Lemon Peel Baseball

[ruth-gehrig]

This baseball recently sold on ebay for $360. Was that a good price? With a circumference of 8.75 inches and 3.4 ounces isn't that a bit on the small size for baseballs of this era?? Was this a legitimate deal?? Thanks again, Michael

[deebro041]

Hi Michael. I just want to say i am by no means even close to an expert here. I was watching this baseball and received more pictures from the seller. I chose not to pursue this baseball because of some unusual stitching patterns on the ball that seem machine made. The stitching holding the ball together appear hand stitched. These are my own thoughts, but i wondered if the leather was from something else and stitched together to look like a lemon peel ball. I could totally be wrong here, but that is why i chose not to bid.
Dan

[ruth-gehrig]

Yeah I understand what you mean. I'm not an expert either, far from it, but I went after the ball and now just wondering if I regret not pushing it a little higher or glad I didn't get it.

[perezfan]

I think you could have pushed it further. I have seen similar stitching on a few examples (which have sold for lots more). Some might find it a detractor, but to many collectors, it adds uniqueness and character. This is a really nice example.

Bottom line... I think someone got a very nice deal on this one. Wish that I had seen it

Editing to say that the size is correct for the era.

[BrandonG]

I was watching that ball and planned on bidding. I didn't get to see the extra photo like you did, I wish I had now. You've got to remember that hand made or home made baseballs from 130+ years ago could have been made from whatever materials were available. This leather could have been from a work boot, or even a civil war era satchel. Any leather you could use would make a fine ball.

Sadly my cap was only at about $200 because of the lack of photos and some recent purchases, wish I would have asked for more like I usually do, I guess with the bidding so low so late in the auction I figured I'd just pick it up cheap and if it wasn't legit oh well. Whomever got this ball got a great deal in my opinion.

Here's another example of work leather being used to make a ball.

[ruth-gehrig]

Damn it!!

[vintagesportflips]

Damn, nice ball. I stupidly had that ball on my watchlist but didn't realize it was a lemon peel. The seller had a small not very high quality photo, and I thought it was an early figure 8 ball. I got busy at work and ended up missing the end of the auction.
In my opinion the buyer got an outstanding buy. The seller really cost himself some money by not putting up more photos, and not describing the ball at all. That is actually a fairly big lemon peel, and the awl marks are a nice bonus. Wish I had paid closer attention and asked for more photos like Dan had.

[Rob L]

I had a watch on this ball and forgot to go back to bid. An outstanding value. As I have spent a couple of years studying early 19th Century baseballs, this one is great. The stitch marks just indicate that it came from a boot or other leather item before being used to make the ball. This was a steal.

[deebro041]

Great information guys! Lesson learned on my part. I should also learn to be more trusting.
Dan

[ruth-gehrig]

Can't win em all I guess