niche, I want to start to branch out into some of the more modern HOFs who played from the 70s through the 90s. Given the larger population of these autographs, I think I'd like to find one type of media and stick to it. Maybe its still official league balls or Pereze-Steele postcards...

Just curious what some of you collect or find particularly interesting in regards to autographs of players from the 70s through the 90s. and of course feel free to share pictures.

[Klrdds]

If you want the more common , and easily attainable HoFers I would stick to obviously what is the most affordable for you and more importantly what you find appealing. Also what do you plan to do with them...display them or store them. I prefer 8x10 photos, and single-signed baseballs and when possible any hand-written letter. I find HLSs to be the best value with the highest upside, especially if the letters have baseball content, also letters are harder to find.
Vintage autos many times come down to affordability and how rare is that autograph, so rare that I will buy whatever I see available.

[gregr2]

Originally Posted by Klrdds

I find HLSs to be the best value with the highest upside, especially if the letters have baseball content, also letters are harder to find.

What is HLS?

[Klrdds]

HLS= hand-written letter signed
TLS= typed-letter signed
Sorry for any confusion,
Kevin

[gregr2]

Originally Posted by Klrdds

HLS= hand-written letter signed
TLS= typed-letter signed
Sorry for any confusion,
Kevin

Thank you!!

[Michael B]

Originally Posted by Klrdds

HLS= hand-written letter signed
TLS= typed-letter signed
Sorry for any confusion,
Kevin

Interesting use of abbreviations. To me it has always been ALS, autographed letter signed. That is what many of the autograph dealers have used for years outside of the sports arena. My first thought was holograph letter signed which basically means the same thing, though I also think of that as a handwritten letter by a person where their name is written in the body of the letter, but not signed at the end.

Some others are:
ANS - autographed note signed
AQS - autographed quotation signed
LS - letter signed written by another and signed by the personality

I also like handwritten letters and notes. To me they are very undervalued. You are getting a lot more than just the signature.

[Klrdds]

I always thought ALS was a little misleading because it never defined how the body of the letter was written it only said autographed, and obviously in most cases there would be a value/price difference if the whole letter was typed or hand written by the signer in my opinion. I saw those abbreviations many years ago in an autograph listing and have gravitated to them since that time.
The same could apply to ANS also if you wanted.

[almostdone]

I prefer single signed balls but after a while display can be tough. I built a case for some of my favorites. I am not trying for all HOFers though. I could imagine it would start to take up a huge amount of space to have them all on single balls.
Drew

[dgo71]

I always preferred Perez-Steele and gold HOF plaques. Unsigned P/S can be had in the $5-15 range depending on the player, with the last series being slightly higher, and they look fantastic when signed. Unsigned HOF plaque postcards are much more inexpensive (50-cents a piece from the HOF gift shop) and likewise, look great signed and make for an easier, more affordable way to collect within a uniform theme. Perez-Steele stopped production in 2001, but Dick Perez continued to do the portraits for the induction ceremonies. So the guys inducted from 2002 to present have no official P/S available, but it's possible to make a custom from an image of the original Perez artwork. If you're looking at solely the HOFers from 1970-1990, Perez-Steele would include all the members you're looking for. It of course comes down to your personal preference, but if you enjoy collecting flat items and appreciate baseball-themed artwork P/S is for you. With a few notable exceptions, even the HOFers who have passed away can be obtained on either item for reasonable amounts. The P/S that are astronomical in price (Waner, Ashburn, Coveleski, Averill, etc.) are the guys who passed away shortly after the cards were issued.

[earlywynnfan]

I prefer signed baseballs, but they get far more expensive than flats. They take up a lot more room, but I think the display value is far more impressive.

This pic shows hundreds of baseballs and hundreds of photos. The baseballs are obvious. The flats? See those two binders on top of the cabinet? That's the best I can do. I did almost buy a large library magazine display rack so you could actually see a bunch, but even then it would have been very limited.

Ken

[gregr2]

Originally Posted by earlywynnfan

I prefer signed baseballs, but they get far more expensive than flats. They take up a lot more room, but I think the display value is far more impressive.

This pic shows hundreds of baseballs and hundreds of photos. The baseballs are obvious. The flats? See those two binders on top of the cabinet? That's the best I can do. I did almost buy a large library magazine display rack so you could actually see a bunch, but even then it would have been very limited.

Ken

Ummmmmm WOW!!

Awesome display!!

[almostdone]

I feel like I should take my picture down now after seeing Ken's display. Very impressive indeed.
Drew

[earlywynnfan]

Thanks, guys. For what it's worth, I seem to have some sort of sickness.

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by earlywynnfan

I prefer signed baseballs, but they get far more expensive than flats. They take up a lot more room, but I think the display value is far more impressive.

This pic shows hundreds of baseballs and hundreds of photos. The baseballs are obvious. The flats? See those two binders on top of the cabinet? That's the best I can do. I did almost buy a large library magazine display rack so you could actually see a bunch, but even then it would have been very limited.

Ken

Beautifully displayed, Ken!

[brewing]

Originally Posted by earlywynnfan

Thanks, guys. For what it's worth, I seem to have some sort of sickness.

From what I can see, you seem very healthy to me.