Posted By:
MarkI purchased quite a lot... probably over 65 pieces total. I was able to reach the G-C Heir early in his liquidation process, and developed a close relationship with him. He asked only that I not re-sell these pieces on ebay (as he did not want to dilute the market). I believe he also struck a deal with ITPC, and did not want them to be competing with ebay sellers and the like. This was never a problem, as I intended only to collect these, and was not interested in selling.
Some of the pieces that I acquired, I have never seen surface again, and others I have seen multiple times. A few of the pieces were said to have been "one of three" existing examples. Others were said to be the "last example without any chips, cracks or flaws". I only bought pieces in Mint Condition (which most were, due to never having been circulated to the general public).
The main condition problem they were having was that the wrapping paper was sticking to the ceramic. After 50+ years of sitting in storage, perhaps the humidity caused the tissue paper to stick. When they attempted to pull the paper off, they pulled the paint and glaze off along with it. They then started using a product called "Goof Off", and it apparently helped them to resolve the problem. The Heir said that they cleaned up perfectly.
As far as the number of these prototypes in existence, I think only a few people know the real answer, and they probably don't want this information to go public. When I was inquiring about a White Sox Bank, I was told that there were originally 10. Regarding a few other pieces, I was told there were less than 5. That's all I know... so I am very curious as to how many are truly in existence.
I suppose what really matters is that these were previously unknown, and are very displayable pieces that have added greatly to the figural baseball realm. ITPC seems to keep coming up with new variations, so who knows where it actually ends? I would have thought these might be realizing more money, but I guess only a small handful of people really know the answer to how scarce these pieces are.