the value of a Lampson letter

[lund6771]

I guess the people on this forum aren't the only ones that know how enept Lampson is...here is a Randy Moss "Game-Used" helmet with a Lampson letter...THIS GEM WON'T EVEN GET A $700 BID AND IT'S BEEN LISTED NUMEROUS TIMES!!!!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/RANDY-MOSS-GAME-USED-WORN-VIKINGS-HLEMET-LAMPSON-COA_W0QQitemZ290220249195QQihZ019QQcategoryZ86828QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Jags Fan Dan]

Re: the value of a Lampson letter

10 photos and no picture of the back of the helmet?

[aeneas01]

Re: the value of a Lampson letter

I guess the people on this forum aren't the only ones that know how enept Lampson is...here is a Randy Moss "Game-Used" helmet with a Lampson letter...THIS GEM WON'T EVEN GET A $700 BID AND IT'S BEEN LISTED NUMEROUS TIMES!!!!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/RANDY-MOSS-GAME-...QQcmdZViewItem

the loa states that the helmet is from the 1999 season (1999-200) - most randy moss fans probably know that moss didn't wear side facemask shock clips in 1999 nor was the high side of his chinstrap a snap-on as shown in the ad... he wore transparent, dual side facemask clips and the high side of his chinstrap was screwed in place in 1999. further, i can't help but wonder if this is exactly why the seller provided a blurry pic of the loa and a cropped photo of vintage authentic's item description - in both cases the helmet date is either hard to make out or (intentionally?) not included. and, of course, the seller makes no mention of the date in his item description....

[helmets]

Re: the value of a Lampson letter

I own a Moss 2001 helmet. It came from the Upper Deck Redemption program. I have photo matched it on several photos. I also own a Culpepper from the same UD program. Robert is right on the shockblockers and the securing of the upper chinstrap strap. In addition, I question the Dymo tape on the inside of the helmet. On both of my 2001's it is a printed name - black on white, rather than the embossed type like on this sample. I know they used the printed in 2000 as well, but I am unsure on the 1999.

He is correct that there are not many Moss helmets out there. I wouldn't take 700.00 for mine. Then again, I wouldn't pay 700.00 for his...

[helmets]

Re: the value of a Lampson letter

Another telling sign...

My Moss helmet is an XL shell. If you look at photos of Moss, he has that oblong XL shell helmet. This helmet for sale is a large shell. You can tell by the shape of the helmet and the size of the earhole.

Show us some photos Robert...please.

[helmets]

Re: the value of a Lampson letter

There are several other things that are wrong with this helmet as well. It is a new style Schutt mask - where it mounts to the sides of the helmet. Moss in 1998, 99, and on into 2001 wore the older style with the seperate side mounting bars. In addition, the coating on the mask appears to be the thicker Armor Guard coating instead of the poly-vinyl or "Vinyl Guard" thinner coating that Moss wore.

So, in a nutshell...
Wrong mask,
Wrong Shell,
Wrong facemask clips,
Wrong identifiers,
Wrong chinstrap mounts,

The only correct thing is the chinstrap. Wait, there isn't one...

[ironmanfan]

Re: the value of a Lampson letter

Guys, if you are not willing to fly out to the National on a day's notice on the chance that you may see Lampson at AMI's booth, then please do not place posts such as this one....

[otismalibu]

Re: the value of a Lampson letter

Guys, if you are not willing to fly out to the National on a day's notice on the chance that you may see Lampson at AMI's booth, then please do not place posts such as this one....

IMF is callin' out the Noels.

[aeneas01]

Re: the value of a Lampson letter

Guys, if you are not willing to fly out to the National on a day's notice on the chance that you may see Lampson at AMI's booth, then please do not place posts such as this one....

funny stuff!

vintage authentics, as a result of dumb luck or experience, doesn't offer complete access to their auction archives through their website - you can only look up brief item descriptions and their selling prices, no photos. ami, heritage, leylands, hunt and others would do themselves a service if they followed suit!

i can only imagine what other authentic helmet "gems" va has moved over the years - if anyone here has va's past catalogs and the time to post photos, it might make for an educational, interesting and revealing topic. below is a shot from the "moss" ebay ad with what i assume to be va's catalog in the background...





helmets - moss does indeed wear an xl lid although i have some photos in which he appears to also be wearing a large. is your culpepper lid an xl? speaking of xl lids, i own a schutt double xl lid - not sure if any of you guys have ever seen these enormously large buckets but, let me tell you, it's very hard to imagine a head roaming god's earth that would come close to filling it out!

[helmets]

Re: the value of a Lampson letter

The Culpepper that I have is a large.

