Babe Ruth Doorstop: I've seen the fakes. Still need help

[mmahany]

I apologize for making this the first post on here. Given the possibility of its value, I hope people understand my excitement.

Background: I purchased a Babe Ruth Doorstop from an older gentleman last Friday. His mother (who died 20+ years ago and was born in the late 1800s) owned the doorstop. He could confirm that he knew for a fact that the doorstop had been in his mother's house for at least 50 years and assumed longer than that.

With that said, I did a bit of research on it, looked at the ebay fakes and ended up taking a chance on it.

Now, I'm still assuming that it is a fake, so you won't hurt my feelings by confirming it is fake. However, here is my reason to believe why it may be authentic (or at least an exceptional fake).

1.) The face on mine looks like the authentic versions I've seen sell in auctions. I included a picture to compare. In the ebay fakes, the face is more doll like and in many cases, doesn't look like Babe Ruth. If you'll note, on the real copies, Babe has almost almost a sad look. In the replicas, the face is happier and the features are more animated.

2.) The shading on the base of mine is like the authentic versions. On the base, the "greyish" area is much larger on the replicas and generally exactly the same on all the fakes I have seen

3.) There are hand made grind marks all the way around it. It looks as if they ground down the casting marks to smooth the edges when it was created. I tried to include a picture of what I mean.

Why I believe it isn't authentic:
1.) It is in phenomenal condition. The ones I saw that went to auction were in very poor shape. The statue was kept inside which should have detered a great deal of the rust, but it's still in very very good shape.

2.) There are no markings or stamps on it. As an amateur antique broker, I know that many high end items have some sort of stamp, serial number, or marking.

In short:
It is in excellent condition which leads me to believe it is not authentic. I can confirm with near certainty that it is at least 50 years old. My personal opinion is that it is an exceptional fake with a 1-2% chance that it is authentic.


My questions:
1.) Can anyone confirm what to look for on it such as a hidden signature?
2.) Can anyone comment on the pictures or add input?
3.) If it can't be confirmed that is indeed a replica, who would I go to to have it authenticated.

Thank you in advance

Here are the pictures:


Grind marks:


Bottom:

Back:


Comparison of the faces:

[perezfan]

Wow... tough call. If it's possible, yours looks like a "hybrid" of the two.

Curious as to where the "known authentic" example originated from (and how it is actually known to be authentic). I thought all of these were either repros or fantasy pieces, but I could also be wrong. Do you have any info on the one purported to be the known-authentic piece?

I know that age and authenticity dictates the value of these figurals... but either way, it is a very attractive item.

[murphusa]

All three listed are "souvenir" door stops. Last 2 are worth about $20 each and the first one listed is a little older and is worth $50.

the first also has been around in auctions from Mears, to Herritage to others and all have sold fo different amounts due to the write ups and beliefs

[Sean1125]

I can't attest to authenticity, but I still think it is a pretty sweet piece.

Worst comes to worst you have a 50+ year old babe ruth door-stop!

[mmahany]

Wow, I'm sorry it took so long for me to get back to this post. When I first made it, my computer locked up and I thought it never actually posted to the forum so I gave up. I actually found my own thread google searching on accident (a little embarassing, sorry)

Long story short, I don't have an update for anyone. I'm a big baseball fan so it's sitting on display in my house now.

Originally Posted by Sean1125

I can't attest to authenticity, but I still think it is a pretty sweet piece.

Worst comes to worst you have a 50+ year old babe ruth door-stop!

That's exactly where I'm at now! Worst case, it's worth the $50 I paid for it(to me). I know its history and I'm happy to have a 50 year old piece of baseball memorabilia. $50 is a pretty cheap night at the bar so even if I overpaid, I'd rather it be for something cool like this.