Need some help on a piece of memorabilia

[Saltzy23]

Hey guys. I'm new here. I have to be honest. I cannot believe that there is a message board dedicated to the NYC subway.

 

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I found the right place to help me out.

 

Both my father and I are huge baseball fans. About a week or so ago MLB had its Official MLB All Star Game auction. One item caught my dad and my eye. It was a Flatbush Ave. 'street sign' that supposedly hung near where Ebbets Field used to be.

 

The link, description and the picture for the item are below:

 

http://www.huntauctions.com/LIVE/imageviewer.cfm?auction_num=27&lot_num=454&lot_qual=

 

"Description: Vintage Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn street sign. Original cast iron street sign from the famed Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn where Ebbets Field once stood. Sign is double sided and has the majority of its original yellow painted lettering intact with some areas of light rusting at the edges. 25" long: VG-EX"

 

Well. My dad as a former huge Brooklyn Dodger fan decided he needed to have it. Based on the fact that this was the Official MLB auction we took the descripton at face value. He wound up buying it and paying WAY WAY WAY more than he wanted to.

 

Anyway I decided to do some homework(admittedly this should have been done beforehand, but it didn't occur to us). The first thing that gave us pause was the fact that Ebbets Field wasn't even on Flatbush Ave. After that it didn't take very long for someone to point out to us that this was not in fact a street sign at all. It was a die cast destination sign for a NYC subway. Obviously we were not pleased to hear this. Long story short we contacted the auction house and raised holy hell. We have been told that if we do not want it, we can cancel. I am hoping you guys can tell me if this thing is worth anywhere CLOSE to what the final bid was, along with any info you may have. I have found as much as I think I am going to on my own. Again, I know it is a die cast metal destination sign. I know they were used from 1915-1960's on Low V trains on the IRT lines. That's about all I could find. I have no idea how rare it is, or how frequently these things come up for sale, and most importantly, how much it's worth/usually sells for.

 

As of right now we are almost certainly not gonna take it, but I was hoping for some feedback from the obvious pros before we decide one way or the other.

 

I thank you in advance for any help you maybe able to offer.

 

[SubwayGuy]

$2700? No way. Not worth that much.

[Joe]

$2700? No way. Not worth that much.

 

haha just imagine $2700 a pop for Lo-V signs. That would be an awful lot of money tacked to the wall above the sink.

[Saltzy23]

So, I'm guessing that this means, "Tell them to take it and shove it."

 

Like I said, I have spoken to a few people and they all agree that it's not worth anywhere close to $2,750(plus an add'tl auction fee of 15% BTW. The thing was $3,160 all-in!)

 

I'm still curious as to why the bidding got so high though. I guess the other bidders(12-15 according to the auction house) also were under the impression it was the 'street sign' from in front of Ebbets Field, and not some random subway car sign that had absolutley nothing to do with the Dodgers or Ebbets Field in the slightest.

 

Thanks guys.

[SubwayGuy]

haha just imagine $2700 a pop for Lo-V signs. That would be an awful lot of money tacked to the wall above the sink.

 

yeah ok it wouldn't stay tacked for long if that was the case haha

 

So, I'm guessing that this means, "Tell them to take it and shove it."

 

Like I said, I have spoken to a few people and they all agree that it's not worth anywhere close to $2,750(plus an add'tl auction fee of 15% BTW. The thing was $3,160 all-in!)

 

I'm still curious as to why the bidding got so high though. I guess the other bidders(12-15 according to the auction house) also were under the impression it was the 'street sign' from in front of Ebbets Field, and not some random subway car sign that had absolutley nothing to do with the Dodgers or Ebbets Field in the slightest.

 

Thanks guys.

 

Probably got so high because baseball was involved (or thought to be involved). I've seen people lose their marbles over baseball auctions, not really sure why. People overpay for baseball stuff all the time. Someone paid $10,000 for the old bat rack from the old Yankee Stadium home dugout and many paid $1,000 for an authentic seat from the house that Ruth built. When that place got renovated during the 70s, the old wooden seats were thrown out and anyone who walked nearby the construction site could grab one for free.

 

Nowadays, dbag companies like Steiner have driven the price up for all baseball memorabilia. The last 5 years the rest of sports is starting to follow suit. If it didn't say Ebbetts Field, the bidding gets nowhere close to that.

 

So call shenanigans and call it loud otherwise you're going to get ripped off!!!

[AA 8th Avenue]

Damn! Sorry to hear you got HUSSLED! Terrible my friend send that bad boy back quick...

[rr4567]

That thing is damn well not worth $2750.

