E121 Cobb and Ruth - Authentic?

[Bliggity]

Originally Posted by petecld

I would stay away from both of these cards.

I agree. I have been watching these since they went up, and had concerns as soon as I saw them. The picture quality on the Ruth does look off, and having handled many e121s, I have never seen the type of wear these are showing, especially the corners on the Cobb. E121 cardstock is thin enough that any wear to the corners is almost always going to result in a rounding of the corners, rather than what is seen on the Cobb, which looks like paper pulling with sharp corners still intact. This suggests to me that the Probstein Cobb has a thicker cardstock than it should. They may well be okay, but there are enough red flags to keep me from bidding. Not sure why Rick would not have sent those in.

ETA: I took another quick glance at some other examples, and the picture quality on both of those seems bad compared to real E121s, especially the Ruth. I don't like them at all.

[murphy8276]

Originally Posted by Bliggity

Not sure why Rick would not have sent those in.
.

fwiw-
He is selling "unopened" 86 fleer bkb packs that end soon also. 4 for over 1.5k total price right now, ends in 6 hours.

[Leon]

After further review I think I am with you guys. I believe I see a bright spot of white under some wear on the Cobb. They sent a scan of the back of the Ruth earlier but it looked ok.
If fake, I wonder why they would sell raw cards that aren't good and give a 30 day return? It doesn't really make much sense except to think someone spending that kind of money won't get them authenticated in under 30 days?

[BosseFieldBoy]

Thanks everyone, I shared your concerns but Rick has always such a reliable seller (at least to me). I emailed him about the authenticity of the cards and he has not responded. That’s been a problem lately.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by Bliggity

I agree. I have been watching these since they went up, and had concerns as soon as I saw them. The picture quality on the Ruth does look off, and having handled many e121s, I have never seen the type of wear these are showing, especially the corners on the Cobb. E121 cardstock is thin enough that any wear to the corners is almost always going to result in a rounding of the corners, rather than what is seen on the Cobb, which looks like paper pulling with sharp corners still intact. This suggests to me that the Probstein Cobb has a thicker cardstock than it should. They may well be okay, but there are enough red flags to keep me from bidding. Not sure why Rick would not have sent those in.

ETA: I took another quick glance at some other examples, and the picture quality on both of those seems bad compared to real E121s, especially the Ruth. I don't like them at all.

Having a bunch of e121's in hand right now I have to agree the Ruth photo looks very wonky and the Cobb corners look weird for the reasons mentioned above, but what struck me about them is that when my e121 weak corners don't have the discoloration that the Cobb shows. The wear is basically the same color as the unworn portions of the card.

[Rhotchkiss]

I don’t know why anyone would buy ungraded cards of this caliber, online. Why even take the risk? I understand the caliber of seller and the 30-day return policy mitigates some risk, but still, I would not touch an ungraded Ruth or Cobb Online.

[BosseFieldBoy]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

I don’t know why anyone would buy ungraded cards of this caliber, online. Why even take the risk? I understand the caliber of seller and the 30-day return policy mitigates some risk, but still, I would not touch an ungraded Ruth or Cobb Online.

I agree, that’s why I went to the message board. I love the Ruth montage card so I thought I would ask.

Again, I really appreciate the help. I’ve been collecting for a while but I still feel really uncomfortable with ungraded high end cards.

[ullmandds]

you buy ungraded cards of this caliber if you know the difference between real and fake...because occasionally you get a nice card at an ungraded price!

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

I don’t know why anyone would buy ungraded cards of this caliber, online. Why even take the risk? I understand the caliber of seller and the 30-day return policy mitigates some risk, but still, I would not touch an ungraded Ruth or Cobb Online.

Completely agree with the quoted post. I know everyone's financial circumstances are different, but I am always amazed when people on here talk about gambling on $1,000+ raw cards on eBay. The Ruth card sold for a little over $1,200; more than I would be willing to gamble on.

While not true 100 percent of the time, $1,000+ cards being sold raw are usually raw for a reason.

[glchen]

Originally Posted by Bored5000

Completely agree with the quoted post. I know everyone's financial circumstances are different, but I am always amazed when people on here talk about gambling on $1,000+ raw cards on eBay. The Ruth card sold for a little over $1,200; more than I would be willing to gamble on.

While not true 100 percent of the time, $1,000+ cards being sold raw are usually raw for a reason.

I bought this card on ebay raw from a European seller for well over $1000. I would say that there are at least five times a year where some gem appears on ebay raw (e.g., see Ty Cobb / Broadleaf back)

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by glchen

I bought this card on ebay raw from a European seller for well over $1000. I would say that there are at least five times a year where some gem appears on ebay raw (e.g., see Ty Cobb / Broadleaf back)

Yup!