Just curious, would it be so difficult to sell the ball privately that it's worth sacrificing the fees to have an auction house do it? People keep saying that they'd turn it over to an auction house, but it seems to me that it wouldn't be all that hard to field offers privately. Create a website with information, get a separate phone number/e-mail address for "business," and issue some press releases with contact/web site info. When a deal is made, one party can travel to where the other is and the two can go to a bank to complete the transaction. I know it's probably a bit more complicated than that (might need to get a tax accountant involved or something), but I wouldn't relish forking over money to Sotheby's.