Alan Hager - not off-topic exactly, just weird . . .

[uffda51]

Someone mentioned Alan Hager in another thread and wondered where he was. Not to dig up old news, but if you google him you get references to some old lawsuits, etc., but also this:

http://pennyondime.com/

Apparently he "discovered" this weird double struck coin, "certified" it with his grading service and will be happy to sell it to you for $10 million (!) since the odds of finding another are 15 billion to one. There are no uncles or grandfathers involved in the tale but there is an "auntie!!?!?"

But that's not the weird part.

It's the Youtube video. It features Neil Sedaka (!) singing "Killing Me Softly" (you assume at first the url is simply wrong) before finally getting around to showing you the coin . . .and showing you the coin . . .and showing you the coin . . . while Neil drones on. Almost ten minutes. I couldn't go the distance. Don't try this if you have epilepsy or diabetes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj4jXhIi9W0

Why mess around with trimmed Topps cards when you can sell a penny for $10 million?

Made it through the whole thing with the help of the fast forward button.

[Anthony S.]

Coin porn.

[rdwyer]

I still have my autographed book "Comprehensive Price Guide to Rare Baseball cards 1886 to present" by Alan Hagar. It's worth nothing now.

[bh3443]

I left a comment and got a reply in seconds!
He came to one of my shows and passed out hundreds of his "6 sport" book!
Dennis Purdy's article: "Alan Hager: A modern day buffalo hunter" was the biggest public bashing I've ever seen!
About Hager's book, Purdy said it was pretty, but then again so are some whores!
Purdy claimed he had dozens of more pages of dirt he did not published, calling them "the Paul Harvey pages", and I'd love to see them!

I have not heard Hager's name in decades but this was a great flashback!
Thanks for bringing a smile to the sick!

[GrayGhost]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMQBV...eature=related

Yet another video from that bizarre situation.

I remember seeing Hager at a few shows too with his silly price guide.

[bh3443]

Ghost (my favorite FB movie!) that was a creepy video! You wonder if the dude sleeps with his coins!
I've heard of single guys that refer to their collection as family, but this is insane. He loves his error coin!

[uffda51]

Originally Posted by rdwyer

I still have my autographed book "Comprehensive Price Guide to Rare Baseball cards 1886 to present" by Alan Hagar. It's worth nothing now.

I also have an autographed copy. I have never seen a book, in any field, so full of spelling and syntax errors.

[tbob]

Originally Posted by uffda51

I also have an autographed copy. I have never seen a book, in any field, so full of spelling and syntax errors.

Bruce, I agree, it was awful. Not just a couple of typos but horrible grammar and a multitude of spelling errors. The ironic thing is that the values of the cards, when Hager published his book, were ridiculous but after the great card explosion and escalating prices, many of his valuations are now correct, 15 years or so later. I bought a copy of his book on ebay for $10 just to have a momento of an era gone by.

[barrysloate]

Bruce- when it comes to pennies minted on dime planchets, you have to throw the book away.

[toppcat]

Originally Posted by rdwyer

I still have my autographed book "Comprehensive Price Guide to Rare Baseball cards 1886 to present" by Alan Hagar. It's worth nothing now.

Is there anything worthwhile in the book or is it just a fluff piece? Always wondered if there was some good information even with his rep.

[uffda51]

The color photo images of the cards are actually quite good. We have much better checklist info and relevant price guide info today.

[bh3443]

The few times I met him he was very nice and cordial. His book was the highest quality printing at the time and his grading/values theories were interesting. We had pleasant conversations and Alan knew his stuff.

Of course it was later on I heard stories that seemed out of character.
Seriously, I don't know anyone he supposedly screwed over.

Is there anyone in our fine community that had bad dealings with him?
Or, is it his methods people object to?

On another note, his asistant was very bright when it came to cards/coins and his wife was royalty from a country I can't recall.