Beware of yet another fake...

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Posted By: Mark Steinberg

Another of the phoney Ty Cobb Advertising pieces has reared its ugly head again. It is that all-too-familiar Stall & Dean Easel-back display with the "damage" in the lower-left portion. Ebay Item # is 170188919799.

This is another laser copy of the Original, which can be found in the Barry Halper Sotheby's Catalogue. Please beware of this piece, which (like so many others) eminates from Ohio. This seller (despite his 99.9% rating) is also selling a fake Ruth/Gehrig Barnstorming Poster.

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Posted By: Aaron Patton

Before I get sick, could someone please expand here.

I'm assuming the reproduction will have laser printing dots?

I am from Ohio, and have the piece in my collection. It looks and feels legit (and I have a picture of Halper's version) ... However, didnt know there were fakes of these running around.

Left corner is damaged, with fading on the left side (just like Halper's).

Though, Heritage sold a copy in October 2005 that had similar wear in the left-corner:
http://sports.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=703&Lot_No=19543&src=pr#Photo

What could be a reason for similar wear between exemplars?

Bought it at a local shop (Westerville OH) for 550.00 (in November). What course of action (for those of you that have been burned) ...do I take in this matter?

I feel absolutely devestated.

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Posted By: Mark Steinberg

Aaron...

A bunch of these began showing up on ebay about 2 years ago. At first, they were selling for close to $2,000, and then (as more and more were offered) the prices realized got down below $100.

I would guess that over 25 of these were offered in a span of about a year and a half. There were other pieces being produced as well... Ruth/Gegrig Broadsides, Fan for a Fans, Babe Ruth Kaywoodie Pipe Easel-back displays, fake decal bats, etc.

All of the bogus pieces seemed to eminate from Ohio, or in some cases, Indiana. Somebody there was creating these, and circulating them as authentic. There was another thread here about 3 months ago, in which a Forum member said he met a swindler at a swapmeet or flea market, and he was selling these pieces out of his van. When asked about the origins, the seller replied that he had so much of this stuff, he couldn't know where it came from (or something similar...)

Sorry to report this bad news, but there are a ton of fake pieces out there. All examples of this particular piece appear to have the lower left corner damage (just like the Halper example). It has somehow been copied in some fashion. Perhaps additinal forum members can chime in with more specifics and additional info.

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Posted By: Mark Steinberg

The fact that Heritage featured theirs in October, 2005 is also ominous. This was at the very infancy of the forgery time-period, and they were probably not aware of the fakes at that time.

Since then, so many reproductions have hit the market that I would have to believe Heritage is now aware. I know that outfits like Mastro, Lelands, REA, Hunts, Bob McCann and Steve Verkman are all aware of these.

Inside the Park Collectibles had a Ty Cobb Easel-back piece in their last auction, which was pulled after a few days in. Though I never inquired with them directly, the reason for pulling it seemed pretty obvious.