Cobb/Edwards and the T206 Honus Wagner

calvindog · #1 02-10-2010, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glynparson

I take this personally as I do shill bidding and card doctors because iIsell sports cards for a living. People like these two give the hobby a bad name and help people like Mr. O'keefe paint the hobby, that I love, in a bad light and that does fire me up. So yes I take it personally because it could have an effect on how i put food on the table and support my wife and daughter and I take that very seriously.

Glyn, Mike O'Keeffe didn't need any help in painting the business of this hobby in a bad light. Remember, the hobby is good, the scum that infest the hobby are bad.

Brian-Chidester · #2 02-10-2010, 05:49 PM

He didn't paint the whole hobby as bad anyway. Plenty of praise was heaped upon the integrity of Rob Lifson, Michael Gidwitz and others. His general disdain seemed to be aimed at Bill Mastro, cunning and charming though he may be. As far as I could see, O'Keefe's second biggest issue was with the whole industry of grading, and he outlined his take on it with plenty of facts and quotes from all sides.

glynparson · #3 02-10-2010, 05:54 PM

Jeff, I was referring to those idiots angering me not o'Keefe except in his legitimizing them. And Brian that is my point GO after the bad guys like Bill Mastro by putting in the junk about those to bozos he took credibilty away from what he was saying about the mastro card which is what the book was supposed to be about. the book was supposed to be the story of the PSa 8 Wagner and how it was made. If it were just an expose on the hobby as a whole you could argue those two goofballs story may belong. But it did not belong in a story about how Bill mastro trimmed a card and made it the most famous and valuable in the world.

Brian-Chidester · #4 02-10-2010, 05:59 PM

Glyn,

While I partially agree, I think part of writing a good story is giving background on the nature of Mastro's card, which means, explaining what T206 is, who Honus Wagner was, the history of the PSA 8 specimen, the history of PSA as an organization, the bio of each person who bought the 8, and yes, why not cover a potential scam of the same card? I think it showed further how the grading companies operate and the mania surrounding this card.

Again, I wasn't trying to rankle anyone's feathers today. It looked fake to me at first glance, but having just seen it a few hours ago, I thought I'd play devil's advocate and give it the full go-round.

If anyone wishes to see the reprint that I have posted next to the Cobb/Edwards, I'd be happy to post it, just need to know how to do that.

glynparson · #5 02-10-2010, 06:05 PM

There are many legitimate things to go after with the grading companies and many people they made very rich by slabbing altered material for them. why put in a b.s. chapter about two crooks again it cuts into his credibility because these 2 guys have none.

glynparson · #6 02-10-2010, 06:08 PM

You have proven my point, he legitimized them in your eyes and confused you on the story. PSA and SGC did not grade the card because it was fake. DSL, Bill Mastro, Bill Goodwin, Gary Moser, Anyone who submits that card gets the exact same results period.

Brian-Chidester · #7 02-10-2010, 07:07 PM

No, he didn't confuse me. I wasn't saying the Cobb/Edwards card was graded, only that it presented another forum in which to talk about the grading process. Grading is key to O'Keefe and Thompson's book.

My opinion on grading bears no final outcome in the discussion. I make no bones about it... I enjoyed the hobby much more before grading, and have since the late '90s taken in much less of the hobby than before. But grading is here to stay... it is a part of the hobby now. It is worth reporting on. And hopefully those who part-take in this third-party system get some reward out of it, financial or personal.

mark evans · #8 02-10-2010, 07:31 PM

While third-party grading has its deficiencies, it is just what the doctor ordered for the Cobb-Edwards card because it establishes authenticity in the minds of most serious collectors. Thus, I agree with ctownboy. There is simply no reason why the owners don't deliver the card to PSA or SGC, invite Mr. O'Keefe and any other interested media representatives to attend, and wait patiently in the office while the card is graded. The notion that the grading company would switch out the card in the course of this process is laughable.

Also, I enjoyed O'Keefe's book immensely (as well as his remarks at our dinner last summer) but agree with those who believe the Cobb-Edwards story doesn't fit. There have been a boatload of bogus Wagners offered for sale over the years. I don't see why this one deserves any special treatment.

Mark