The vast majority of what he had was legit. These few pieces (which represent less than 1% of his collection) are drawing attention because...

A. It makes for good headlines
B. The public likes to see the downfall of wealthy/powerful people
C. The magnitude of the Joe Jackson Jersey is as high profile as anything in his collection

I personally don't believe he knew about the fake items. Perhaps he "turned a blind eye" in some instances where he could have done deeper research. But for the most part, he was just an enthusiastic collector like the rest of us. The only difference is that he had unlimited money and hundreds of contacts who "lived in the business".

Hey, it was worth repeating. Hey, it was worth repeating. t was worth repeating.


:)

Writing about fake items is easier than writing about legit, but stolen items... That's for sure.

For me it's hard to get past the fact that he lied about how he obtained the Jackson jersey. It would be more understandable if he was duped, but in this instance we know it isn't so.

I agree with Perezfan. It's like PSA/DNA and JSA. They get it right MOST of the time, but when they get it wrong, it makes news. When PSA/DNA and JSA REALLY get it wrong, there is outrage. A large majority of the stuff was indeed good. What's not good is the deceitful way something was obtained. The lie. But who doesn't lie nowadays? Gotta get dinner. My super model wife is making Beef Wellington.

Larry

What about all the stories?
 

So then I come to the question of all the stories of how Barry fleeced some of the relatives of deceased baseball hall of famers into believing the items some even donated to him for FREE, or sold at very low cost, would quote unquote , "NEVER be Sold, because I am a collector!" Then when the relatives see that there items were sold, and the price that was gotten, they feel ripped off by a conman? Please shed some light on these issues?

Hmmm....I might "lie" to my kid about the tooth fairy or Santa Claus (is that even a real lie?)...I would not lie about how I obtained a high dollar piece of memorabilia that ends up in the Baseball Hall of Fame...especially if it's a fraud. You know that might make it look like I knew all along that the item was fraudulent.

+1

I never understood why Halper got a free pass
 

I always wondered why people seemed to treat Halper like he was above reproach. There were enough stories about him while he was still living, including from Joe D., that showed a sleazy side. Where there is one known fake item, there are many, many more.

Steve

Another Barry Halper Collection Jersey from Sotheby’s Bites the Dust

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=3475

Wow... really makes you wonder if he had a tailor that he secretly hired to create the fake uniforms. Or perhaps he was duped into believing they were real by some of the people he trusted. My guess is a combination of both.

I wonder if any more of the "non-uniform" items will eventually be exposed... including Bats, autographed items, figural pieces, pennants, broadsides, posters, photos, programs, sheeet music and the like. Similar to Ty Cobb's Diary and Dentures :eek:

Thank God books are immune from such chicanery! (unless of course one reads Dunning's Booked to Die ;) )

My original thinking was "poor guy, he trusted people who duped him." But to hear that Halper had stories like the one associated with this McGraw jersey makes me think it's more of the former, that he was somehow involved in creating these jerseys to build on the ruse for whatever reason.

I'm just glad I didn't have the $$ at the time of the Halper auction to get swindled on any of these myself!

It never ends...
And I think this belongs in the baseball cards area of the forums too.

The Halper “HOT 100”: The Top 100 Stolen Baseball Memorabilia Items Once Owned By Collector Barry Halper.

http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=1465