Everyone that collects sports memorabilia would like to believe that they are sitting on a goldmine, but the truth of the matter is, a collection of any kind is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it. This makes determining the worth of sports memorabilia a difficult task. With an understanding of what makes sports memorabilia valuable, you can begin to know and appreciate the value of your prized sports collectibles.

There are a few things to consider when you are trying to determine the worth of sports memorabilia, but the most important factor tends to be whether or not the item is autographed. A Joe Namath signed jersey is valuable piece of sports memorabilia, but a Joe Namath jersey that is signed by the entire World Champion 1969 Ny Jets would be worth a great deal more.

Autographs on sports memorabilia increase it's value, however for example not all Derek Jeter autographs have the same value. There are a few factors that will determine it's worth. Is the signature clear and bold or is it faded? What condition is the item that has been signed? What type of item is it? Was it signed at an autograph signing or did he sign it in passing? Is there an inscription? Is the authenticity of the autographed item documented? Who authenticated it? Is it game used, game model, or just a replica? etc. etc.

You see, it's not as easy to determine the value of sports memorabilia as one would like to think. To get an accurate sports memorabilia appraisal there is alot of research that has to be done in order to come up with an accurate portrayal of it's worth.

The rarity of the signed sports collectible is another determining factor. If you have a Mark McGwire autographed baseball it would not be as valuable as a Mark McGwire autographed Busch Stadium seatback.

What type of career has the athlete had? Has he been besieged by scandal or has he been a good role model? Has he been elected into the Hall of fame? Is the athlete alive or dead. With each passing year of an athlete's death sports memorabilia with his signature on it gets rarer therefore becomes more valuable.

We at Authentic Signed Sports have been involved with Sports Memorabilia since childhood. We have a vast amount of experience and knowledge when it comes to determing the value of sports memorabilia. We don't just see this as a business. We have a passion that most people wouldn't understand. Having greatness pass through our hands even if only for a fleeting moment is the real payoff.

If you would like to have your sports memorabilia appraised please contact us at 919-553-1669, or if you prefer via email through our contact us page.

Please be advised that there is a $9.95 fee per item to do an online appraissal.

We will need as much information as possible that you have on the sports collectible you want appraised. Please have all information at hand prior to contacting us. Any additional information that may be needed can be supplied later.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions. We are always happy to help a fellow sports memorabilia enthusiast.

Catherine Price, 83, of Vicksburg, holds two unused 1956 World Series tickets to the game in which Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in World Series history. She and her husband used two box seat tickets to attend the game, saving the unused pair.

VICKSBURG — Truth be known, Catherine Price never was much of a baseball fan, not even 50 years ago when on Oct. 8, 1956, she witnessed one of the most famous games in the sport's history.

Don Larsen?

"I didn't know who he was," she says, laughing.

A perfect game?

"I didn't know what that was, either," she says, and she pauses, effectively, before adding, "but I sure learned that day."

On Oct. 8, 1956, New York Yankee Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in World Series history, beating the Brooklyn Dodgers 2-0.

A half century later, Price not only still has the ticket stubs she and her late husband used that day to enter Yankee Stadium, she has two tickets, in mint condition, they didn't use.

Her husband, Powell Price Jr. - better known as Polly - loved to show those tickets and tell the story of how they came into his possession.

"And, boy, could he tell a story," Catherine Price says.

Since Polly Price died 14 years ago, we'll do the best we can to tell his story one more time.

Polly and Catherine Price worked at Rose Oil Co. in Vicksburg in 1956. Part of Polly's job was to sell tires, and he sold so many he won an award from U.S. Rubber Co.

First prize? A trip to New York to watch the World Series from box seats behind home plate.

Polly, a huge baseball fan and a Yankee fan at that, was thrilled. Catherine was more interested in seeing New York, staying at the Waldorf Astoria and seeing a couple of Broadway shows.

Game day came and the tickets were supposed to be delivered that morning to the Waldorf. Polly began to get antsy when by mid-morning the tickets had yet to arrive.

He went to check the front desk again. No luck. But darned if he was going to miss this World Series game, no matter what.

So he took matters into his own hands and pocketbook.

The game was a sell out, so he asked around in the lobby and was told where he might find a ticket scalper.

Cathy Box, the Prices' daughter who lives in Madison, says that what followed was her daddy's favorite part of the story.

"He took a cab down to the lower east side, where he was told to go," she says. "The address was a butcher shop where he was told to go to the alley out back."

There, he found a man in a trench coat and a fedora - "with one eyebrow," Cathy Box says, laughing - who sold him the tickets.

Polly Price never told anyone, least of all his wife, how much he paid for those tickets.

Meanwhile, of course, the original tickets had arrived at the hotel.

So the couple quickly caught a cab to Yankee Stadium, where they arrived just in time to watch Mickey Mantle take batting practice.

"Polly had intended to sell the tickets, but he was in such a rush to see Mickey Mantle, he forgot," Catherine Price says.

Yes, and after a few innings, Catherine Price learned what a perfect game was. How could she not? Everyone was talking about it.

"Polly was just beside himself," she says. "He was so excited I knew it had to really be something special."

Mickey Mantle swatted a fourth inning home run for the only run Larsen would need. In the next day's Washington Post, Shirley Povich, the famed baseball writer, wrote, "The million-to-one shot came in. Hell froze over. A month of Sundays hit the calendar. Don Larsen today pitched a no-hit, no-run, no-man-reach-first game in a World Series."

Yes, and that night, the Prices celebrated with cocktails and dinner at The Stork Club. Before they would leave New York, they would see both Damn Yankees and South Pacific on Broadway.

"To tell you the truth, I remember more about the plays than I do about the games," Catherine Price says.

But she does remember her husband putting the tickets away carefully and saying that "someday, these are going to be collector's items."

That some day is now.

Tickets that cost $7.35 originally probably would bring nearly a thousand times that much on the sports memorabilia market.

Even the stubs might bring as much as $1,000.

Stephen Carlisle, consignment director of Heritage Sports Collectibles, says the unused tickets could bring "upward of $6,000 each."

Not that Catherine Price is in any hurry to sell.

Those tickets have quite a history. After all, they survived a house fire at Christmas in 1974.

"We lost so many photos and other keepsakes, mostly from smoke damage," Catherine Price said. "But those tickets were in a shoe box in an older cedar chest and they didn't have any damage at all."

Baseball's Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, N.Y., would love to have them, Catherine Price says, and she might eventually donate them there.

But for now, the tickets stay in a safety deposit box where they remain, looking as new as they did the day they finally arrived 50 years ago this month at the Waldorf Astoria.

DALLAS -- Three sports collectibles have sold for more than $1 million: Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball, a Honus Wagner baseball card and the bat Babe Ruth used to hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium.

Officials with the Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas say two old-time baseball jerseys could also crack the million-dollar mark when they go up for bid Saturday: New York Yankees jerseys worn by Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

The featured item is the jersey Ruth wore when he hit the first home run in baseball's first All-Star Game, in 1933 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

Making the jersey more rare, and therefore more valuable, is that it has the Yankees pinstripes and Ruth's famous No. 3 on the back. The Yankees wore numbers beginning in 1929, and Ruth left the Yankees after the 1934 season.

That makes this the first pinstriped No. 3 jersey to go up for auction, said Chris Ivy, Heritage's director of sports auctions. It should go for at least $600,000, Ivy said.

"Ruth is Ruth: He is the king of the sports collectibles market," Ivy said.

The Gehrig jersey is the one he wore in the 1927 season, the year he won the MVP.

The 1927 Yankees lineup is known as Murderer's Row and was one of the most potent in baseball history. Gehrig batted cleanup for most of the season.

"I'd be surprised if these jerseys don't get near the seven-figure mark," Ivy said.

A collector named Joe Esposito picked up the Ruth jersey at a garage sale in the 1980s for less than $1,000. That and the Gehrig jersey are being sold by an East Coast collector who Heritage would not name.

Other items up for auction include a game-worn Gayle Sayers jersey and the WBC championship belt Joe Frazier won by beating Jimmy Ellis in 1970.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press

Many sports memorabilia enthusiasts collect as hobby or just for the love of the sport or athlete that they collect. Some sports memorabilia collectors while they may exhibit the same passion as the aforementioned collectors, take it a step further. Not just collecting for the sake of collecting, but choose carefully the sports memorabilia they acquire as a sound investment that will increase in value year after year.

What's the difference? Let me explain.

While a Mariano Rivera autographed photograph is a great piece of sports memorabilia and will never depreciate in value, is quite plentiful and available freely on the open market. A Mariano Rivera Signed Danbury Mint Figurine is a much rarer, thus more valuable piece of sports memorabilia that will increase greatly in value over time.

By acquiring unique, rare, or vintage sports memorabilia not only do you make a sound investment for the future, but you acquire pieces that are sure to be the topic of conversation and the envy of your friends. You will find that it is much more fun to collect the type of sports memorabilia that others do not have, while at the same time investing in your future.

Make a statement while making an investment.

The sports memorabilia you collect makes a statement about you as a collector. Every sports collectible you have acquired over time tells a story and signifies an important moment in sports history. That being said, the more significant the item being signed the greater the return. For example: A Robinson Cano SIGNED Game Used Batting Glove w/ 2005 Inscription. Is a great sports collectible and a great investment for several reasons. First off it is an autographed game used item which in itself makes it very valuable. Then you factor in that he added the "2005" inscription which was his rookie year then the value jumps once again. Let's say he wins a batting title or several, well your investment just grew once again. With the talent that Robinson Cano has exhibited so far in his 1st two seasons with the Yankees it is reasonable to say that he has a great career ahead of him. If he makes the Hall of Fame, well then your investment will have yielded more than a mutual fund.

So you see, collecting sports memorabilia is not only a fun hobby to have but a wise investment decision as well.