Before I continue, below are links showing hundreds of examples of forged Mickey Mantle baseballs, photos, etc. found on Ebay (the most dangerous place to buy autographs if you're a casual collector or impulse buyer).

https://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/ebay-mantle-dimaggi...

https://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/examples-of-mickey-...

https://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/most-common-mantle-...

So when does an autographed Mickey Mantle baseball sell for $159.50?

When it's an obvious forgery.

Check out this forged Mickey Mantle baseball sold by Ebay seller Grannyshodgepodge for a whopping $159.50.

Just ridiculous.

Someone wasted $159.50 for this crap.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mickey-Mantle-Autographed-not-authenticate...