I too have some Moss photos with a large, but if I recall they are from 2002 when they went to the metallic shell.

Yes, I don't think ol' Lou knows about the seperate side bar on the mask. I have seen many helmets that have the LOA in the auction houses that have a modern mask. One that I can think of off the top of my head went a year or two ago. A Faulk helmet from the Colts.

[aeneas01]

Re: the value of a Lampson letter

The Culpepper that I have is a large.

I too have some Moss photos with a large, but if I recall they are from 2002 when they went to the metallic shell.

Yes, I don't think ol' Lou knows about the seperate side bar on the mask. I have seen many helmets that have the LOA in the auction houses that have a modern mask. One that I can think of off the top of my head went a year or two ago. A Faulk helmet from the Colts.

facemasks are tricky and about the last thing i look at when trying to determine if a lid is authentic or not - players (and/or equipment managers) do goofy things when it comes to facemasks. a good example is joe washington - he was well known for wearing both a clearshell kelley and bd-9 two-bar facemask throughout his career. he wore this setup with the bolts, colts, skins and falcons. when i saw a "game used" washington colts lid up for auction a few years ago with a white opo attached to it i immediately smelled something fishy. i researched the h#@# out of the lid and could not find one example of washington wearing an opo anytime in his career. then, at the eleventh hour, i came across a short, grainy video (on youtube of all places) that showed washington in one of the best games of his pro career, and one of the best single-player performances in monday night football history - and he was wearing an opo.

there was also a thread a few months back in which folks were questioning a jericho cotchery lid because of a few things including the facemask. i agreed with the poster that the facemask didn't match the one shown in the photograph that he provided but added that i also felt the helmet was "spot on". another poster quickly provided photo evidence that jericho (cool name) wore more than one facemask style that year....

btw did you see that i responded to your question regarding the code on the inside of your reggie white helmet, the "jaworski" thread? if not, take a look at it and then tell me what the manufacturer date of your lid is!

[helmets]

Re: the value of a Lampson letter

Yes, I just tore it apart.
It is a much larger date "wheel" than that of a suspension helmet or the Pac3 styles. It is similar to what is in baseball helmets with a 1-12 on the outside and the year in the middle.

The year is 85. I can not tell the month. I do not see anything pointing to any of the month numbers. There appears to be a tick on the outside of the 6, but I am not sure. The year I can read with a bright flashlight. "85"

[helmets]

Re: the value of a Lampson letter

As far as the facemasks...

I was not referring to the style, but to the mounting portion of the mask. If the helmet in question is a 98 or a 99 Moss, it should have the seperate mounting bar as shown in the first photo. Not the connected bar as shown in the second photo which is how the mask on the helmet in question is.

[aeneas01]

Re: the value of a Lampson letter

As far as the facemasks...

I was not referring to the style, but to the mounting portion of the mask. If the helmet in question is a 98 or a 99 Moss, it should have the seperate mounting bar as shown in the first photo. Not the connected bar as shown in the second photo which is how the mask on the helmet in question is.

i guess i misunderstood you. of course you're right - the facemask shown in the ad is the next generation schutt opo-dw which didn't come out until after the 1999 season. the correct facemask for a 1999 moss lid would be the older, discontinued, schutt opo-dw. so, in short, a red flag should obviously go up when a lid is fitted with a mask that is newer than the year in question - especially if no mention of this is made in the item description. and especially if the item description (or loa) states that the helmet is fitted with the "correct face mask" as is the case with this helmet. as far as players using different facemasks in the same year is concerned, as it turns out moss is one of those players.


1. discontinued schutt opo-dw: which should be on the helmet for sale and which moss wore through the 2000 season.

2. next generation schutt opo-dw: which is what's on the mask for sale.

3. schutt ropo-dw: moss wore this mask as well as a schutt opo-dw during the 2004 season.

4. riddell's opo-dw from their "z-bar" line.

note: the side facemask straps (clips) on all of the pictured helmets are made by riddell; the black ones are riddell's "shockblockers" and the double straps are riddell's "stabilizers".

[aeneas01]

Re: the value of a Lampson letter

Yes, I just tore it apart.
It is a much larger date "wheel" than that of a suspension helmet or the Pac3 styles. It is similar to what is in baseball helmets with a 1-12 on the outside and the year in the middle.

The year is 85. I can not tell the month. I do not see anything pointing to any of the month numbers. There appears to be a tick on the outside of the 6, but I am not sure. The year I can read with a bright flashlight. "85"

yeah, it's a large clock - the "tick" outside of the wheel does indicate the month. so it looks like your lid dates well as far as a r. white helmet is concerned. and, fwiw, schutt used to stamp their date code in the same place at one time....