WHAT IS THE KEELER ROOKIE

[Archive]

Posted By: PASJD

I don't know the consignor so I will confine my final comments on this affair to Mastro, who I don't know personally but can judge as I would any other business in the public eye. In my opinion as a collector and a lawyer: (1) the after the fact disclosure clearly was made only because they got caught by members of this Board trying to perpetrate, if not a fraud, then a deception -- selling a card whose appearance had been substantially changed, without disclosing the particulars and certainly without disclosing the extent. Whether or not the "cleaning" or "stabilization" is a legitimate restorative technique is a subjective question, and in a public auction, with no clear standards on what is and what is not acceptable restoration, there is no excuse for not disclosing the true facts and letting the buyers judge for themselves. One can only conclude the omission was intentional. (2) The after the fact disclosure was grossly inadequate. It is poorly worded, does not reveal the true reason for adding to the description (inquiry was not made about the pinholes, it was made about the cleaning, so the message is a non-sequitur), and does not in any event reveal the EXTENT to which the appearance of the card had been changed (to use a neutral word). (3) One is left wondering how many other items past and present are/have been similarly deceptive.