[Saltzy23]

Thanks again guys. Including you guys I've now spoken to a bunch of people into this stuff, and not a single person has said it's worth anywhere near what the hammer price was. The auction house has already been told where they can shove it.

 

Keep in mind though, it was labeled as 'the street sign from where Ebbets Field once stood'. The thing is that there are almost no remnants left of that place. They tore through it like a hot knife through butter. Any artifacts and very rare and desireable. Seats sell for almost $10,000 This is what we thought we were bidding on, as did I'm assuming, the other people that drove the price all the way up.

[Kamen Rider]

Please, watch the Nazi Banksters Crimes Ripple Effect at http://jforjustice.co.uk/banksters

[EE Broadway Local]

Speaking of Ebbets Field, it was bounded by Bedford Avenue, Sullivan Place, McKeever Place and Montgomery Street with an address of 55 Sullivan Place in Flatbush. Today it's the site of The Ebbets Field Houses.

 

While one of the closest subway stations to Ebbets Field is located at Flatbush Avenue and Empire Boulevard, it's a BMT station - Prospect Park.

 

As far as I can tell, Brooklyn street signs were similiar to Manhattan. They were white on black with a "humpback" design. The name of the cross street was in the humpback.

 

The Johnson Street and Bridge Street/Johnson Street street signs on this page are good examples: http://www.forgotten-ny.com/SIGNS/Street%20signs/signs.html

 

Then around the time the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, Brooklyn street signs became a rectangle and white on black. Good Brooklyn examples on this page: http://www.//www.forgotten-ny.com/SIGNS/Color/color.html

 

That actually is a sign from a Low-V subway car: Here it is with original white lettering: http://www.thejoekorner.com/rollsigns/low-volt-signs.html

 

Under IRT Low Voltage Sign Plates South, scroll down three and you'll see your Flatbush Avenue B'klyn sign.

[Saltzy23]

Wait. So are you saying that on top of not being what it was originally described as, it was REFURBISHED and not in it's original condition???

 

I was wondering how almost 100 year old paint looked that good.

 

Let's just say that after this experience I think I'm done with Hunt Auctions forever.

[INDman]

I'm not so sure that the sign is an IRT Low-V sign. I *think* it could be BRT/BMT since I have seen signs like that with yellow paint. I again, I need to check with some people on this.

[EE Broadway Local]

Hey guys. I'm new here. I have to be honest. I cannot believe that there is a message board dedicated to the NYC subway.

 

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I found the right place to help me out.

 

Both my father and I are huge baseball fans. About a week or so ago MLB had its Official MLB All Star Game auction. One item caught my dad and my eye. It was a Flatbush Ave. 'street sign' that supposedly hung near where Ebbets Field used to be.

 

The link, description and the picture for the item are below:

 

http://www.huntauctions.com/LIVE/imageviewer.cfm?auction_num=27&lot_num=454&lot_qual=

 

"Description: Vintage Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn street sign. Original cast iron street sign from the famed Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn where Ebbets Field once stood. Sign is double sided and has the majority of its original yellow painted lettering intact with some areas of light rusting at the edges. 25" long: VG-EX"

 

 

INDMan, I was thinking that also, but this image seems to match the Low V South sign shown at the Joe Korner. Two other clues are the mounting holes on the side and the F.B. on the top left. I'm almost certain it is not a Brooklyn street sign that was along Flatbush Avenue, however.

[Eric B]

Also; since when does a street sign include the borough on it? That's obviously a destination sign, and I remember from the ERA auctions they used to have that they looked just like that.

 

They should just auction it as a vintage subway sign. That should be almost as valuable.

[INDman]

After checking with some people, I think this sign is an old BRT/BMT trolley destintion sign.

[Saltzy23]

After checking with some people, I think this sign is an old BRT/BMT trolley destintion sign.

 

Thanks for checking into it for me. Like I said, we have already cancelled the order with the auction house, as they really had no argument when I explained to them that not a single person that has seen the pic thought it was what they described it to be.

 

Out of curiousity, would that explain why the bidding got so high. Are those signs exceptionally rare or something?

[SubwayGuy]

Thanks for checking into it for me. Like I said, we have already cancelled the order with the auction house, as they really had no argument when I explained to them that not a single person that has seen the pic thought it was what they described it to be.

 

Out of curiousity, would that explain why the bidding got so high. Are those signs exceptionally rare or something?

 

Throw baseball, or any sport, into the equation, particularly if it involves a team that no longer exists, and a lot of people will overpay for a lot of things.

 

In other words, you weren't the only one that was fooled by the listing. Glad to hear they're going to let you cancel your order.