Bat Relic Cards

[Case12]

Are these just gimmics? How does a card company get a slice from a 1927 Yankees Tony Lazarri bat? Sorta like buying a piece of the Brooklyn bridge?
I am probably showing my ignorance and gullibility just asking the question....

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Case12

Are these just gimmics? How does a card company get a slice from a 1927 Yankees Tony Lazarri bat? Sorta like buying a piece of the Brooklyn bridge?
I am probably showing my ignorance and gullibility just asking the question....

They buy a whole bat and cut it up. Then they can use slivers of it for years.

[cfhofer]

I have always viewed these bat cards as a gimmick or novelty. It is practically impossible to prove their provenance. The bat should be registered online with a reference serial number on the card. The card company could then provide further information on the bat and list what cards it created. At least it could then be proven the card company owned the bat, which is a start. Same thing with jersey cards.

Just my two cents.....

[Mark]

Originally Posted by cfhofer

I have always viewed these bat cards as a gimmick or novelty. It is practically impossible to prove their provenance. The bat should be registered online with a reference serial number on the card. The card company could then provide further information on the bat and list what cards it created. At least it could then be proven the card company owned the bat, which is a start. Same thing with jersey cards.

Just my two cents.....

After the bat is professionally authenticated, registered online, and cut into small pieces, the people who produce the cards ought to be put in jail for destroying a national treasure. That is my view.

[cfhofer]

Originally Posted by Mark

After the bat is professionally authenticated, registered online, and cut into small pieces, the people who produce the cards ought to be put in jail for destroying a national treasure. That is my view.

Touche Mark. I agree. Although if it was a true national treasure it should be in a museum for all to enjoy. Then that would never happen. For a single advanced collector to privately hoard priceless national treasures in his basement without sharing them with others isn't very noble either. Both examples are rooted in greed.

[Mark]

Originally Posted by cfhofer

Touche Mark. I agree. Although if it was a true national treasure it should be in a museum for all to enjoy. Then that would never happen. For a single advanced collector to privately hoard priceless national treasures in his basement without sharing them with others isn't very noble either. Both examples are rooted in greed.

Private collectors should display their bats to those who are interested. As for your museum point, I suspect that more people would pay attention to a Tony Lazzeri bat in somebody's private collection than if it, and all other pre-war, game used bats, were displayed in museums along with several thousand other pre-war, game used bats. What would happen if every GU bat were sent to Cooperstown? There would be row after row of Yankee bats, along with thousands of other bats, and the importance of any one bat would be very diminished. I think that the present situation works: there are a few museums with great bat collections, curated by collectors with intelligence and taste. There are some private collections that are similarly well managed. Their goal, I think, is not to get rich but to put together a collection that reflects their own knowledge of the game and of bats. Some are very impressive. True, some of us might live in basements with our old bats, but I think that such people have bigger problems than greed.

However that may be, at least the private collector does not destroy the artifact but passes it along to others, eventually.

[Michael B]

Originally Posted by cfhofer

Touche Mark. I agree. Although if it was a true national treasure it should be in a museum for all to enjoy. Then that would never happen. For a single advanced collector to privately hoard priceless national treasures in his basement without sharing them with others isn't very noble either. Both examples are rooted in greed.

I strongly disagree. If not for the collectors who recognize the value and significance of items many would never be seen or lost. One of the big fallacies is that if a museum has it they will display it. Many museums only display a fraction of their holdings. The Smithsonian is a good example. You could go to every single museum building here in D.C. and look at every item on display. You will have viewed less than 1/10th of 1% of their holdings. They display items that people will find interesting, but that is for the masses and it changes with time. A lot less people today are interested in seeing Fonzie's jacket or Archie Bunker's chair then 20-30 years ago. With collectors there is always the chance that it will change hands and new people will get to enjoy it.

I agree that chopping up a bat or cutting up a uniform is bothersome, however it is a big stretch to call a Tony Lazzeri bat a 'national treasure.