Heritage Auction and their Amazing Yankee Rings

[sports-rings]

Originally Posted by Runscott

Michael, what sort of person do you think bids the big bucks on a ring like this, clearly lacking the knowledge that most of us require as collectors?

Given the price, there must be two such people out there. I don't use the term 'collector' to describe them, as it can't possibly be a collector…can it?

Great question - I have often asked myself the same question! I think something like a "Platinum Night" is an event that gets more foot traffic from non collectors than say an auction at the National. Perhaps these novices don't realize how questionable some items can be in these auctions.

Seemed a lot was written about the Joe Jackson autograph and many speculated in the hobby that autograph did not look good either - yet it went for a lot of money (I believe both JSA and PSA had authenticated it).

Heritage is having a vintage guitar auction this weekend, and I would love to try to win a couple of items. Unfortunately having very little knowledge of vintage guitars, when I think back to some of the items I have seen and argued with Heritage about of the last few years, I realize I can't bid in that auction as I could get "eaten alive".

Anyone else have any thoughts on who bids on these items?

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by sports-rings

Heritage is having a vintage guitar auction this weekend, and I would love to try to win a couple of items. Unfortunately having very little knowledge of vintage guitars, when I think back to some of the items I have seen and argued with Heritage about of the last few years, I realize I can't bid in that auction as I could get "eaten alive".

I think you hit the nail on the head - it is probably people who do not reach the conclusion you came to regarding guitars.

[sports-rings]

Originally Posted by Runscott

I think you hit the nail on the head - it is probably people who do not reach the conclusion you came to regarding guitars.

And that's a shame some auction houses do things like this. When was the last time you read a post on net54 where REA, Goldin Auctions or a select few other auction houses were criticized for grossly misrepresenting an item?

And in cases where something was discovered and brought to their attention, they quickly adjusted the description.

I would much rather take a gamble on a piece that I don't have a ton of knowledge about from auction houses that are known to be fair then from others who just bury their head in the sand, do little research, and refuse to modify their listings?

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by sports-rings

And that's a shame some auction houses do things like this. When was the last time you read a post on net54 where REA, Goldin Auctions or a select few other auction houses were criticized for grossly misrepresenting an item?

And in cases where something was discovered and brought to their attention, they quickly adjusted the description.

I would much rather take a gamble on a piece that I don't have a ton of knowledge about from auction houses that are known to be fair then from others who just bury their head in the sand, do little research, and refuse to modify their listings?

I don't know how the various auction houses compare on this - I buy most of my 'non comfort zone' items from Heritage, mainly because they auction such a broad variety of items other than sports. I don't feel comfortable buying rings from ANY auction house without consulting with someone like you first, simply because of the anomalies you've mentioned on our forum that would never otherwise have crossed my mind. The re-cast Green Bay ring comes to mind, and now this Mattingly.

An exception might be Lelands, simply because I know if I didn't feel comfortable with an item's authenticity once it was in hand, Josh would almost certainly take care of it. I'm not totally certain about other AH's, as I've told several of them about autograph forgeries they were auctioning, and they auctioned them anyway, which had a strong affect on my trust. In addition, I once received some forgeries that I wasn't able to identify as such until they were in hand, and the AH basically told me I was shlt out of luck. I sold them stating that while they were cert'd, I didn't like them - honesty cost me a 75% loss, which is expected.

[chestercat162]

I missed the story on that one, I'm in Green Bay. Can you fill me in on what that was about? Thanks.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by chestercat162

I missed the story on that one, I'm in Green Bay. Can you fill me in on what that was about? Thanks.

I think Michael was the one who alerted us to it, so I'll defer to him. I read the posts with interest, but not with as much attention to detail, since I wasn't a potential bidder. The message to me was that when out of your element you should seek guidance - no amount of study would have been enough for that particular item.

[sports-rings]

Originally Posted by Runscott

I think Michael was the one who alerted us to it, so I'll defer to him. I read the posts with interest, but not with as much attention to detail, since I wasn't a potential bidder. The message to me was that when out of your element you should seek guidance - no amount of study would have been enough for that particular item.

If I am not mistaken, you are referring to the Frederick Thurston ring? I don't recall this ring being discussed on net54 but here are the details:

In 2011, during the National, Heritage was auctioning off a Super Bowl II player ring, belonging to Frederick Thurston. The ring was 10K which was a major clue that it was not an original ring. The Super Bowl II rings were originally made in 14K gold.

I tried to explain this to the Heritage folks at their booth during the National. They were not happy to hear this and a lot of shouting occurred back and forth. Come to think about it, maybe I did post here, because they finally relented and made an announcement the evening of the auction theat the ring was not original.

Not sure if people who were not there all knew about the description change. The ring that evening sold for $50,787.50 with the buyers premium.