ive been doing the sports thing for 25+ years, the people i know, trust me, i have yet to be turned down because i didnt have a COA/LOA... a while back we sold a Edgar Martinez signed bat for 100 bucks without a COA/LOA...

the fading isnt terrible on the autos that mean the most, but you are correct that fading does decrease value of the autos... the ones that are really faded (2) arent anyone important, so its all good in my book...

the guys i deal with have been in business for a very long time as well, one in particular specializes in old memoribilia and signatures during this time frame, as well as earlier and later... we could match the sigs to ones he has to further authenticate it... he would likely buy it for his collection and not selling as well...

the ball isnt an extremely valuable one either, not like a Ruth or Cobb ball, but still has some value, probably in the 400-1500 range, but most likely in the middle of that... it is a vintage REACH ball tho from the era it was signed, so that further guarentees authenticity as they were the balls used in the game during that time... REACH sold the company to Spalding in the late 1800s, but they were labeled REACH for the AL and Spalding for the senior circut... then in the 70s Rawlings bought the rights and started making the balls...

like i said, some Red Sox fan will appreciate it, im not into baseball anymore so its just an old ball with some good ball players on it, and one of the best to ever swing a bat...

if it was a football signed by the 72 Phins or the 88-89 Niners i would keep it for myself...