Interesting interviews regarding authenticity of the 4.4 mil Babe Ruth jersey

[murphusa]

Originally Posted by BigJJ

I just think for items of such import, we ought to have a listed provenance roughly covering the life of the item.

Would this statement also fall in line with 40K bats? Standards should be just that no matter what the item.

[BigJJ]

Yes.
Sometimes it is difficult given relevant parties.
But it would be less difficult if there was general recognition among the auction houses - and buyers - that 'important' pieces ought to be accompanied by provenance, in a manner similar to art. for all 'important' items, say values of 20k+? I do not know how others would define 'important' items. Or whether other opinion would be for all items, or items with values of $1500+, and distinctions in value between cards and memorabilia, say cards with values of 50k+?

[imacgreg]

My only expertise in this area is a healthy cynicism about human nature. Given the sums of money involved, I would think a sophisticated forger would work the photo match process in reverse. That is, use a period photo and the available information about labelling and materials to doctor up a uniform with the criteria Bugsy listed above in mind. Even if you just wanted to produce a generic 20's Yankees jersey, you could consult the picture to determine lettering size and style, button placement, etc.. Having gone to that much trouble, why not add an additional $4 million to the price tag by reproducing a sleeve repair and mustard stain that are specific to a uniform in a Babe Ruth photograph?

Let's face it, if a 14th century forger still has experts arguing over the provenance of Jesus's last jersey, what chance is there against a 21st century "fabric-ator"?