How to certify game used/game ready?

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Banjo

The bat's dimensions are exact to the dimensions listed in Heritage auction. Being a U1, i believe it to be used in the late 1960s.

I know the source, and am confident it is an authentic bat... I'm more curious about this to assess if it's game used/game ready.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I believe(guess) it is from 1964 for a few reasons with those dimensions. If going the AH route I would suggest Al at Love of the Game.

[Mark17]

Lots of AH can sell this for you. The reason I suggest Hunt is that they've dealt with these. In fact, they have one in their current auction:

https://huntauctions.com/live/imagev...=271&lot_qual=

Not apples to apples because the one at auction is autographed, which is a huge thing on a Clemente item, but it's at $9,300 with 5 days left to go. With the price that high and so much time left, I expect it to go north of $20k and maybe much more. For fun, you might want to track it.

[Vintagedeputy]

Seems to be a lot of guessing in this thread about model numbers and length and weights. Why don’t you guys just look in the Malta book and it’ll tell you exactly what the bat records were for Clemente?

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Vintagedeputy

Seems to be a lot of guessing in this thread about model numbers and length and weights. Why don’t you guys just look in the Malta book and it’ll tell you exactly what the bat records were for Clemente?

I did but I sometimes still get it wrong so I added guess.

[Vintagedeputy]

Originally Posted by bnorth

I did but I sometimes still get it wrong so I added guess.

Fair enough.

[71buc]

Hunt does not say the bat in that listing is a game used bat. They describe it as “Uncracked with light evident use (in the outline of batting donut) and some general surface wear.” They do not say that this bat is game used. The listing even defers to PSA “NEED MORE INFO FROM TAUBE.” The value of this piece is that it’s a signed professional model Clemente bat. That’s apples to oranges. I assume that the reason Hunt did not use the words “game used” is that if the auction winner subsequently sends it to PSA and it is deemed authentic and not game used Hunt could be on the hook for a refund. I would think most auction houses would similarly exercise caution for the same reason.

If the owner of the bat that started this discussion were to submit this bat to an auction house without PSA he is running a large risk. If it sells for 5-7K as a professional model bat he could risk leaving a lot of money on the table. If the buyer sends it to PSA and Taube says it’s a PSA 7 it would be worth about 14K.

Let’s say he pays a grand for authentication and it returns as authentic with no game use. It then sells for 5K. Hunt charges 17.5% commission fees which is $875 leaving $4125 to the seller. Personally, I don’t like paying TPA fees. Unfortunately, it’s necessary to maximize the value when selling such a bat. I’d rather lose $875 than risk leaving up to 7K on the table. As for the authenticity of this bat based on the available information I have no opinion. The posted photos, lack of details and provenance make that impossible.

[Banjo]

Originally Posted by Vintagedeputy

Seems to be a lot of guessing in this thread about model numbers and length and weights. Why don’t you guys just look in the Malta book and it’ll tell you exactly what the bat records were for Clemente?

What is the Malta book?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Banjo

What is the Malta book?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A great book on LS bats. Here is a pic of mine.

[71buc]

Nice! Those books are a bit pricey if you can locate one.

[ooo-ribay]

Out of print.

[Vintagedeputy]

Originally Posted by Banjo

What is the Malta book?

Originally Posted by bnorth

A great book on LS bats. Here is a pic of mine.

Sorry...I sometimes forget that not everyone has one of these books in their references. Its a fantastic book for the GU bat collector. I'm fortunate to have two, one on my desk and one in my truck for bat finds on the road when I'm out memorabilia hunting.