Bobby Jones Signed Golf Ball

        We at Green Jacket Auctions were greatly appreciative of the amount of attention received from both press and collectors alike following our April 2011 sale of a Bobby Jones signed golf ball for $55,865 - the highest price ever paid for a golf autograph.

        Prior to our last auction, our extensive research into the number of known Bobby Jones signed golf balls led us to only 3 total examples, including the one we were offering. Well, as soon as we shattered the auction record for a Bobby Jones golf ball, we knew that we would immediately learn the full extent of the number of Bobby Jones signed balls in the marketplace. So how many more Bobby Jones signed balls did we uncover after the resulting exposure from our record sale in April?

        None a single one.

        Those three authentic single-signed Bobby Jones golf balls that were previously known to the collecting community are still the only three that are known. Even allowing for the fact that a couple additional authentic examples are likely out there, it appears certain that only a handful of signed golf balls from the most important golfer of the the early 20th century are known to exist.

        Well, that record price brought in our last auction did have one additional benefit - it convinced our consignor to finally part with his signed Bobby Jones golf ball, which was one of the 3 aforementioned balls that were previously catalogued.

        This circa 1940 Fleetwing mesh golf ball has been signed "With Best Wishes, Sincerely, Bob Jones". It has been previously reported that this well-documented ball once contained a personalization to its original owner which was professionally removed. We presume that's true, although that professional removal was done so well that no trace of such a personalization currently exists on the ball. It should be noted that this ball exhibits game-use, although it would be pure conjecture to surmise that the ball was used by Bobby Jones himself. Still, it is worth mentioning as it is certainly within the realm of possibility.

        In addition to authentication by Green Jacket Auctions, this Bobby Jones signed golf ball has already been authenticated by industry leader PSA/DNA. Additionally, this is a "known" Bobby Jones signed golf ball that has previously been offered publicly by at least two different major auction houses in the ball's history.