1910 Hughie Jennings Coca-Cola Advertisement Window Sign
 

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/circa-1910-Hu...+D!~~60_12.JPG

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/circa-1910-Hu...wdw~~60_12.JPG

Anyone ever seen one of these?

Looks like a repro or fantasy piece.

What makes you say that?

Davy,

Did you buy it on eBay from a seller located in Indiana or Ohio?

I think the grey color is what makes it suspect.. I would think Coca Cola would produce a better sign than that. Here is an original Coca Cola sign..

Joe

I just found the seller (cyclone13) and looked at his Feed Back for other items he has sold.

This one is a beauty - Item number: 251053819842

A Lefty Grove Lucky Strike sign autographed by Lefty with TWO COA's, one of which is by Coach's Corner.

I think THAT is ALL anyone needs to know about this seller....

David

I bought it from EBay ID: cyclone13 (Top Rated - good feedback), not sure about the location of the seller. I only paid around $50 if I remember correctly, but would still suck if it was fake. It was listed as authentic.

Thanks for the help guys, I appreciate it. :)

Looking at the completed auctions, it appears there were three or four items he sold that were most likely reproductions. Your Jennings piece, the Donie Bush Coke sign, the Roger Bresnahan Tuxedo Tobacco sign and the Lefty Grove piece.

They MIGHT be real, but from what I have seen, most of these things are fake.

David

Thanks. - Mario

ctownboy - should I send the guy a message, saying I had it looked at and it might be fake? You guys seem like you know your stuff on here, so I respect your opinion even though it's just a picture and not in-person. Also, any antique dealer I know probably knows less about this stuff than senior members of this forum seem to.

I'm not interested in a refund or anything with the guy. Just want him to know he may have sold me a fake.

Let me know, thanks - Mario

Also for the record,

I know my stuff when it comes to old cards / and the different paper stock used. Just hard to tell with an old cardboard sign. It smells old - don't know if that makes a difference.

I am NOT an expert on these signs. However, I have seen these things being sold by people who are KNOWN sellers of fake items.

I also know that Coaches Corner does NOT have a good reputation.

So, adding these two things together, I assume that they are fake. The BIG question is, is the seller a scam artist who knows what he is doing OR is he a guy who bought some things (or had these pieces consigned) and didn't do his homework (or did his homework AFTER he bought them) and found out they were fake and just wanted to get rid of them?

I would let some other people (who know more than I do) give their opinion about this piece before contacting the seller.

David

AS I said in the other thread....it's a real fake sign. I would request a refund.

Originally this was a newspaper ad piece. Printed in black ink on newspaper. Then an enterprising individual took that, scanned it, printed it on cardboard in red ink and then artificially aged it. I agree that it's just not good enough quality for coca cola to be a sign. You can do a search and find the original newspaper ad but this wasn't store sign.

Sorry. Poor printing and coca cola just don't go together.

Thanks again for the help guys, much appreciated - Mario

mine
 

Here is the repro I inadvertently bought...

It's ok. You got duped but there's no need to prove your expertise in other areas.

It smells old??? Please stop. It's as fake as the day is long and was at first glance.

Sadly, it looks like a fake. just has the look w the colors and all.

Hey he didn't know, not everyone is an expert on everything, but good to know we can call on you when needed.

Thanks.

Haha - it looks just like mine. I contacted the seller.

I like signage, premiums and promotional items from the prewar period and pick them up where I can. Owing to what I collect I also am frequently confronted with uncataloged items and have to make a judgment call on acquisition. I tend to analyze such items as follows:

Does it match with what I know about similar materials from the era? I have never seen a single color sign on crappy chipboard with a major celebrity promotion for a major consumer company. Generally, when it comes to prewar signage from consumer companies advertising with a celebrity, you just do not see them made like that. The companies put a lot more effort into their pieces than that and the stuff usually looks a lot nicer than what has been shown here. The only exception I run across regularly are handbill-type pieces from movies, but they are flyers, not signs, and are printed on paper. Here is an example:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...g%20Marine.jpg

That's strike 1.

What is the company involved? Coca Cola is one of the best-cataloged, most widely collected brands ever. Their classic baseball-related signage is well known and well documented. For an uncataloged Coke piece featuring the most valuable subject [baseball] and a HOFer to boot to pop up after nearly 100 years strains credulity.

That's strike 2.

Last, there is the source and the price. A real 1910-1920 Coca Cola piece featuring a baseball HOFer would be worth a fortune and would not surface from some no-name seller offering it for $50.

Strike 3.

Am I right every time? Of course not. I am sure I've missed some gems over the years [off the top of my head I can recall and regret passing on a 1929 A's premium a few years ago at a National, and a Joe Louis piece as well], but I haven't been burned in a long time either.

Please do.

Update:

The seller was really cool about it. Refunding my money, and I'm going to send it back. I'm out the return shipping, but learned a little and still considered the way the return went, all positive.

If you ever buy from this seller, he's fair. I think he was just hosed himself on something he didn't know enough about.

Thanks again fellas - Mario

Hey, Splinte, you seem to have a way about you. Are you in customer service? In New York?

Ken
earlywynnfan5@hotmail.com

Nope. I work for myself and my clients love me.

Kiss my ass.

I bet you're a lawyer

:D

Ahh, good call. I've found two reasons for internet forum bullies: the obvious is they're so lacking at home that they can log on and anonymously be jerks to people to make themselves feel good. But this appears to be the second type: "I'm so damn important that it's an honor for these commoners to experience me belittling them in public."

Ken

I run a Specialty Court for the State of Michigan. What kind of law do you practice?

I don't take bait.

Lacking?? You must fall into the former as you seem to be speaking from experience.

Huh?