Dear Babe: I have a newspaper photo dated Aug. 8, 1928, that pictures Lou Gehrig, Johnny Evers and Babe Ruth. All three signed it. -- Ron Hermann, Riverside, Calif.
Whether all three actually signed the clipping is the question of the day. The opinions of a couple of experts were quite surprising and a first. Both Mike Heffner, president of www.lelands.com auction house in South Dennis, Mass, and Mike Gutierrez, consignment director for Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com) in Dallas, agreed the Ruth and Evers sigs looked good, but both said that the Gehrig wasn't. I can't remember an item like this where a Ruth sig was good and the Gehrig wasn't.
"The Gehrig is fake! The rest are good,'' Gutierrez said. He valued it at $3,500-$4,000, saying he would "cut out the Ruth and Evers signatures and sell them separately as 'cuts.'
"The Gehrig signature is not real but the other two are. It's worth around $2,500 if not a copy (original signatures). If the Gehrig was real it would be $5,000,'' said Heffner.
It is important to note, that David Kohler, president of www.SCPauctions.com in Laguna Niguel, Calif., didn't think any of the sigs were authentic. All three were looking at a scanned image of a photocopy of newsprint. Your picture definitely needs to be looked over in person by an authenticator. Also, keep in mind that newsprint is not the best medium for an autograph, especially as it ages.
Dear Babe: I have a 1953 Bowman sample card #59 of Mickey Mantle. It looks like the real card. The only difference is that it is smaller. I have another card, Stan Musial, that is stamped "sample'' on the back. -- Beanie Jansky, Lakewood, Colo.
The consensus among folks I checked with is that the cards were trumpeting a reprint set that was also done sometime in the 1980s, possibly the 1990s. "The cards have no value -- less than $1,'' said Heffner. Of course that might change if there is either a Musial collector or Mantle collector that hasn't added the samples to their collections.
Dear Babe: I have Eddie Mathews Cooperstown Collection card issued by Hillshire Farms and Kahn's. -- Vickie Mathews, Hapeville, Ga.
These cards were issued in 1989 and were available through a mail-in offer. The cards feature paintings of recent Hall of Famers. The set includes Cool Papa Bell, Johnny Bench, Lou Brock, Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Billy Herman, Harmon Killebrew, Eddie Mathews, Brooks Robinson, Willie Stargell, Carl Yastrzemski and a coupon card (probably good for a discount on Hillshire products). Becketts's Almanac of Baseball Cards lists the set at $10 with Mathews booking at $1. The Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards from the editors of Sports Collectors Digest has it at $3 with Mathews at 65 cents.
BABE NOTE: 2009 Topps Baseball is on store shelves sporting the usual array of inserts, autographs and relic cards. There are 36 10-card packs in each hobby box with a $1.99 per pack suggested retail price. Legends of the Game returns with another 25-card insert set along with World Baseball Classic Relic, Autographed and Stamp Cards. There are also 17 variation cards that feature HOFers, sharing a number with a current player. For complete details visit my blog at www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak.
(Send card questions to Babe Waxpak, PO Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or e-mail babewaxpak(at)charter.net. If possible, include card number, year and brand or a photocopy. Please do not send cards. For Babe Waxpak's blog, see www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak. Babe Waxpak is a feature of The Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
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