Opinions on adding missing signatures to old team signed items

[JMEnglish27]

Just wanted to survey the group on this.

What's everyone's opinion on taking, for example, an old team-signed ball that's missing one guy, and getting that missing guy's signature at a later date. Let's assume we're using the same color pen, it's not DECADES later where the player's signature has changed significantly due to old age, etc. Take any grading/authentication out of the equation too.

If I had, say, a 1987 A's ball without Canseco, and added him at a signing event...is that advised against? Incredibly damaging to the value?

[Huck]

Originally Posted by JMEnglish27

Just wanted to survey the group on this.

What's everyone's opinion on taking, for example, an old team-signed ball that's missing one guy, and getting that missing guy's signature at a later date. Let's assume we're using the same color pen, it's not DECADES later where the player's signature has changed significantly due to old age, etc. Take any grading/authentication out of the equation too.

If I had, say, a 1987 A's ball without Canseco, and added him at a signing event...is that advised against? Incredibly damaging to the value?

I would have no problem adding additional signatures. Quite a few collectors have special milestone balls (ex. 500 home run balls) signed by those players in the club. It would be a rare event to have every 500 home run hitter under the same roof at a signing event. On the football side, signed helmets have sigs added at different times. In my day of collecting signed balls, single signed balls ruled the day. Purportedly, multi-signed balls are harder to sell. Then again, in my day, signed cards purportedly ruined the value of the card, now such cards are all the rage. Add the signature.

[swarmee]

Agreed, you should be able to add the autograph to a team ball at a later time, presuming that it is hand-signed/witnessed and that the authentication, if any, is updated to include the new signatures.

[Vintagedeputy]

I guess it depends (to me) on when the ball was signed originally, but I don't like the practice.

[ejharrington]

I have no issue with it.

[Bigdaddy]

In this case, I'd go ahead and add Canseco. I'd say it's a yes on any team ball from the last 40 years, and on a case-by-case basis on balls older than that. You'd want the new sig to look as close to the older sigs as possible.