checking in - setting the record straight

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Posted By: Ben

Hi all,

I thought it might be a good time to check in. As most of you know, my collection was stolen last february and, unfortunately, none of the cards have been recovered since then. I have since returned to the hobby and enjoy it again, albeit in a much smaller capacity. I've managed to pick up a few cards that I like, including a few replacements even, and have begun monitoring this forum again as well.

Anyways, I have heard rumblings from a few friends in the hobby that people here have begun to question whether my collection had been stolen in the first place. More specifically, when I posted a scan of my new e104 mack in the "P-F in your collection?" thread, people began to assume that since that card was part of my old collection and on my stolen card list, that it was never stolen and I was trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes. This came as a shock to me because, well, it is of course not the case. I just REPLACED the card. The old Mack I got in a trade from Scott Elkins, and was much nicer than my new one which I recently received in a trade with Andy Cook.

I just wanted to clear this up with some of you. To think that some of you believe that I lied about having my collection stolen is very upsetting, so I hope this sets the record straight.

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Posted By: identify7

Ben: The record has always been straight.

Perhaps a few of our colleagues have misdirected their wariness from eBay to all aspects of their life. And if so, we all hope they get control of this suspicion.

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Posted By: Keith O'Leary

Good to see a post outta ya once in a while too .

 

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Posted By: Josh K.

no doubts here - glad to see you are in the hobby again and finding some replacements.

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Posted By: Ben

old: new:

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Posted By: Wesley Liu

The card on the right looks bigger.

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Posted By: Wesley Liu

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Posted By: Scott Elkins

The one I traded Ben on the left has the famous "scratch" on the top left corner that I have seen on a few E104-1 Macks. Also, it was much darker.

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Posted By: Wesley Liu

Scott, I still have a scan. They are different cards for sure.

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Posted By: Josh K.

Nope, sorry, they pretty much look identical to me.

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Posted By: Julie Vognar

someone was using that card to shine shoes, or as a doorjam that kept getting moved around, or it got mashed down in someone's pocket, washed a number of times---and THEN: someone found it and said "OMYGOSH--it's Connie Mack!

Like my SGC 10 Boston Kelly OJ portrait: the back is full of figures about feet (') and inches (")--like a builder ran out of paper, found a piece of cardboard, and wrote on it instead.

Welcone back, Ben. How the hell could anyone think you made all that horror up?

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Posted By: Judge Dred (Fred)

I think the dead give-away in difference is that the upper left corner on the one Mack is just a little more chewed than the other.

Ben, it's good to see you're back!

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Posted By: Paul

Now I see what really happened here. Ben got bored one night and started chewing on his E104 Mack. When he realized what he had done, he was so emabarrassed that he made up this whole theft thing just to come up with a different explanation for what happened to his Mack. But we're all too clever to fall for that old scam.

Like everyone else, I'm shocked that anyone could think something like this was true.

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Posted By: Ben

If the record still isnt straight with those people who started these rumours, I ask you to identify yourself - either here, or via email. If you can gossip about me in the chatroom, you should feel comfortable directly talking to me about it as well. I would have thought that having nearly my entire collection stolen would have been enough, to have to deal with this as well is pretty horrible.

Just as a reminder, here is a list of all the cards that were stolen. Scans are available of just about everything.


N162 Cap Anson
N162 Dan Brouthers
N162 Ed Andrews
N162 "Sure Shot" Dunlap
N162 Mike "King" Kelly
N172 Count Tony Mullane
N172 Silver Flint (portrait)
N172 Jim Mutrie
N172 Watch Burnham
N172 McClellan
N172 Buck West
N172 George Wood
N173 Old Judge Cabinets - Smith
N175 Gypsy Queen - Casey
N184 Kimball Champs - Burch
N321 S.F. Hess California league - Ryan
N28 Caruthers
N28 Mulvey
N300 Mayo Cut Plug - John Ward
E90-1 Ed Walsh
E92 Nadja - Hartzell
E95 Eddie Collins
E96 Mordecai Brown
E99 Bishop & Co - Hogan
E100 Bishop & Co - Tozer
E103 Bender
E104-1 Baker
E104-1 Collins
E104-1 Mack
E105 Mello Mint - Knight
E106 Christy Mathewson
E107 Gleason
E107 Parent
E107 Moore
E107 Jones
E126 Am. Caramel - Schalk
E286 Ju Ju Drums - Cheek
Colgan's "Tin Tops" - Chief Meyers
E224 "Texas Tommy" Connie Mack
"Orange Borders" - Tigers Team
Voskamps Coffee - Miller
Tango Eggs Dooin
D311 Pacific Coast Buscuit - Smith
C46 Imperial Tobacco - Hardy
W514 Gandil
W504 Universal Toy - Babe Ruth
V100 Willards Chocolate Babe Ruth
T332 Helmar Stamps - Stovall
1932 U.S. Caramel - Jimmy Foxx
T204 Ramly - Frank Chance
T204 Ramly - Jonny Evers
T204 T.T.T. Cigarettes - Jones back
T207 Napoleon back
T207 Red Cycle back
T209 b&w Hannifen
T209 colour - Cowell
T210 Zimmerman
T212 Obak - Daley
T213-2 Coupon - Marquard
T216 Kotton - Doolan
T222 Fatima - Schang
T227 Frank Baker
T205 Joss
T205 Mathewson
T206 Cobb (green portrait)
T206 Cobb (bat off) American Beauty back
T206 Lattimore Carolina Brights back
1914 Cracker Jack Tinker
1915 Cracker Jack Comiskey
1915 Cracker Jack Evers
1915 Cracker Jack Griffith
1915 Cracker Jack Speaker
D303 General Baking - Tris Speaker
D304 "Butter Krust" Barry
D304 "Butter Krust" Bell
D304 "Butter Krust" Herzog
D304 "General Baking" O'Toole
D304 "Butter Krust" Shafer
D304 "Butter Krust" Young
D322 Tip Top Gibson
D322 Leach
D322 Locke
D322 Simon
D322 Wilson

