Posted By:
MarkI'll take a stab at the number of Clementes out there... I have heard the "40" thing as well, but that number is waaaaaaay low. I think it is more like 350 - 400 that exist today. Of those, probably about half are all-original with no restoration.
The other number that is always understated is that of the Dallas Hartlands. Supposedly there were less than 30 Fellers, 35 Cobbs, and less than 200 hundred Deans, Gehrigs and Fords ever produced (due to a factory flood or fire, or other catastrophe). The Feller statue is indeed very scarce (and rarely surfaces), but there is almost always a Cobb or two on ebay and always multiples of the others.
If these were truly scarce, advanced collectors would have squirreled them away, and the price would have climbed sharply at some point. But they never dry up, and the prices have remained flat (or even declined) over the past few years. That's my somewhat informed take, anyway...