Baseball signed by Zelenskyy is auctioned for $50,000 – NW.

BOSTON (AP) — A baseball signed by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been auctioned for more than $50,000, part of which will be used to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians displaced by the nation’s war with Russia, the said Auctioneer RR Auction from Boston on Thursday.

The winning bid for the Rawlings Major League Baseball in the auction that ended Wednesday was more than three times that amount what was expected.

RR Auction will donate its portion of the $15,000 sale, while seller Randy Kaplan will also donate an undisclosed portion of its proceeds to provide humanitarian assistance through global non-profit organization Americares.

Kaplan is a well-known collector of baseballs autographed by world leaders and rarely auctions his prized pieces.

The winning bidder asked to remain anonymous, but was described by RR Auction as “a Midwestern collector excited that a portion of the proceeds will go to Ukraine’s relief efforts.”

The ball is signed with black felt-tip pen in Ukrainian Cyrillic and Latin letters. It is accompanied by a letter of transmission signed by Volodymyr Yelchenko, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations.

Also sold in the same auction were documents signed by British naturalist Alfred Wallace, inventor Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein and founding fathers John Hancock and John Adams.