I know a lot of these die cuts are fantasy pieces,

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Posted By: Keith O'Leary

but I've never seen this one. I'm assuming it is.	[ CLOSE WINDOW ]

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Posted By: davidcycleback

There is a very rare original sign just like that, but it has been reprinted/forged many times. So the majority of these Cobbs on the market are reprints.

These reprints will typically have the modern multi color dot pattern throughout as you find on a reprinted baseball card.

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Posted By: Max Weder

David

What is your source that there is an original? I have heard all of these are fakes. Are there any auction records of an original?

Max

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Max, I'm pretty sure I have seen one in an Oregon Trails auction catalog from the 1990s...I was also surprised to see it in a legit auction because I too thought they were all fake.

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Posted By: Mark Steinberg

There was an authentic one of these in the famous Halper Auction. At least I hope it was authentic, based on what the winning bidder paid, and the fact that it was sold by Sotheby's.

I believe this fake example was copied from that very piece, as it also had a condition flaw in the lower left corner (water damage or something similar). When this fake was photocopied, they probably tried to mask this by adding the look of wear and tear to this area....

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Posted By: Mark Steinberg

Did more homework on this... For those of you who can access the Halper Sale Catalogue, this piece was Lot # 2208. It realized a whopping $19,950.

The Halper piece did indeed have a chip out of the lower left corner and some apparent water damage just above that. The fake piece pictured above has a similar but definitely different flaw in this area. I am sure that the fake pictured above was copied from the Halper example.

I did see this exact fake on Ebay about half a dozen times, 12 - 18 months ago. In the beginning, they were going for around $2,000, but as more and more people caught on, they sold in the $500 - $750 range. I even saw one close for only $120 (which was about $119 more than it's worth!) I have not seen this particular fake on Ebay for about a year now...

Hope this info is helpful.

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Posted By: scgaynor

I have seen alot of repro advertising signs lately that people are telling me that the purchased at car (automobile) shows.

Rule #112 of Memorabilia Collecting - Don't buy vintage sports advertising signs at automobile shows. Rule #126 - Don't buy autographs on cruise ships.

Scott

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Posted By: davidcycleback

#135) Don't buy a shrunken from the original owner.

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Posted By: scgaynor

Rule #1 when walking through an antique shop - Always look up. I can't tell you how many times I have found great things sitting on top of show cases or high on the wall.

Scott

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Posted By: dennis

i'd pay $20.00 for one.

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Posted By: Keith O'Leary

I have a flea market vendor friend that keeps his eye open for stuff he knows he can sell me. He showed this to me Saturday morning and I wanted to make sure I wasn't letting a 4 figure piece slip through my grasp.

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Posted By: davidcycleback

1800s sport and non sport color ad signs and posters were handmade prints, meaning there will be no multi color half tone dot pattern. Even under high magnification they will resemble color sketches or watercolor paintings. Thus, the 1800s signs, especially when the design are already known to exist (no chance of being a fantasy), are simpler to authenticate than modern ones. Reprints of famous 1800s signs and posters are easy to identify as they invariably have the multi color halftone pattern.