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 Replies: 24 / Views: 7,297 |
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Pillar of the Community
1283 Posts |
A good friend of mine owns a gold shop and this came in the door last monday. After the mandatory wait period to make sure it wasn't reported stolen I bought it for scrap, $900 and something. It is a players ring, no one real famous but played on 3 championship teams in the now defunct league. Well today he had the same guy bring in the 1985 ring this one is heavier and nicer 29.9 DWT and he sell it to me at scrap plus shipping. The player the rings orginally belong to is a head football coach for a high school team. I don't know how these rings were aquired I know I can scrap it no questions asked but I don't want to do that. A ring like the 1984 ring I own was auctioned in a Heritage Auction in 2010 for $1700. I quess my question is would you take a gamble on the 85 ring at scrap? What if they were stolen from him? Should I contact him and take the chance that I have to give this one up?(won't do that) I have googled him and he seems like the hometown hero that never made the NFL but played in the USFL then well on hard times. The rings look brand new like he sold them 25 years ago and then they were put away. What would you do? Would you buy 29.9 DWT of 10KT scrap gold at todays price?    |
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Valued Member
United States
187 Posts |
Awesome Rings.Nice catch!
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12841 Posts |
Cool rings. Remember that an auction house is going to charge you a hefty percentage of the sale price.
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Pillar of the Community
2224 Posts |
The pawn shop waited the mandatory waiting period, you bought it, its yours.
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Pillar of the Community
 1283 Posts |
Just bought the other. I am such a hoarder will probably have these till the day I die. Maybe if I hit the lotto I'll send them back to him to buy some karma.
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Quote:
The pawn shop waited the mandatory waiting period, you bought it, its yours. Possession doesn't cut it. Title to stolen property doesn't pass. OP can either contact the player and see if he wants them back at a negotiated price, or sell them (hint, hint) to someone at a flea market who pays cash. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
931 Posts |
It's probably not stolen. These guys sell their stuff. I even saw a Joe Torre Yankee's World Champions ring for sale this weekend. If Joe will sell one of his anybody will. The USFL was one of the more legitimate leagues and some big NFL stars came out of it. The ring probably has more collector value than scrap 10k gold. I would keep it and research sports memorabilia auctions and find a legit auction that sells with a buyer's premium. You probably would make out better that way.
Edited by junior e
09/27/2011 09:28 am
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Quote:
I even saw a Joe Torre Yankee's World Champions ring for sale this weekend. There is ZERO chance it was genuine. Do you honestly believe that a future HOF manager(and Hall of Very Good player) has a need to hock one of his most prized possessions? He is not exactly destitute and living on the streets, he still pulls down a very large salary as Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations for MLB. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
931 Posts |
The Torre ring was on national television. Channel 324 on DirecTV. AANTV is a really big company and I doubt that they would risk their reputation on counterfeit memorabilia. They also sell Babe Ruth autographed baseballs, etc. They often have high dollar rare items up for auction. Torre's name was just below the bezel of the ring. I'm sure that you would have heard something if it was faks. It is posible that Joe gave a copy to his manager or a relative.
As far as the Philadelphia Stars rings I saw won listed at auction with a $4999 starting price. I don't know if it sold, but the Stars ruled the USFL, so historically they are pretty cool rings.
Edited by junior e
09/27/2011 1:29 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Ok then, what year was it and how much did it sell for  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
830 Posts |
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Would you buy 29.9 DWT of 10KT scrap gold at todays price? Yes, if I was under-weight in gold.  Edited by GoThunder
09/27/2011 2:52 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
931 Posts |
I didn't wait for the auction. I just saw them show it on air at the top of the sports auction on Saturday. You can call them if you think I'm a liar. I'm not wasting my time on you.
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Pillar of the Community
1283 Posts |
I'm sure you are telling the truth I see rings all the time donated to charity that turn up on the open market. Ron Artest just auctioned off his Laker ring from last year for Charity. I can see Joe doing that but who knows maybe he just wanted the money. My rings appear to be legit, now just what to do with them besides where them :) I need a good story to tell people about how I got them. LOL
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Pillar of the Community
United States
931 Posts |
If you can afford to I would keep them (or sell one to me). They were made at the same Josten's factory that I used to work at. Unfortunately the stone is CZ according to the press release that I found about them. Who is the player if you don't mind my asking.
Edited by junior e
09/27/2011 3:36 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Not accusing you of lying at all, just mistaken perhaps. It just seems incredibly unlikely that Joe Torre would sell any of his actual WS rings. Yes, some washed-up players(hi Jose Canseco!) do sell their rings in addition to former team personnel but those rings have much more meaning to the manager of a WS winning team.
It is also worth noting that there are far more replicas on the market than genuine player/coach rings. The St Louis Cardinals won the 2006 World Series and a limited number of gold replicas with synthetic gemstones were offered in the St Louis area, I seem to remember the price was something in the neighborhood of $2000.
A genuine player/manager WS ring from recent years, i.e. the "bling bling era", is a $20,000+ item and I could imagine that a Torre WS ring would fetch upwards of $50k. Personnel and front office staff get scaled-down versions of the player rings and those are the genuine rings typically seen at auction, they usually bring $10k or less. I just can't see some HSN-wannabe hocking a $50k ring on DirecTV to a very limited audience.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
931 Posts |
That's OK. The guy from AANTV sent me an email that it was Torre's 1996 Championship Ring. I'm waiting for him to get back to me about hat it went for. It isn't a replica. I'll let you know how much.
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Replies: 24 / Views: 7,297 |
Posted 09/26/2011 9:00 pm
