Aikman "Gamer" - Huggins & Scott

[aeneas01]

several folks have contacted me about an aikman "gamer" recently listed at huggins & scott - apparently several folks also contacted h&s with questions as well given h&s felt compelled to eventually edit the aikman lot description to include the following:

NOTE:
This lot was obtained from a NFL equipment manager by our consigner. This individual was not named by the consigner due to confidentiality reasons but it should be known that this helmet came straight from the locker room. Huggins and Scott is allowing the winning bidder 30 days from the date when payment is received to have the item independently authenticated. Payment must, however, be made by February 9, 2009 (4 days from the end of the auction). Huggins and Scott is not responsible for any authentication fees or shipping charges incurred by the winning bidder but H&S will refund the hammer price and buyers premium if the item does not pass authentication with a reputable third party company.

http://www.hugginsandscott.com/cgi-bin/showitem.pl?itemid=11272

i would recommend that the winning bidder that dropped $1,300++ on this lid take h&s up on their refund offer. there are quite a few problems that disqualify this item as an authentic troy aikman game used helmet imo, too many to quickly cover in fact. but for starters, the cowboys have their helmets sprayed (painted) after they are assembled which is why you will find that the exterior jaw pad rivets on authentic cowboys helmets are typically covered in paint. also, the "schutt" logo is never present. looking at the h&s helmet you can see that the exterior jaw pad rivets are visible (the shell has not been painted after assembly) and the "schutt" logo is present but has been covered with the nfl shield (it appears that attempts have been made to remove the logo).


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/ta01.jpg


speaking of aikman "gamers" sold at auction, here's one that sold some time ago for $4,000++ which also fails the authenticity test imo - again, lots of problems. the lot description states that the helmet was photo matched to aikman's rookie card but after a quick look it seems that the photo match conclusion rested largely on the "air" logo on the front snubber. whatever the case, aikman never sported a lid with exterior warning and size decals in sold white - nor did any cowboys that i'm aware of. some teams used these type of decals but the cowboys were not among them - in fact the cowboys have always been rather meticulous about the uniform appearance of their helmets. also, the front forehead pad (sizer) in not consistent with what aikman wore during his first years with the boys...

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/ta02.jpg

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[ironmanfan]

Great work as usual Robert!

[lund6771]

Robert you obviously have no idea what your talking about!

"It comes from an impeccable source"!!!!!!

Now why don't you leave the auction houses alone! :)


Seriously though, has every auction house tried to hire you for aucthentication?....I'm sure they're happy with Lampson's track record and all....

I wonder if Lou is short for Lucifer?...

[helmets]

Once again an $1100 dymo strip.

I get a kick out of some of these helmets that collectors make up and then sell on the auction house. They wack the helmet together with another one and put a few scuffs on the outside and abra -ka-dabra, a game used helmet with wear. You then look at the inside of the helmet and it looks brand new - like it has never been worn. They need to strap it on and go to the beach in the summer and get some wear and sweat stains going...

[cohibasmoker]

Chris,

When are you going to put an end to this Robert guy? Once again he's sitting behind his computer causing trouble. It's very bad for the hobby I tell ya.

Jim

[aeneas01]

for those of you that have been kicking yourselves for missing out on the aikman "gem" listed at huggins & scott last month, fret no more - it has returned in all of its magnificent glory, on ebay. but this time around it will cost you more than twice as much as the h&s hammer price given the ebay buy it now price is set at $2,800. but rest assured that even at this price it's still an absolute steal. why? because the seller says so.

not only does the seller point out that it's a "bargain price considering Aikman gamer's sell for over $4500..." but he also adds that "when you consider this one was worn by an NFL Hall of Famer, it makes it that much more expensive." as if this isn't proof enough of the tremendous bargain in store for the lucky buyer, the seller has actually reduced the price on this baby to its current bin price of $2,800! but hold on to your hats, it gets better. if you act quickly you will also receive a troy aikman topps card! hope i didn't blow my chances on winning this beauty by sharing this info with you guys!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=320350746462

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[jv225]

I saw he had that helmet listed last week for I believe $3500.

