T206 F Stamp

[Big Ben]

Originally Posted by mrvster

you might have stumbled on a gem....if it wasn't listed as such....the most seen has been on epdg.....these, I predict will be forged soon, so get them when you can and get them slabbed so they are "time" stamped......

the hobby is split wether these are f. Scotty's or not....I truly believe they are....we are still waiting on the verdict....

Thank you to everyone for your input. The card is in a PSA slab and I just purchased it on ebay. I have been looking for a F Scott card for some time but once I saw the card, I wasn't certain! lol

[Mountaineer1999]

F Scott Fitzgerald had and stamped his own T206 cards?

[Jeffrompa]

Thats why i come to this site . Never know what will show up that is truly amazing .

[mrvster]

you did great.....I do fear in the future these will be forged tho


get em now, and get em slabbed

[drcy]

No insight on the Fitzgerald connection, but, with a microscope, you can identify stamps made from the same rubber stamp. And ones made later from a different rubber stamp. All printing plates, including rubber stamps, have identifying microscopic 'fingerprints'-- unique microscopic imperfections, marks, shapes, etc. It's a standard forensic technique to match prints from the same printing plates. It's how they proved a letter came from a specific typewriter in the old day mysteries.

Chances are you don't even need a microscope to identify a new F stamp. Just a close look.

But I agree that demonstrating that an 'F' stamp has been around for a while is the simplest way to establish the 'F' stamp is one of the originals. Being able to establish that something has been around for a while (a form of provenance) is usually a good thing these days. One use I see for getting a card graded.

And, as mrvister accurately says, you want to document the existence of your F stamps before a flood of forged stamps come out, not after. It can be as simple as posting a photo to photobucket this afternoon.

[drazz5]

can someone explain the story behind the fitzgerald stamp? ive seen it referenced on here several times, but dont know much background info on it. Thanks

[CW]

Originally Posted by drazz5

can someone explain the story behind the fitzgerald stamp? ive seen it referenced on here several times, but dont know much background info on it. Thanks

We've had a few threads in the past on it. The only old quote with any type of definitive info (if you want to call it that) is this from JC posted back in 2008:

Here is the story as it was told to me many years ago. In 1941, the daughter of F. Scott Fitzgerald sold all of his personal belongings at auction in Baltimore. Included in the sale was his boyhood baseball card collection consisting of over a thousand cards. The baseball cards were sold as one lot and the winning bidder was Harold Shigley.

Not only did he win the cards, he was also high bidder on his jewelry, typewriters, some of his furniture and many other items. As a child, Fitzgerald had stamped every card on the back with that black "F".

In the 1960s, Shigley traded away the Fitzgerald cards due to their mostly poor condition. I contacted his grandson a while back and he said the only one he kept was a T206 Jack Knight. Obviously, they have made their way into many different collections since then.

Personally, until I see more proof of these being from Fitzgerald's collection or proof of the previously mentioned Baltimore auction, I think it's a stretch to connect this particular "F" stamp to the famed writer. Not enough concrete evidence exists to convince me these were once F. Scott's cards.

A few past threads discussing the stamp, including the last link in which a collector found the stamp on an Obak:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/15365...ott+Fitzgerald

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=146726

http://ww.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=169794