Hardest auto to get,..

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

bombie1138

Veteran
273
5.00 star(s)
Joined
Jan 15, 2008
Messages
1,559
Location
Orion Arm
I was talking to a dealer the other day and he said that Todd Helton's auto was very hard to find,is there other modern players that are even harder to get?

Just wondering,

Clint
 
There are a handful of current players that just don't sign that much stuff at all...I am sure some of it has to do with their agent, time, money, etc but I'm also certain a lot of them are 'good' players but not 'great' or 'new' to be included in sets. I cannot place that many names right now, but it does happen quite often.
 
Are you talking in card releases or just in general like IP & TTM. If you are talking in general Mariano Rivera is easy to get. He is one of the few Yankees you can actually get to sign at a game and you can also get him TTM.

One guy that I know who is really tough in person is Alex Rios. I could never get him in Spring Training when he was with the Blue Jays and I tried many times! He also never signs when the White Sox come to town either.
 
Pack pulled autos are tough to find for most Asian players. Ichiro has a few but I believe it's been a long time since there were any released.
 
I was talking to a dealer the other day and he said that Todd Helton's auto was very hard to find,is there other modern players that are even harder to get?

Just wondering,

Clint

Helton has 499 different autographed cards listed by Beckett. Currently there are 55 on Ebay.
 
Last edited:
I was asking the person who started the thread. Figured it would clear up any questions if he was more specific.

The dealer I talk to was making reference to what a other dealer said.The story goes that he visited a card shop( somewhere near the East Coast) were the owner had a massive signed baseball collection in his shop.The owner of the shop said that T. Helton's auto was hard to find.Maybe he was only referring to baseballs.
I posted the thread because I thought it would be a good topic for discussion, but I do admit it could fall into different catagories,
TTM's,in pack sigs,baseballs,photos,equipment,..

Clint
 
Last edited:
04 Topps Cracker Jack Mini Red Autograph of Garry Sheffield,short printed to 50,it took me 3 years to find and I know of only 1 other.For me this was a tuff one to track down.

Jon
 
Nomar is a tough signer. His last pack certified auto was released in 2006 and he only has roughly 190 autos total. Most of those autos are numbered to 25 or less. Frank Thomas was another that did not have a lot of autos as far as I can remember.
 
collecting autos for the past 30+ years ttm/ip, etc i would say these guys are the hardest to get.
mike marshall dodgers pitcher-absolutely refuses to sign,one of the toughest autos in all of baseball.
frank thomas
ichiro-will have to spend an arm and a leg to get
rickey henderson
jose canseco
mark mcgwire
rafael palmeiro
sammy sosa-funny that the steroid guys are harder to obtain
orel hershiser
albert pujols
darryl strawberry-hardly signed in person
willie mays
barry bonds-heard he was a very tough ip for others, but i got him to sign!
 
Most of the bigger stars become hard to get or started that way and just remained hard to obtain. What incentive do they have to spend time signing or doing it for the money when they are insanely rich already? You'd have to be a genuinely nice person, wanting to give back to the fans, but then again, your time is limited and valuable too, so the cost of obtaining those items is greater. Ripken is probably a good example. His autographs are fairly plentiful, but remain very expensive.

I don't chase new autographs unless they are Topps All-Rookie Team members, All-Star roster members or an occasional Dodger, so I don't really know who is tough TTM/IP. I do know I can't find CERTAIN cards signed and that is frustrating, but most players I seek for one reason or another have plenty of autographs for same in one form or another.

The toughest one I would say for me, based on what I have seen available in my searches, is Tsuyoshi Shinjo. There has rarely been anything by him signed for sale when I do my ebay searches and he remains one of my few needs from the 2002 Topps ART. I bought an autographed GU card several years ago, just to have a signature of the player, but have never seen the '02 Topps card offered, nor have I seen any other cards that were signed either.

Right now, there are 6 listings for him under the autograph category. 5 are miss listed and contain no autographs. The last is an 8x10 photo.

He only played 3 years (2001-03) in MLB and returned to Japan before he retired in 2006.
 
collecting autos for the past 30+ years ttm/ip, etc i would say these guys are the hardest to get.
mike marshall dodgers pitcher-absolutely refuses to sign,one of the toughest autos in all of baseball.
frank thomas
ichiro-will have to spend an arm and a leg to get
rickey henderson
jose canseco
mark mcgwire
rafael palmeiro
sammy sosa-funny that the steroid guys are harder to obtain
orel hershiser
albert pujols
darryl strawberry-hardly signed in person
willie mays
barry bonds-heard he was a very tough ip for others, but i got him to sign!

Don't confuse expensive with tough.

In the internet age, very few are actually tough to get. Other than cases like Mike Marshall (pitcher) where they refuse to sign pretty much from the get go, or a death at a young age, just about any major star and most minor stars and even bench players are available. They may be expensive, but a fair number of the players mentioned in this thread have 50-100+ autographs on ebay at the moment. Pretty much any active or retired player alive after the mid 1980's is aware of the market and does shows, appearances, ttm, etc. Wayne Krenchicki has 20+ autos available just on ebay. I've got a 1964 Topps signed by Dodger alum Dick Calmus , and he pitched 22 games in 2 years (1963, 1967)
 
Even Marshall is not that tough. He has signed for a private collector, but those typically start at $250 or more a piece. He even had some certified issues.

Demand will tell you who is scarce when you see names like Jack Kralick, Jimmie Hall, Jim Ray Hart, Willie Tasby. Pumpsie Green and others drawing the big bucks! Of course, these are all retired players from the 60s though.
 
Greg Maddux
the only one that took me more then 5 years to find of one card.. 01 autographics..
He and Bernie Williams really hate to sign autographs, unless they are for foundations or for little kids (who's parents hopefully don't pawn them on the bay)
 
Top