[princip]

http://i14.ebayimg.com/07/i/001/3a/a0/4930_1.JPG

"This guy's unbelievable!!! I never wore that thing."

[gingi79]

Robert,

Has any auction company made the brilliant decision to inquire about your services for their helmets at auction? I can hardly remember a post of yours that I didn't learn something from. I don't even collect helmets but I have a great reference list of items you have graciously commented on.

I think I speak for everyone here when I thank you for your expertise and wealth of detailed information you willing offer our community for free. I know I am not alone in saying I wouldn't purchase a helmet without asking your opinion.

Just thought I'd offer an overdue Thank You for your articulate and concise posts which have enlightened us all.

[Tedw9]

I got to agree with Gingi79, Robert is a huge asset to this hobby of ours. The information he knows is nothing short of incredible. And he shares that info with all of us freely for which I am grateful. I'm not a helmet collector, but every thread he starts I read. I've even been on the receiving end of his knowldege once and for that I am thankful. Major props to Robert, a hobby good guy!

[suicide_squeeze]

Robert,

Has any auction company made the brilliant decision to inquire about your services for their helmets at auction? I can hardly remember a post of yours that I didn't learn something from. I don't even collect helmets but I have a great reference list of items you have graciously commented on.

I think I speak for everyone here when I thank you for your expertise and wealth of detailed information you willing offer our community for free. I know I am not alone in saying I wouldn't purchase a helmet without asking your opinion.

Just thought I'd offer an overdue Thank You for your articulate and concise posts which have enlightened us all.


Well said, and I totally agree.


But folks.......


WHY would any auction house ask Robert to authenticate the helmets they are auctioning off? If they did, they would certainly lose 60-75% MINIMUM of their "upcoming auction items"......and what kind of auction would they then have? How would they make any coin??

Do you REALLY think these auction houses use Lou and his vast knowledge in their quest for truth, justice, and the American way in the items they sell?

AMI, and anyone else for that matter, doesn't use Lou because he's a sharp cookie......anymore than they would WANT to use Robert because he's an insider, scum-bag, low-life crook SOB who's pockets are LINED with gold for his misrepresentation expertise.

While Lou is equipped with partial knowledge about some of the things he's asked to authenticate, he often doesn't know enough about what he is holding in his hands to do just that, and is an expert at NOTHING.

But the dude's "smoke and mirrors" comments, aided by part-truth's are enough to convince most of the know-nothing collectors who haven't had enough time in the hobby, or enough losses occured yet in their collecting, to understand there is a heavy price to pay for NOT doing YOUR OWN HOMEWORK.

We see it over and over and OVER......

A lot of you don't know just how fortunate you are to have guys like Rudy and aeneas (Robert) here to help you. I don't even collect football items, but I truly enjoy reading these posts, as it's nice to be equipped with little tidbits of truth here and there. A lot of times we all can figure out some of it here and there on our own...but it's nice to have "confirmation" from guys who are way past high levels of common sense, and well into the "proof of the pudding" part of it. One can never know enough about the hobby we're in. And with every little piece of knowledge obtained comes clarity.....which can add credibility.....or lack there of.......to these so-called "Pro's" in the hobby.

That alone makes us all better collectors.

[helmets]

...for starters, the cowboys have their helmets sprayed (painted) after they are assembled which is why you will find that the exterior jaw pad rivets on authentic cowboys helmets are typically covered in paint.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/ta01.jpg
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There are exceptions to every rule such as this fine 2006 T.O. Gamer; however, in searching hundreds of photos of Aikman, I can not find one photo with the jawpad rivets unpainted. I will continue my search...

(notice the spot on the rear of the helmet in photos #1 and #3. Gee what a nice helmet...)

[lund6771]

don't waste to much time

[helmets]

As of 5:46 EST today, we have called off the search. None found...

