A hidden difficulty for auction houses

[Rich Klein]

Here is a story from today's Dallas Morning News about a Kennedy Family letter that was in the possession of Heritage at one time.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...r.3ffe31b.html

Love to hear any comments on this. But I believe this is an hidden issue for auction houses that in many cases they do not have control over

Regards
Rich

[D. Bergin]

I think an unspoken fear in the collectibles industry is becoming more and more prevalent over the years.

Theft is obviously a crime and should not be condoned.............however, it seems a family member only has to claim an item was stolen, whether it be 10,20,30 or more years down the road..............once they realize it has value, in order to make claim to that item.

If there was initially a police report I understand it's pretty cut and dry............but items are sold off by relatives, given away by the celebrity themselves and sometimes even tossed away or forgotten and sold off from defaulted storage facilities all the time.

I'll probably get bashed for this but I don't agree to an automatic title down the line to something because you are a blood relation to the person in question. I think it's disengenuous and sets dangerous precedent.

I don't know if the letter in question was stolen or not..............but it doesn't seem like anybody made claim on it until there was a value attatched to it.

[Rich Klein]

If you don't even know a letter is missing? I get your point; and I know someione would articulate this better than I will -- but as the song Big Yellow Taxi said: "You don't even know what you got till it's gone".

In this case; it appears someone got possession of a letter, and that letter has made the rounds since.

The point of this one is for Heritage and any one else who might have had the letter along the way -- what if you do some research; find nothing wrong and sell the item after getting what you believed was proper provenance.

And if you are a family member that is famous; do you examine what could be HUNDREDS of auction catalogs, remember this part of the autograph industry is far wider than sports, each year. I'm just saying that this is an hidden difficulty for auction houses.

Remember we had the same issue come up with the Harry Wright letters that Hunt was going to auction in July.

Rich


Rich

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

If you don't even know a letter is missing? I get your point; and I know someione would articulate this better than I will -- but as the song Big Yellow Taxi said: "You don't even know what you got till it's gone".

Rich


Rich

.........."it's a slippery slope" as the cliche goes.

Who's to say Ethel Kennedy didn't give it away..........or as the story goes, let a worker haul off some items in return for cleaning up a room or doing a job?

It happens all the time.

To a lot of people it's just paper. They don't believe or care whether it holds a certain type of value to a bunch of other people.

Did Ethel Kennedy have to clear it with the rest of the Kennedy clan every time she had a garbage pick-up or had somebody clean out an office?

Just to be clear these are just possibilities..............I'm not assuming to know what happened at all.

[Exhibitman]

The question in many of these situations boils down to evidence: If the item was in a public collection you can be 100% certain that it did not leave the collection lawfully without full documentation of a sale. However, if the item is claimed to have been taken from the originator, like this letter, the case will turn on what evidence exists. The plumber told his son it came from a bunch of junk that Mrs. Kennedy told him he was to get rid of/could have. The Kennedy clan says no way. Since everyone is dead, however, we effectively have battling hearsay evidence issues, with perhaps none of it being admissible in court. If we never know what might have happened, no one is realistically going to be convicted.

There are also bona fide purchaser issues. In some states a thief or con man can convey clear title to a bona fide purchaser; in other states, not. It varies.

And how long is long enough before it becomes impossible to undwind? The statutes of limitations, criminal and civil, comes into play. If this item was stolen a decade ago and the person who claims it was stolen knew of the item's status, he might be prevented from reacquiring it for failure to sue soon enough to get it back and there might be no prosecution. It will depend on the state laws and where jurisdiction lies.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

It will depend on the state laws and where jurisdiction lies.

I think a lot also depends on the last name of the alleged victim.

I'm not sure the FBI gets involved if I file a police report that Bob's Antiques down the street from me has a love letter my father wrote to my mother 40 years ago and has since gone missing.