Cobb letters and autos on Antique Roadshow

[alanu]

Last night on Antique Roadshow a guy whose family was friends with Ty Cobb had 6-7 handwritten letters from Ty Cobb a couple of signed publications and signed ball. The "expert" estimated them to be worth about $30-40K and the owner, surprisingly to me, said he thought they would be worth more.

-Alan

[slidekellyslide]

The appraiser was Mike "banned from the Hall of Fame Museum" Gutierrez...I disagree with him that Ty Cobb letters have to have interesting baseball content to be worth more than just a cut Ty Cobb signature. I thought it was funny though when the owner said he thought they'd be worth more...Gutierrez seemed taken aback by that.

edited to add: I think there were more than 6 or 7 letters...it was something like 16 letters total and two baseball pamphlets signed by Cobb.

[alanu]

You are correct Dan, there were more like 16 letters, and I think they mentioned that some of them were only signed as "Ty" instead of "Ty Cobb", which brought the value down some too.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by alanu

You are correct Dan, there were more like 16 letters, and I think they mentioned that some of them were only signed as "Ty" instead of "Ty Cobb", which brought the value down some too.

I wonder what a Cobb letter signed only "Ty" would sell for?

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

The appraiser was Mike "banned from the Hall of Fame Museum" Gutierrez...I disagree with him that Ty Cobb letters have to have interesting baseball content to be worth more than just a cut Ty Cobb signature. I thought it was funny though when the owner said he thought they'd be worth more...Gutierrez seemed taken aback by that.

edited to add: I think there were more than 6 or 7 letters...it was something like 16 letters total and two baseball pamphlets signed by Cobb.

Banned from the HOF,,,
Good one Dan.

[David Atkatz]

Only banned from the Library. (You don't need ID to enter the museum.)

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by David Atkatz

Only banned from the Library. (You don't need ID to enter the museum.)

Hopefully they have old sticky fingers photo up so employees will recognize him.

[RichardSimon]

"banned from the HOF library" is still gainfully employed by one of the major auction houses in the country.

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

I wonder what a Cobb letter signed only "Ty" would sell for?

It is not necessarily a question of price but a question of ease of selling. Ty Cobb letters with his full signature are not rare. Collectors in the market for a Ty Cobb letter can easily obtain one with a full signature.
I have not owned one for some time but I would guestimate the "Ty" signed letter to be selling for $1000-1300.

[Runscott]

First, my apologies for constantly stirring up shite last Fall, regarding autographs. I really was looking for answers to questions, as I've been contemplating buying some pre-war player autographs for some time now, and I basically don't trust most of what I'm seeing.

I finally pulled the trigger recently on a signed Cobb letter. I felt certain it was real, it looked nice, it had a nice signature, it involved baseball, and he came across as pleasant. After deciding I like the item, my criteria for buying an autograph were/are: 1) would a forger have forged this particular item? 2) does the item and signature look authentic? 3) do I plan to keep it as part of my 'permanent' collection? The letter passed the test, so I bought it - in fact, I bid $600 more than it sold for. If I had to pay my ceiling bid, I wouldn't have been concerned. So I'm happy.

Having said all that, I'm still curious what 1-page green, baseball content, nice signature Cobb letters are generally valued at.

I'm dying to ask questions about that '27 Yankee ball forgery, but don't want to risk more animosity. I might do it anyway.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

It is not necessarily a question of price but a question of ease of selling. Ty Cobb letters with his full signature are not rare. Collectors in the market for a Ty Cobb letter can easily obtain one with a full signature.
I have not owned one for some time but I would guestimate the "Ty" signed letter to be selling for $1000-1300.

Thanks Richard, for answering my post while I was typing it.

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by Runscott

First, my apologies for constantly stirring up shite last Fall, regarding autographs. I really was looking for answers to questions, as I've been contemplating buying some pre-war player autographs for some time now, and I basically don't trust most of what I'm seeing.

I finally pulled the trigger recently on a signed Cobb letter. I felt certain it was real, it looked nice, it had a nice signature, it involved baseball, and he came across as pleasant. After deciding I like the item, my criteria for buying an autograph were/are: 1) would a forger have forged this particular item? 2) does the item and signature look authentic? 3) do I plan to keep it as part of my 'permanent' collection? The letter passed the test, so I bought it - in fact, I bid $600 more than it sold for. If I had to pay my ceiling bid, I wouldn't have been concerned. So I'm happy.

Having said all that, I'm still curious what 1-page green, baseball content, nice signature Cobb letters are generally valued at.

I'm dying to ask questions about that '27 Yankee ball forgery, but don't want to risk more animosity. I might do it anyway.

Scott,
No worries on your letter as far as authenticity. It's definately the real deal...

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Scott Garner

Scott,
No worries on your letter as far as authenticity. It's definately the real deal...

Thanks, Scott. I was very excited to pick it up - bought a Dietsche postcard yesterday to frame up with it.

I wish I had won this as well, but didn't bid - this is what resulted from Cobb's follow-up on the lady's Carrick questions. Very nice stuff, but would have ended up in a box if I had won it:

http://www.huntauctions.com/phone/im...=95&lot_num=46