Are Any of These Cardboard Signs Legimate? Help, Please

[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

[HRBAKER]

Good move, there's certainly no shady characters at card shows.

Just kidding, kind of.

[ctownboy]

Jeff,

My experiences were back in the late 1980's and early 1990's. There were shady characters at the card shows but nothing NEAR like the ones at the flea markets.

Of course now, the card shows have all but disappeared and the SHADY characters at the flea markets have gone high tech and are peddling their wares to unsuspecting people on Craigslist and eBay.

David

[barrysloate]

They're all bad. 99+% of the early baseball signs you find at flea markets or small antique shows are reproductions.

[Joe Hunter]

Thanks for all the good comments concerning the signs. I went back to the flea market today and broke the news to the dealer that all of his baseball signs were reproductions (there were two others that I didn't take pictures of, and one that he had already sold). I explained to him many of the points you guys made. He took it pretty well, but I could tell he was disappointed. I think he had paid some pretty good money for them and I am convinced he thought they were real. I did not stick around to see if he pulled the items or left them on his table. I was pretty sure the Ruth Fro Joy was a repro from the beginning, but the other two I was not sure of. Again, thanks for all the great comments.

[murphusa]

at the repro warehouses in PA you can buy them for about $3 each

as soon as a real one gets auctioned off and there is a nice photo of one in an auction catalog they will soon be out there

[ctownboy]

Knowing flea market people who sell fake and reproduction items, I imagine the disappointment was NOT from finding out the items were fake (I bet he already knew that) but was disappointed he didn't sucker you into buying these pieces.

You were interested enough to take the time to look at them, ask about them, take pictures of them and then come back. I imagine when he saw you approaching his booth the next day, he had $$ signs in his eyes.

If I were you, I would go back and see if this guy STILL has the signs out for sale and at the same prices (I bet he still does). If so, then I would find the owner or manager of the flea market and complain to them.

If they don't do anything then I would know that this flea market is OK with harboring dealers who are out to fleece prospective buyers.

David