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Very Valuable Lou Gehrig Mitts

My take on Forbes on two very desirable Lou Gehrig gloves,

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2014/07/11/why-a-signed-l...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2014/07/14/a-rare-and-val...

David

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Permalink Reply by Randy on July 15, 2014 at 12:41pm

Is your opinion that this item is authentic or contrived?

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Permalink Reply by David Seideman on July 15, 2014 at 1:08pm

Thanks for the chance to weigh in. I think the Gehrig mitt, which sold today for $250K, is legit.

I realize that when it comes to game-used stuff you're swimming with the sharks unless the player himself gives it to you. (Even so at a show I was offered the chance to buy a kid's glove that Andre Dawson signed "my game-used," but knew he wouldn't have played with such a crummy model.)

In short, game-used is a leap of faith. But the Gehrig mitt ads up. I grilled the 92-year-old consignor from different angles. His story was consistent with others he told the rest of the media. Had it been a bogus cover story, I would have poked holes in it. And it would have been too elaborate for a guy half his age to maintain. The autograph on the mitt matches the photo, though autograph authenticating is a tough business as you all know. As I wrote, only professional players shelled out big bucks for pro models. And,as I wrote, my friend received one of Gehrig's mitts as a gift, so there is a record of Gehrig doing it. Finally, I know David Hunt and he runs a very reputable auction house.

One other thing I left out in my post. The guy didn't even talk up his mitt. When I referred to it as a prized possession he replied that it "was a possession, but not particularly prized."

On the other hand, there's a lot of great vintage baseball memorabilia out there that doesn't ever cause you to worry about authenticity. For my part, I'm perfectly content focusing on vintage store model baseball gloves that don't purport to be anything else than what they are. Though I'm not a huge autograph guy, I have paid good money for Willie Mays, Brooks Robinson, Tom Seaver, and obscure players.

David

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Permalink Reply by Randy on July 15, 2014 at 6:54pm

David,

Thanks for the response. I thought based on your original Forbes article that your belief was that the item was authentic but wanted to be sure I wasn't missing something.

You obviously did your homework on this piece.

I look forward to reading your future articles.

Randy