system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How did autographs get their value? Why did we one day declare that someone touching a ball makes it worth more?
gpt
As the old axiom says, "everything is worth what the purchaser will pay for it."

Nothing, not even money, has an inherent value. Its value is only what someone would trade for it.

Since people like autographed baseballs (it makes the baseball feel more unique and concretely related to the autographer and less like a generic baseball you buy for four dollars at Dick's), they're willing to pay more for them.

But, remember they aren't worth anything unless someone is willing to pay an amount for them. You could list your autographed baseball for $10,000 on eBay; that doesn't make it worth $10,000 unless someone pays you that amount for it.