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Posted By: BlackSoxFan

Post a scan of the police report..that will help put the rumors to rest Ben. What's someone going to say to that? Ya know. Cheers.

Regards,
Black Sox Fan

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

email me

* I'm smart enough to know that there are a lot of people who know more than I do.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Ben- Although I don't know you personally I'll never forget the sheer terror of your network54 posts the hours after it happened. No way you were making all that up. It's like being violated again to have people doubt you. That's my gut and I'm sticking to it.

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Posted By: Dan Koteles

horrible !

I couldnt imagine losing those Butter Krusts, Tip Tops, along w/many others.

There are vindictive people everywhere in society , they get in automobiles
too !

Just keep rebuilding, you know there are enough supporters here to fend off these
rediculous accusers !

good luck
Dan

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Posted By: Dan Lundrigan

I`m new and this is the first time I have heard about your collection being stolen.I`m sorry to hear about it,A scan of a police report is not necessary for me to see.Your word is good enough!

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Posted By: Ben

Thanks for the support guys. It's good to know that the people spreading rumours about me are in the minority. I have moved on, but this kind of an accusation really does sting. Dan (new guy), I appreciate your remarks as well. Here are the threads that will fill you in on the details about the theft. The first post was made just minutes after I had discovered what happened:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/thread?forumid=153652&messageid=1108939280&lp=1109203118

http://www.network54.com/Forum/thread?forumid=153652&messageid=1109202424&lp=1109276724

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Posted By: Brian

Ben, shortly after reading your posting many many months ago...I decided it wasn't such a great idea to openly display my valuable cards on a shelf like I had been doing...I moved them to a safe deposit box and now share my collection through scans and webpage.

Brian E.

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Posted By: Julie Vognar

to him by the board...he's collecting asgain.

It was "Fat Boy"s idea: evreryone pick one of Ben's cards and replace it...but I know it didn't work out that way,. except in isolated instances..we just all sent the best stuff we could bear to let go of...

I know when I had to sell all my cards, when I replaced them, I tended to avoid the EXACT SAME CARDS I had befroe.,.for whatever reason/.//

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Posted By: robert a

I still think that you will get your cards back Ben....or at least some of them. I just think that many of those examples are too nice to slip by the number of people who are aware of your collection when the person who stole them decides to sell them.

Anyone who has emailed with you and traded with you in the past knows that you wouldn't fake this either.

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Posted By: barry arnold

Glad to see you on board (forgive the play on words)again.
I remember very well that horrific day when we heard your desperation and pain on this board. There's no way such anguish
could be fiction.
I continue to watch out for the T210 Zimmerman.

I hope and pray that you get your treasures back.

all the best

Barry

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Posted By: Wesley Liu

<Post a scan of the police report..that will help put the rumors to rest Ben. What's someone going to say to that? Ya know. Cheers.>
This is not a bad idea Ben. It would certainly put all doubts to rest. Afterall, it is one thing to make up a story but another thing to file a false police report. If you have it you should post a scan the police report (after you redact your address of course and private info of course) and I am sure the remaining doubters will come around.

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Posted By: Julie Vognar

Nothing on the message part. The title was "An N162 Kelly scan...what a surprise"

I answered "Whoever you are--that is the very N162 Kelly stolen from Ben Fisher. I saved the scan from our first "Picture Sharing Thread!"--2-3 years ago!

Julie----good eyes.

But now I'm not so sure...why didn't he sign his e-mail?
Still seems to be the most likely explanation--that he thought he'd seen it before, and it was Ben's --but wasn't sure...
Or maybe he was just sick of me posting N162 Kellys...since he didn't say anything else, and didn't answer my e-mail, I have no way of knowing.

The scan in question is about half-way up this column.

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Posted By: Bill Kasel

If people want to question you....****'em, they're not worth knowing anyway. As for posting a copy of the police report, that's unneccessary in my opinion. Don't let a few rotten apples spoil anything for you, life's too short.

I wish you the best in getting your collection back.

Sincerely,

Bill