[aeneas01]

There are exceptions to every rule....

and that's why it's a good idea to use words such as "typically" instead of "always", "never", etc... ;)

"...for starters, the cowboys have their helmets sprayed (painted) after they are assembled which is why you will find that the exterior jaw pad rivets on authentic cowboys helmets are typically covered in paint."

as far as the dallas cowboys are concerned, the team ships their new helmets (riddell, schutt, etc.) to their local riddell all-american reconditioning facility (san antonio texas) before use where they undergo the cowboys' special painting process - as such you will notice that the exterior portion of the jaw pad rivets on cowboys helmets are "typically" covered in paint.

the t.o. helmet appears to the one that sold at heritage for around $1,800 and strikes me as a dead ringer when compared to his 2006 gamer. interestingly t.o. wore a riddell throughout training camp when he arrived in dallas, the same type of riddell (vsr4) he wore with the eagles. yet for whatever reason he switched to a schutt air advantage once the preseason games began and stuck with it throughout his time in dallas. so why aren't the jaw pad rivets painted on this helmet? and why are the jaw pad rivets on his 2007 lid painted?

it appears that this helmet never made it to riddell all-american for a paint job and as such probably doesn't have an all-american decal affixed to the interior. did owens negotiate an eleventh hour deal with schutt to sport their helmet - a late deal which caused this helmet to miss the "paint train"? did his decision to sport a riddell throughout training camp only to switch to a schutt once the games began have anything to do with this?

i asked mike mccord (dallas cowboys equipment manager) about this oddity and he agreed that it was very strange. he went on to say that schutt had experimented with the cowboys shell color in an effort to provide the cowboys with helmets that didn't need to be sent to all-american for painting and that perhaps this was one of the few samples the cowboys were sent which was subsequently and inadvertently issued to owens - and one that was never sent to all-american for painting....

speaking of the t.o. lid "helmets" shared, here's another nice little match (to go along with the "spot"). the top image is a game photo while the bottom image is from "helmets". not only are the interior rectangular white warning labels positioned identically but the bold print heading (warning warning) is positioned towards the ear hole. these decals are often haphazardly applied to this area with little regard paid to whether the bold print warning heading is positioned away from the ear hole (flipped 360 degrees) or near it. good match imo.


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/aeneas1/toc.jpg


btw the ebay seller had some interesting information to privately offer about the aikman "gamer". he suggested that the reason the jaw pad rivets weren't painted on the aikman helmet was because they were removed and replaced during reconditioning! just when i thought i've heard it all! can you imagine removing six tiny incosequential rivets just to paint a helmet?!? he also told me that the helmet was re-evaluated by the well known and respected "rsa" authentication service and that it passed with flying colors. a guf search for "rsa" returns zero hits and the same is true for a google search. have any of you folks ever heard of "rsa"? did this guy simply make this up? unbelievable...

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[aeneas01]

and thanks for the kind words guys - back atcha!

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[helmets]

Robert -
You have the rotation tool on your photo-shop down to a science. That is the 2nd time that you rotated images on a post to match a helmet of mine. A special thanks. Just for that, I will send you a dandy photo to add to your collection...

[aeneas01]

Robert -
You have the rotation tool on your photo-shop down to a science. That is the 2nd time that you rotated images on a post to match a helmet of mine. A special thanks. Just for that, I will send you a dandy photo to add to your collection...

did you pick up that t.o. lid? wasn't sure if it was yours or if you just happened to know who owned it.... as you probably know i'm not too into "modern" helmets but that thing is a beauty. even though i've never particularly cared for the cowboys, i've always dug their helmets -when i was a kid, about 12 years old, i was visiting dallas with my folks and got to see the (my) rams play the 'boys in the playoffs. we had great seats, cowboys side, and i'll never forget the amazing silver/blue color of those lids, very different in person...

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[helmets]

Yes, it is mine. I too can't stand the Cowboys, or T.O. but I couldn't pass it up. At the time of the purchase, he was the most talked about player in football. Might still be. The helmet he wore all season. Easy Hall of Famer - IMO. I turned down the throwback - which for some reason went higher than this one. Now, I wish I would have bought it too.