Reproductions...

[NewSouth]

How do you feel about items like this?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Beautiful-White-Babe-Ruth-D-M-G41-Repro-with-box-/271165209711?pt=Vintage_Sports_Memorabilia&hash=item3f22b4bc6f

I'm not a really fan.. I think they are interesting and fun to look at and if people like them, that's great..

But I think they are going to make things very difficult in the hobby down the road. Imagine in a few years when you have a bunch of reproductions floating around.. eventually it will be harder and harder to tell if it is really a reproduction or a near mint glove. I'm immediately on guard when I see rare mint gloves but I was wondering how this group feels about them.

Seems like only a matter of time before people go out and play with them to make them "older" and then try to pass them off too.

[vintagebrett]

Those were made twenty years ago - haven't seen one passed off as the real thing yet.

[NewSouth]

Yeah, that was just an example. I didn't know it was produced 20 years ago though. You can probably pick a reproduction out pretty quickly but I wonder if everyone can do it as easily.

[jpop43]

If one can't pick out repro's then they might be best served to refrain from buying certain items till they can. There really isn't anything that the collective membership of this forum hasn't seen, and a quick question or PM to one of us could save alot of frustration and $$$ for someone. Lot's of really good people and resources in this hobby...my advice to new collectors would be to use them.

[vintagebrett]

In my opinion, in the sports memorabilia collectable world, gloves are one of the hardest things to "fake" or make look vintage. They're have been many reproductions made over the past 10-20 years and it's very rare, if ever, that you see one being sold as the real deal. I think a reason for that is the leather that was used back in the day is quite different and it's hard to reproduce that exact feel, texture and look. Yes, there has been fraudulent gloves sold and created - many more in the game used realm rather than strictly a store bought vintage model. However, compared to other collectable interests, the amount of fakery and fraud in the vintage glove world is very small.

[Number9]

With gloves in particular, you'd be hard pressed to find a reproduction that isn't well marked (mine included). There are a lot of good reasons for that and every maker that I've ever heard of has them well labeled. The only possible instance that I can think of is with Nokona and the Erskine model (maybe another model too?). That model was also produced 20 years ago along with the D&M at Nokona's factory. I can't say for sure whether or not there is an edition # or special markings because I've never seen one in person, but maybe someone can chime in.

It's incredibly rare for a glove to be faked, but when they are, they tend to be faked with additional stamping, not stamp removals or distressing of the leather. Those additional stamps are almost always clear as day. In 20+ years of collecting I can only think of one example that has been executed well enough to warrant discussion and debate. So, between the clear markings on a modern glove, and laughable attempts on vintage gloves, the chances are very much in your favor that you can participate in the hobby without any worry.

As far as the Ruth goes, you're not getting the XX/714 label off without obvious signs of tampering with the glove, and beyond that, there are differences between a vintage Ruth and the repro (woven label, D&M button, etc). As a group, I'm sure we've seen everything, you should feel free to post any questions you may have regarding authenticity. 99.9% of the time your fears will be unfounded.

[softball66]

William's on the right track in identifying the repro gloves, esp. the Ruth which has the obvious limited edition XX/714 on it. The Nokona replicas, which at the time, we were not directly concerned (but probably should have been with mis-representation, since the cost on these was over $100) will be the patch tip off on the glove which will show the then used red and while current patch at the time.
Also many of the originals had Nokona wrist buttons, etc. We here on this site can recognize the replicas. John Golomb also made some replica gloves out of his factor during this period, Joe Jackson, Lou Gehirg, etc, which members here can spot from originals.
In our last glove newsletter, we put out a report on the number of replicas produced. I have that information available for those who want to know.
As we know, Victory Sports has put out some cheap replicas made in Mexico and these are also recognizable for many here.
Akadema Sports has also put out replica Ruth, etc. gloves including a Ruth glove and box.
One of the recent concerns has been the replica Spalding ML baseballs being produced that have no recognizable "giveaways."