I have been a collector of "things" since 1987. I posted previously on my fears of a proverbial "bubble" popping in the hobby and values nosediving like Wall Street in 1929. This post is a little more specific. I am not going to lie as 3 items from my collection helped inspire the inquiry.
I own a high end ex-superstar's jersey from a banner season that comes with paperwork from 2 well respected dealers and the most respected dealer/authenticator in the hobby. It shows nice use, has team repairs, a player specific alteration and I can trace it's ownership back fairly far. The only thing it doesn't have, is a photo of him wearing it.
Second is a one of a kind jersey worn in the players only 3 games with the team. The style was made as an authentic but I have never seen one made available. The player is not really popular, the use is minimal but the font, style, numbering and sewing are all team specific. It also has a patch that was never made available to the public.
Third is a one game wonder, easily replicated and desirable. In the coming year, I expect the price of buying a blank will be dirt cheap but their number font is very specific and intricate. Since the player was on the team for only 3 games and the team folded, collectors of the team and sport find it desirable for it's rarity. It comes with a team LOA and was purchased directly from the team (and I saved all emails with the team as well.) Thankfully, I was able to videomatch it to a very small burn on the sleeve as well.
I bring this up because the overwhelming number of collectors who post here, do so with some tact and with an interest in teaching and we all seem to be coming from a desire to safeguard our hobby. An example is how quickly so many members can post photos to confirm or deny an items characteristics. So I pose this to you:
In the future, will this hobby reject items outright when they don't come with conclusive photomatches? I'm not talking about stuff from before 2004 but rather considering sites like Getty have photos of nearly every game and every player, will items without conclusive matches be seen as worth significantly less or even dismissed as fake outright simply because it isn't matched?
One of the first lesson I was taught in this hobby was that LOA's don't make an item real, the fact it is real does. Lampson for example, can't make a jersey actually game worn by claiming it is but he also can't make it fake because he claims it isn't. When you consider jerseys are more readily available than ever before, GI and blanks are easily attainable and the hobby is growing, what is a logical end point?
Recent posts (and many not so recent posts) have made it clear that high end items are being proported as real, in correct size, font and player specific modifications and they aren't real. Are we heading to a place where even JO and MeiGray will be forced to show photographic matches to prove authenticity? Is that really as awesome as it sounds or will it kill the value and collectability of EVERY non-matched item someone claims was used in an actual game by the actual player?
I own a high end ex-superstar's jersey from a banner season that comes with paperwork from 2 well respected dealers and the most respected dealer/authenticator in the hobby. It shows nice use, has team repairs, a player specific alteration and I can trace it's ownership back fairly far. The only thing it doesn't have, is a photo of him wearing it.
Second is a one of a kind jersey worn in the players only 3 games with the team. The style was made as an authentic but I have never seen one made available. The player is not really popular, the use is minimal but the font, style, numbering and sewing are all team specific. It also has a patch that was never made available to the public.
Third is a one game wonder, easily replicated and desirable. In the coming year, I expect the price of buying a blank will be dirt cheap but their number font is very specific and intricate. Since the player was on the team for only 3 games and the team folded, collectors of the team and sport find it desirable for it's rarity. It comes with a team LOA and was purchased directly from the team (and I saved all emails with the team as well.) Thankfully, I was able to videomatch it to a very small burn on the sleeve as well.
I bring this up because the overwhelming number of collectors who post here, do so with some tact and with an interest in teaching and we all seem to be coming from a desire to safeguard our hobby. An example is how quickly so many members can post photos to confirm or deny an items characteristics. So I pose this to you:
In the future, will this hobby reject items outright when they don't come with conclusive photomatches? I'm not talking about stuff from before 2004 but rather considering sites like Getty have photos of nearly every game and every player, will items without conclusive matches be seen as worth significantly less or even dismissed as fake outright simply because it isn't matched?
One of the first lesson I was taught in this hobby was that LOA's don't make an item real, the fact it is real does. Lampson for example, can't make a jersey actually game worn by claiming it is but he also can't make it fake because he claims it isn't. When you consider jerseys are more readily available than ever before, GI and blanks are easily attainable and the hobby is growing, what is a logical end point?
Recent posts (and many not so recent posts) have made it clear that high end items are being proported as real, in correct size, font and player specific modifications and they aren't real. Are we heading to a place where even JO and MeiGray will be forced to show photographic matches to prove authenticity? Is that really as awesome as it sounds or will it kill the value and collectability of EVERY non-matched item someone claims was used in an actual game by the actual player?
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