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 Wednesday, August 15, 2007
MEARS OUTLINES 2008 AUCTION HOUSE POLICIES
Posted by Chris
MEARS just announced its auction house policies for 2008. The game-used equipment authenticators just laid out what looks to be a strict and innovative list of rules an auction house must follow in order to submit items for MEARS’ authenticating services. To read the full text on its site CLICK HERE.To my knowledge, no auction house has ever agreed to be audited by a third party. I think it’s a good idea in the respect that it would help instill more confidence in the bidders’ eyes, but I am not sure auction houses would open up their records to anybody. The idea with all of this is to give all bidders full disclosure … it will be interesting to see how this all plays out and to see which companies will use MEARS next year and which ones won’t. Also, I would like to hear your comments on this and how many auction houses you think will abide by these rules.
8/15/2007 5:37:46 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) 
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Tuesday, August 14, 2007
FREE LISTING DAY ON EBAY TOMORROW
Posted by Chris
 Just got an email from eBay… Tomorrow is free listing day and there are some stipulations that go along with this. Usually eBay lets you list the item with as high of a minimum bid you want to. This ticks people off because many items are listed with outrageous starting bids. Tomorrow’s free listing day forces the seller to start his or her auction at 9.99. Also, it forces the seller to use the Gallery thumbnail in the auction. All this makes for better eBay surfing, so props to eBay for understanding concerns many bidders have with this promotion.
8/14/2007 5:21:38 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, August 13, 2007
$20,000 BARRY BONDS COIN ISSUED
Posted by Chris
I don't know what exactly to say about this: a $20K Barry Bonds coin? This is quite a bit of money for something that was produced this year. I wonder how much one pound of 24KT gold is worth... Thoughts? For Immediate Release
Contact: Timm Boyle, Double M Communications (262-942-9851)
Licensed by Barry Bonds and Major League Baseball
Extremely Rare One-Pound 24kt Gold
Barry Bonds Home Run Record Proof Coin Available Now from Highland Mint
MELBOURNE, Fla., August 10, 2007 – If an ounce of prevention is
worth a pound of cure, just think what a pound of 24kt gold coin must be
worth! How about $20,000?
The Highland Mint has produced a one-pound, 24kt gold proof coin to honor
Barry Bonds for his 756th home run that he hit August 7 at AT&T Park in San
Francisco to become Major League Baseball’s all-time home run leader.
This product, licensed by Barry Bonds and Major League Baseball, is limited
to 25 coins and sells for $20,000 each. Each coin is individually numbered
1 through 25.
“More million dollar coins have been sold in the past three years than in
the previous 30 years as the entire coin industry has gone rarity based,”
said Ian Clay, president of the Westminster Mint, a leading national rare
coin dealer. “This extremely limited Barry Bonds Home Run Record proof coin
has many unique features that will interest both the rare coin and sports
memorabilia collector. We expect a fast and complete sellout.”
Each proof coin measuring 3.5 inches in diameter features a portrait of
Barry Bonds on the obverse and the official 756 custom logo designed by
Barry Bonds on the reverse.
The one-pound, 24-kt gold Barry Bonds Home Run Record proof coin is
available by calling toll-free 1-800-301-3868.
# # #
8/13/2007 5:17:27 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thursday, August 09, 2007
THE FIND OF ALL FINDS
Posted by Chris
 If you are a collector who dreams of finding the next big collection, CLICK HERE and also HERE… I got these links from the Network 54 Vintage Card message board, so thanks to them for that. These posts were started by a man who inherited, potentially, some of the best cards recently discovered in the hobby. I am not going to pretend to be a big pre-war card guy, but I know of many of the cards talked about in this thread and all I can say is “holy crap!” The condition on these cards look to be very impressive. I made a post on the forum in order to try to secure an interview with this lucky guy. I will keep everyone posted.
8/9/2007 6:04:27 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, August 08, 2007
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU CAUGHT NUMBER 756?
Posted by Chris
 So, if this topic hasn’t already been mutilated by sports talk radio and the National media – Barry Bonds and home run ball No. 756 has been on my mind all day. Young New Yorker Matt Murphy was the lucky one to come out of the scrum and now all we have to do is sit and wait to see what he decides to do with it. I would like to know what you guys would do with it if you caught the ball… Here is what I would do: First of all, if I caught the ball I would head straight to the security area, just like young Murphy did. Right after that I would hold a press conference and try to get the hype even higher than it already was. Then I would sell it on eBay… I would probably start the listing tomorrow, mainly because Thursdays seem to do the best when I list my own items. Now, I said I would list it on eBay, but I wouldn’t just do it in the traditional fashion. I would contact every auction house, consignment service etc. that I could think of and make a deal that the company would pay me in order to let them organize the sale. Just think of the amount of hits that auction would get. It would be in he millions. I would contact Mastro, Heritage, Isoldit, Just Collect… the list goes on and on… The company that offers me the most gets the to put its user name on the auction and get the publicity. Also, I wouldn’t allow them to take a commission. The pub they would get should be enough to keep them happy. Ok guys… Now it’s your turn to chime in!
8/8/2007 5:58:24 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Tuesday, August 07, 2007
AROD ROOKIE ON EBAY GOING THROUGH THE ROOF
Posted by Chris
 In case you haven’t checked it out yet, CLICK HERE… There is an SGC 100 Alex Rodriguez 1994 SP rookie card on eBay, which is already selling for more than $20K. That same card SMRs for only $3150 in a PSA 10 holder. Now, I know how population reports work, and I am assuming this card is a 1/1 according to SGC’s report, but doesn’t this seem a bit excessive. There are still five days left in the auction. How much will this card end up selling for? Should be interesting. ************************* Speaking of high-selling baseball items… Many stories have been written lately on what Barry Bonds’ 756th baseball will sell for. I think $1 million is the magic number. Tainted or not, this is the most storied record in sports. One thing that I can’t understand is why there is little or no hype surrounded around Brett Favre potentially breaking Marino’s career touchdown record. Brett needs six TDs to tie, and seven to break, football’s equivalent to the home run record in baseball… Maybe the hype will begin in September when football season gets underway, but all I know is I haven’t heard a whole lot about this yet.
8/7/2007 5:21:10 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, August 06, 2007
HONUS BRINGS $160K – CONTEST WINNER IS PAUL VON SCHLICHTEN
Posted by Chris
Congrats to Paul Von Schlichten of Albany, Georgia for winning the Gavel Chat Honus Wagner contest. The T206 Wagner sold for $160,000 in Mastro’s Live auction, which took place Saturday night at the House of Blues. Paul’s guess of $165,000 was, by far, the closest to the final realized price and for that he is the lucky winner of the 2007 Topps Baseball factory set. Thanks to all of you who entered. ********************
Well, after a long weekend I am back in the Iola offices. I have been chatting on the gameusedforum.com message board about a blog I wrote about authenticators. CHECK OUT THE CONVERSATION HEREOther than that, I have been following up with people I met at the show. I didn’t buy a thing, but I met so many new people and made some good contacts. Show traffic seemed to be down a bit, but I heard many good things from dealers. You will want to make sure you check out the next issue of SCD, with tons of coverage from the convention.
8/6/2007 5:40:13 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Saturday, August 04, 2007
Last night was quite the night
Posted by Chris
 Friday was one of the most interesting days I have ever experienced in the hobby. The card show itself was pretty much the normal setup that I expected, but it’s what took place after the show, which made for the special moments. Right after the show T.S. O’Connell and I scrambled to the reception put on by Topps where NBA No. 1 pick Greg Oden was available to take pictures with fans. I actually got the opportunity to chat with Oden very briefly and told him I was from Wisconsin. The former Ohio State standout chuckled, probably because he beat up on my Badgers quite a bit last season. The reception was set up pretty cool. The venue was a swanky little restaurant right outside of Cleveland, where they served some interesting hors d'oeuvre's, including hot dogs. I was wondering what the heck a nice place like this would be serving hot dogs for and then I realized that they were actually Kobe beef dogs, with a Wasabi-type mustard. Crazy. After the party we had to hustle on over to the big Mastro auction at The House of Blues. Up until last night the only time I have ever made it over to a HOB is to hit a concert… The auction was set up right where a band would normally perform and the bidders sat in the theater seating. All the major players from the show were there, including a few big collectors whom I never met. The first and last items sold in the auction probably drew the most excitement. Both were won from men I never saw before and neither would comment about their purchase. Lot No. 1 was a 1912 T215 “Pirate” Cigarettes SGC-graded near set, which sold for nearly $1 million after the buyer’s premium. The final lot, lot No. 83, was the T206 Honus Wagner card, which sold for $160,000. As I type this blog I am sitting at the SCD booth on the show floor. It is Saturday at about noon and floor traffic is rather slow. It’s such a big venue that it’s a little tough to guage the actual flow, but I think it could be busier. Right now I am going to fun over to the autograph pavilion to try to get some photos of the signers for you guys. Here ya go!  Gordie Howe Jerry Kramer
Don Larsen
Lebron James vinyl statue sold at the Upper Deck booth
 Upper Deck booth
 Topps booth
8/4/2007 6:17:25 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, August 03, 2007
The National is Underway
Posted by Chris
The anticipation is over and the 2007 Cleveland National Convention is here. Thousands of collectors, dealers and onlookers are expected to pack the Cleveland I-X Center this weekend. I arrived late Thursday and first made it to the show today. Reviews are already in from the few dealers and collectors I have had the chance to chat with and have been very positive. Throughout the weekend I hope to update Gavel Chat with any news and images of interesting items that may pop up at the show. Hope you enjoy the first batch of photos I downloaded.  The first photo is obviously the line at the door. Not the biggest line I have ever seen at a National, but still quite busy from the start.  The next image is of a collector who brought in some killer unopened packs dating all the way back to the 1940s. Stay tuned for more on this.  The next photo is of my former coworkers at Upper Deck, Big Ben Koebler is looking mighty happy in the middle of Cheryl Loanzon and Tara Martinez. Upper Deck is running many promotions at the show, including the sale of a sharp looking new Lebron James vinyl figure.  Historic Auctions' James Brown and John Clark are pictured here with one of the nicest single-signed Christy Mathewson balls you will will ever see. 
8/3/2007 3:28:52 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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MASTRO LIVE AUCTION TO START IN A FEW HOURS
Posted by Chris
 In what has turned out to be the one of the best all-around selections of sports memorabilia to hit one auction, in a few hours Mastro will go “live” at the House of Blues in Cleveland. The auction marks Mastro’s first ever live event and according to the company’s president, Doug Allen, it’s going to be something to see. Mastro's Doug Allen
“To be honest with you, in the six years I’ve been with Mastro, this is the most excited I’ve ever been,” said Allen in an exclusive interview with Gavel Chat this morning. “The buzz that has been surrounded around this sale for the past few weeks has been off the charts.” Items that will be sold in the 83-lot auction include Mickey Mantle’s 500th home run ball, a T206 Honus Wagner, Ted Williams game-worn Red Sox jersey and more. “We know this auction is going to average over $30,000 per lot, “ said Allen. “I don’t think an auction in our hobby has ever gone over $10,000 per lot. So it’s gonna eclipse any record that there’s ever been.” I asked Allen if we could expect Mastro to add a live component to all future Mastro sales. “Unrealistic,” he said with a chuckle. “But, I think you can assume you will start to see a live National sale on an annual basis.” It’s not too late to make it to the auction. Mastro’s live event at The House of Blues will start at 8:30 p.m. ET.
8/3/2007 3:07:44 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Troy Kinunen’s Top Ten Items at The National
Posted by Chris
 The National Convention is always very similar to a sports museum. Game-used jersey, bats, cards, autographs… You name it. It’s all here and available for viewing. Today, MEARS’ lead authenticator, Troy Kinunen walked the show floor with me and pointed out his favorite ten items at the big show in Cleveland. Troy shares his thoughts about each piece: (Pictured – John Taube and Troy Kinunen)
 Johnny Unitas game-worn Colts jersey – American Memorabilia“Originally owned by Dave Bushing, this is a top piece because it is all original and shows good game use. Originated from the Baltimore area.”
 Muhammad Ali game-worn trunks – Gotta Have It“The tag on these say ‘Made Expressly for Muhammad Ali.’ This is the best model to have of his trunks.”
 George Mikan game-worn jersey – Grey Flannel“This is a very rare style. I like that it is a very simple style, with the white and powder blue. Great all-original jersey.”(Pictured – Grey Flannel's Richard Russek)
 Muhammad Ali game-worn robe from rematch with Leon Spinks –Heritage Auction Galleries“This robe is from Ali’s unprecedented third championship. My personal favorite of all the items at the show.”
 Barry Bonds game-worn, personalized Giants jersey – Huggins and Scott“What I liked about this is the fact that it was personalized “To Ty.” Although a lot of people don’t like personalizations, I felt that it served as a unique form of provenance. It’s a jersey that I wouldn’t mind in my own collection.”
(Pictured – Huggins and Scott's Josh Wulkan)
 Lou Gehrig game-worn Yankees jersey – Hunt Auctions“David Hunt had what was universally regarded as the star of the show. This jersey is scheduled for full authentication my MEARS and I am looking forward to checking it out for further analysis. A spectacular piece.”
David Hunt's thoughts: “This was recently discovered and is going to be in the November Louisville Slugger Museum Auction,” said owner of Hunt Auctions, David Hunt. “We believe that it was worn in the World Series, but we are still getting it authenticated. The people who have viewed it at the show think it’s uniformly the best one that’s ever turned up."
(Pictured – Hunt Auction's David Hunt)
 1979 Thurman Munson game-worn Yankees jersey – Lelands“This jersey was worn during Munson's final season. 1970s knit jerseys are very popular right now and Munson pieces are near the top of all advanced Yankee collectors' want lists.”
 1971 Al Kaline game-worn Tigers flannel jersey – Mastro Auctions“I like that it shows great use. Period flannels from 3000th hit club and Hall of Famers are in high demand with a short supply.”
(Pictured – Mastro's Doug Allen)
 High-grade Ty Cobb Spalding bat – Game Used Universe Auctions“Spalding bats are really beginning to gain acceptance in the hobby and being that it is a rookie-era bat, I think it is a great piece to watch in their auction.”
(Pictured – Game Used Universe's Chris Cavalier)
 1950s Ted Williams trophy – Sotheby’s/SCP“This piece was given to members of the Red Sox. Great silver trophy cup.”
(Pictured – Sotheby's/SCP's David Kohler)
Honorable Mentions:“The 1916-21 Ty Cobb bat that John Taube had would have been in the top ten, but he already sold it at the show.”
 “SCD’s own Chris Nerat is shown wearing this Harmon Killebrew home run champion crown, also at Sotheby’s/SCP booth.”
(Yep, that's me... Pretty Scary!)
Unhonorable Mention: Although he was not willing to allow us to photograph him without paying him $100,000, former WWF wrestler Virgil tried to sell me his 12,000 sq. ft. Las Vegas home for $4 million. Thanks to Troy for the great analysis... More to come later. -Chris
8/3/2007 2:28:35 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, August 01, 2007
THE NATIONAL, HERE I COME – CHECK OUT GAVEL CHAT'S LIVE COVERAGE STARTING FRIDAY!!
Posted by Chris
 I am very excited to go to The National tomorrow. I plan on blogging live from the convention center as well, and if all goes as planned I will be downloading pictures of collectors and interesting pieces of memorabilia right from the show floor.I promise I will get some interesting input from notable dealers and others and if there is any other news floating around, I will make sure to let you guys in on it. On Friday I plan on attending the Mastro live auction at the House of Blues and I am going to try to make it to the Topps reception where Greg Oden will be brushing shoulders with collectors. The National is always a different kind of show. The energy felt when walking through the doors is indescribable. Whether you are there for the Card company premiums, to check out auction house display cases or there just to meet fellow dealers and collectors face to face, it is always a show to be remembered. That said, if you are at the show, please stop by the SCD booth and introduce yourself. See you in Cleveland! NOTE: Cleveland image courtesy of www.clevelandskyline.com
8/1/2007 5:39:29 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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