Are Any of These Cardboard Signs Legimate? Help, Please

[Joe Hunter]

Do any of these cardboard signs appear to be period pieces? The Ruth is 12" tall, the Williams is 12.5", and the Gehrig is 7"x9". The Gehrig is stiff cardboard, while the other two, are somewhat flexible. Your opiniom would be appreciated.

[Leon]

Top one is really bad. No way....The middle one is a little better but still probably not good...and lastly, the bottom one.....almost always where there are 2 reprints of 3 signs, you can almost bet the 3rd one isn't good either. Just my experiences and initial thoughts.

[HRBAKER]

They all share that "really washed out" look that most fakes have IMO.

[ctownboy]

Are these at an auction or flea market in Indiana or Ohio?

David

Edited to add, looking at eBay, there have been three Ted Williams signs like the one you posted that have been from Maine. No other easel back signs like the one you posted has been on eBay recently. If the one you posted is from Maine then I would imagine there is somebody up there reproducing them.

[Joe Hunter]

They were at a flea market in KCMO. Most of the other signs he had appeared to be good, but were not baseball. I was told they were obtained in KY.

[ctownboy]

Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky are hot beds for FAKE stuff.

So, ask yourself;

1) WHY would a guy at a flea market have signs like these?

2) WHY would they be of Hall of Fame players?

3) WHY would a guy in Kentucky have these signs and give them up?

If they are real then somebody somewhere should have done some investigating along the way to see how much they are worth.

Being from Indiana, I have been to a LOT of flea markets and have even set up at a few. From my experience, there are some REAL shady characters who set up at flea markets. After seeing these types, I STOPPED setting up there and just paid a little more to set up at card shows (when there were still card shows at hotels on the weekend).

David

[Bocabirdman]

If you go to a pharmacy, you should entitled to reasonable expectation that the pills you get are real. If you withdraw cash from your bank, you should be able to believe it to not be bogus. If you buy baseball cards or memorabilia from a respected vendor or auction house, there should be that same expectation. If you find something at a flea market, looking for that bargain of bargains, you need to be schooled or you might get schooled

[Joe Hunter]

Jim: Just for your information, I did not purchase these signs. It was a two day flea market, so I had the luxury of taking the pictures, getting feedback from the forum and then returning the next day to inform the dealer his pieces were repros. In my opinion, this is one of the main reasons a forum of this nature exists in the first place. Unfortunately, I did learn that one other sign he had (Babe Ruth Pipe ad) had been purchased by someone earlier in the day. I don't think I would have bought them before doing some research. I've had great success picking up some nice items at flea markets, and really enjoy the chase. What I have found is that you will find many more sports items overpriced at these events than undervalued.