Confidence in Hunt Auctions and a restoration success
 

This late 1880s 1890s piece depicting a Chicago pitcher was featured in a recent Hunt's auction. The pitcher is the rarer of the two available positions (the other being the Hartford batter) and can bring $450+ in auction or sale. I bid electronically four days prior to the close of the sale with a max bid of $405. When I placed that bid the new high was $152. I am very pleased to report that it closed at that same price which gives me confidence in Hunt as a safe place to bid without being shilled.

The second part of the happy story is the restoration I performed. Obviously someones grandchild had fun painting this years ago. I knew it was made of heavy cast metal, so I bid knowing I could remove the paint with strong stripper. Anything can be cleaned (or ruined) by chemicals or heat. This arrived tonight at 6:00 p.m. and I'm posting these pics a few hours later. It cleaned up perfectly and has a nice aged look to it. I'm thrilled with my new figural and the price was a real bargain. I BROCKED it;)

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Nice score Mike. I'm sure the paint definitely scared a lot of bidders off but it looks awesome restored.
I was bidding on another item so was not watching this one very closely but was really surprised how low the price stayed when I checked the final prices. Probably the steal of the auction. Congrats

Auction
 

Nice to hear a positive auction bidding story....Congrats

Looks incredible, Mike... congrats on another great pickup. It surely would have sold for double to triple what you paid, if not for the paint. Terrific restoration, and great to see that your bid never even came close to its ceiling :cool: