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Would you have Ringo re-sign?

This was signed just before the Beatles' last live, paid show - August 1966, Candlestick Park.

Ringo rates a 1, maybe less. Would you have Ringo re-sign, thereby making him twice as strong as the next strongest graph? Would it ruin the ball's mojo?

Especially if you would only get "Ringo" out of him, not "Ringo Starr", would you pursue this or would you let it be?

Here's the link:

https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball/1966-the-beatles-signed-baseball...

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Permalink Reply by BallroomDays67 on July 17, 2018 at 6:50pm

Good advice here, IMO:

https://tucson.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/the-smart-collector-h...

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Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on July 20, 2018 at 5:21pm

I admit I am in a minority when it comes to "restoration" but to me anything that is put over the signature is covering up the original with meaningless ink. Unless the ink was applied by person himself it is as good as a fake to me. I would never knowingly buy anything that is "restored" if that means touching the signature in any way shape or form. I believe "restored" autographs will likely go down in value in time just as refinished antiques have.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on July 20, 2018 at 5:36pm

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Permalink Reply by Ian Baldock on July 17, 2018 at 7:35pm

It would still be a chore trying to get Ringo to sign it. Best to leave it alone.

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Permalink Reply by Invest_In_Graphs on July 20, 2018 at 5:37pm

In light of all of the comments, all of which I appreciate, I have decided:

1. Not to have Ringo re-sign, despite a connection I have that would allow me to "make one offer" as to how much to pay Ringo.

2. Not to restore because the new ink or whatever it is just won't look right and will hurt the mojo of the ball. Ringo is so very light, but that's better, I decided, than being stronger and obviously doctored. Thankfully (somewhat), Tom Fontaine restored his Ringo, allowing me to see how it might look. And I don't want this ball to look like that!

Again, thanks for your insight. It helped me decide.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on July 23, 2018 at 6:04pm

Invest_In_Graphs,

I did a little research. You may find that there's a way properly restore Ringo's signature without adding ink on top of it. The ink is still there, but the color has bleached out of it. Perhaps there's a way to add it back or otherwise darken it.

You can start with this search and keep digging and looking around. A ball that cool and valuable is worth putting time into:

https://www.google.com/search?q=restoring+ink+to+documents+paper+ar...

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on July 23, 2018 at 6:44pm

Indeed. With oil painting in the "old days", one had to be careful not to use Vermilion (mercuric sulfide) with or to near to ultramarine (lapis lazuli) as the former would bleach the latter white. That reaction is not reversible - this might well be. When an oil painting is stored in the dark it yellows, but that is reversible with daylight. Perhaps this would be as well - maybe with chemical fumes or some such.