Hi Carmen,

Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.

Nolan Ryan is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most intimidating pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball. Nicknamed "The Ryan Express," he combined extraordinary power, remarkable longevity, and record-setting durability over a 27-season career (1966–1993) with the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot in 1999.

Gene Boyars was a respected sports photographer whose work appeared in licensed posters and publications throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. Geo Graphics was a publisher of licensed sports and entertainment posters during that era.

Unlike artist-signed lithographs, this is essentially a high-quality offset lithographic print made from a photographic image. "Lithograph" in this context refers to the printing process, not a hand-pulled fine-art lithograph.

Several factors make it more desirable than an average 1990 sports poster:

- It depicts Nolan Ryan during his Rangers years, arguably the most collectible period of his career.
- It was issued while Ryan was still an active player, rather than after his retirement.
- It dates to the remarkable 1989–1991 period when Ryan achieved:
--his 5,000th strikeout (1989),
--his 300th win (1990),
--his sixth no-hitter (1990),
--and his seventh no-hitter (1991).
If the edition was truly capped at 5,000 copies, it is considerably scarcer than the mass-market posters sold through sporting goods stores, many of which were printed in far larger quantities.

We are not able to authenticate signatures from photos; that would need to be done by a third party authenticator, like PSA (PSA/DNA), Beckett Authentication Services and JSA (James Spence Authentication. Having said that, for the purpose of this appraisal, we will give this the benefit of the doubt and presume that it's an authentic, legitimate autograph by Nolan Ryan. If this poster is examined in person or a third-party authenticator and determined to be a copied signature, the value would be less.

Based on the photos and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:

A near vintage 1990 Nolan Ryan Texas Rangers poster
Photo by Gene Boyars
Edition #1,531/5,000
Signed**
36 inches high by 24 inches wide
CONDITION: Backed
PROVENANCE: acquired at a yard/garage sale
$200-300*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.
**pending authentication by a third-party authenticator

Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, or questions/concerns, and thank you again for using Mearto.
~ Delia