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Originally Posted by benjulmag
AMAZING story Hank. And knowing how Rosen operated what you write does not surprise me in the least. I think you'll find the following interesting.
I too called the auction just before (literally seconds) the 10 PM closing time and topped the then high bid for the BN Ruth, a card I agree at that time most collectors knew little about and that I regarded as the most unappreciated/undervalued card in the hobby. I thought I was told the bidding was at $5,000, which I then raised to $5,500, though it is possible I am misremembering. I then hung up and immediately redialed, only to learn the auction had closed. Like you I too went to bed believing I won the card. The next day I learned I did not, though the explanation was not the "top all bid" explanation. The explanation was the more mundane one that magically someone had called in a nanosecond after me and topped my bid.
This same thing happened to me on the other lot I bid on in that auction, a Mort Rogers scorecard of Cal McVey. My bid on that one was also topped. I knew at that point that as unlikely as it was that lightning would strike once, it did not strike twice and the auction was rigged, a suspicion reinforced the next day after calling around to find who won the McVey, learning who did along with also learning the person could not tell me the price he won it for. I then called another collector I knew who was close to Rosen, and he confirmed how Rosen operated -- which was to allow favored customers to submit a top all bid after the auction closed.
In addition to obviously reeking in dishonesty, closing the auction PRECISELY at 10 PM cost Rosen's consignors tremendous sums of money. It was no small feat to get through to the auction just before closing time.
Oct. 1988 was the height of Rosen's popularity. There was no internet in those days and the following day the auction would be the talk of the hobby. It seemed everybody would be calling everybody else to learn what prices went for and how people did.
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Crazy story Corey, especially since part of it involves the exact same card Henry was talking about, but you getting a completely different answer. My earlier comment about a possible element of fraud being involved seems even more on the money now.
Probably lucky someone doing/acting like this had their heyday way back then, before the internet, Ebay and such. That kind of crap would certainly not fly far or long today.