Very Cool Cobb Auto'ed Peice on Ebay.
 

Interesting story, Check it out:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ty-Cobb-Arre...item3a6f8db35e

thx for posting that. it really is a cool piece

Very cool Dave!

Isn't it government property?
I doubt he has clear title to the piece similar to the NASA going after the astronauts auctioning memorabilia

I don't think it is government property. It was the part of the receipt given to Cobb. IMHO it would be Cobb's property at that time. According to the story Cobb threw the receipt at the sheriff, the sheriff retrieved and put it in his collection.

But why would they have Cobb sign a receipt and then give it to him. I would figure they would keep it to prove once he signed he received his property back. Just a thought.

yeah that is weird. why would they have him sign and give it back to him?

Maybe they had a carbon copy underneath.

cobb
 

That Clint always thinking!:D:D Looks like a nice piece to me. Thanks for the post Dave.

Too early in the morning, hadn't thought of that :D

I could be wrong, but in every case where I've signed a carbon copy form, the carbon copy was the one I got, with the original being retained by whoever was shoving the form in my face. That being said, I've never been arrested or had to sign anything for a prison, so I have no idea what their procedures are. Seems more like a case of an official making a souvenir out of a form that he knew nobody would ever come looking for and would eventually be discarded after a time period along with all the others anyway.

Cobb was probably supposed to sign it and leave it in the ledger. It appears he tore it out in anger.

By the way, it's horrible what NASA/the government is doing to its astronauts. They were allowed to keep mementos from the journeys... the government scrapped this stuff anyway. Now, 40 years later when there is a huge collectors market, suddenly NASA wants its stuff back. :mad:

I could say something about moon colonies and the need for the money, but I know we are not supposed to get political :D

i did think that, but i thought they would keep the original and give him the copy? Who knows...

did someone on here get it?

all i know is i emailed them about being willing to listen to an offer on it, never heard back, look back now and see its sold :) i thought it was interesting enough to take a whirl on - but was hoping to do so at a bit under the asking price....

Love the banter about this item . . .
 

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. . . but am I the only just alittle suspicious about the questionable nature of the item (original signed copy instead of carbon copy) and that the seller has a feedback total = 1?

I realize that there are many new sellers posting to ebay every day, but I've always have found the combination of a top notch (and relatively expensive) collectible and recently new seller a red flag situation. Very possible I've missed some great additions because of this caution, but also possible I've missed out on being scammed too. Especially in view of the concern some Net54 members have voiced about the questionable authenticity of offered autographs in general.

Just my two cents worth.

I would also be very suspicious about this auction. The eBay listing did not have the best photos, none of which showed a close up photo of the signature. Add to this the fact that Cobb was supposedly pissed off when signing his name, which could make the signature irregular and difficult to authenticate. I guess the accompanying newspaper clippings added some "provenance" or eased the buyer's doubts. Also on the list of positives, the seller was based in Placerville, CA. If I was on the search for a Cobb auto, I would've passed on this one despite the cool story.

I grabbed the image from ebay, enlarged it a bit, and added some contrast....

how about the date on the item, receipt shows 193*, then they fill in 47......I could see some overflow into 1940 or 41, but you'd think by '47 they would have purchased some up to date receipts.

But yah I'm probably reaching.

I can make an eBay user I'd and say the North Poleandit would appear that is where I'm from :D

Why is there no concern that the entire thing, including the part that would've been filled out by the officer, seems to be written by the same hand? The Cobb written stuff(especially the date) appears to be in the exact same writing, only done a little more harshly..

It looks like the police (who were probably familiar with the form since it was at least 7 years old) forgot where to have Cobb sign. The prisoner was supposed to sign on the left confirming the items the police had taken from him.

Also kind of odd that he would have $345 in cash and $5.81 in SILVER. $5.80 is a heavy pile of change to have in your pocket, and how the heck did he have a silver penny?


I think somebody got scammed.

Also, why would it have taken the PD more than 7 years to get new forms? Only guessing here based on the printed year on the form being 193_. I guess it's possible, that they would've just used 'em 'til they ran out though..

Silver was just a generic term back then for loose change. My dad used to say it all the time and he was from that era.

. . . as for the silver penny . . .
 

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. . . in 1943, pennies were made from zinc (therefore silver in appearance) because of the high demand for use of copper and bronze for the war effort. Now days, some of those 1943 pennies are black (or nearly so) from oxidizing over the past 68+ years.
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I think some folks are overanalyzing a bit. :)

If that is a forgery, wouldn't a forger that good use some other far more profitable medium to ply his trade? Maybe like a ball or a photo?

Not if he already had a "period" item to work with. Especially one that would have some back-story to it..

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Look at the two July's...They look like the same letter formations, only the "Cobb" one is a little more rushed looking....

According to the Ken Burns documentary, Cobb used to always travel with a paper bag full of cash and bonds. Also a bottle of milk and a flask of bourbon? I think.

You're right. I was mostly looking at the Js which look different but the rest looks the same. It may be that the officer wrote everything except for Cobb's signature or it could just be a fraud.

Yeah, I'm not saying it's definitely fake, but I do have my concerns..