One of the holy grail baseball autographs has to be Christy Mathewson and it's an achievement for any auction house to have a Mathewson signature offered. Memory Lane has three in its Dec. 8 auction, which should go live any day now.

First, Mathewson’s 1900 signed rookie contract (player’s copy) will start at $25,000. The four-page document is signed on the third page and is authenticated by PSA/DNA.

Next, there are two items that have been held privately by the family of Ernst K. Powell for 83 years and haven’t been available to the hobby previously. First, there is a typed, Mathewson-signed letter on Boston National League Baseball Company letterhead, dated Jan. 26, 1924. The letter is writtten to a new player (Padgett), is PSA/DNA authenticated and has a minimum bid of $10,000.

Finally, there’s a Mathewson-signed player contract for Padgett and a training camp reporting notice, which is signed by Edwin L. Riley, Mathewson’s secretary. This item also carries a minimum bid of $10,000.

Pretty cool stuff and about as rare as they come. Also, Vintage Authentics ends this week. They’ve got a 1888 Cap Anson game-used bat that is unbelievable. It has great documentation and received the coveted A10* from MEARS, markings its historical significance. It’s already up to $60,500 in bidding and could go quite a bit higher.