'Pawn Stars' guest wanted $100,000 for his Babe Ruth memorabilia — then the expert showed up
While Rick Harrison, the lead of "Pawn Stars," has scored many mind-blowing deals, things don't go well every time. Many sellers have tried to unknowingly dupe the pawn boss by bringing fakes to his table, but it is hard to bypass his experts. Like the time when a seller brought an old baseball bat and gloves, allegedly signed by Babe Ruth, it took Harrison's go-to expert, Jeremy, to figure out that it was a fake. While the expert was certain about his assessment, the seller wasn't too happy as he called him "too young" to even know who Babe Ruth was.
In the episode, the guest shared that he got some incredible Babe Ruth memorabilia for the pawn boss. "I have an old outfielder's glove signed by Babe Ruth, and I have a bat signed by Babe Ruth and Christy Mathewson. He was a great pitcher; he had set all kinds of records. The Babe Ruth is famous for chocolate candy," he told Harrison. The show's lead and his son, Corey, immediately acknowledged the significance of the items given to Ruth's legacy. "Babe Ruth is probably the most famous baseball player of all time. The accomplishments that Babe Ruth made in his career, I mean, he outshines just about every baseball player since him," Harrison noted.
When the pawn boss failed to recognize Mathewson, the seller chimed in, saying he was one of the greatest pitchers of all time. The seller further shared that he had the paperwork as well to prove the authenticity of the items. However, Harrison was still skeptical about the items. "Usually, you don't see paperwork that's drawn out like this. Usually, it's typed; it’s a little more formal looking. I mean, the bat looks old enough, but then again, it is just a piece of wood—you can easily age this stuff," he noted.
However, the seller was fully confident that his items were 100% authentic. Furthermore, he told Harrison that he was looking to get between $50,000 to $100,000 for the pair. "The glove should be worth $10,000 to $20,000," he claimed. Hearing the number, Harrison got more apprehensive and decided to call in his expert, Jeremy, the owner of Ultimate Sports Cards & Memorabilia.
However, the seller wasn't convinced after Jeremy walked in. "I've got underwear older than he is, and I don't know what makes him an expert," he said. The expert then went on to talk about the sporting legend that Ruth was. "Babe Ruth. Sultan of Swat. Bambino. I mean, this guy holds major league records that are still intact today," he said. "Now, with Christy Mathewson, he was equally a good pitcher as Babe Ruth was a batter during the time. He still ranks third amongst all pitchers today in wins," he added.
The expert further noted that the items were valuable as they had autographs from both the sporting legends. "If that thing turns out authentic, we're talking no less than fifty thousand dollars and sky’s the limit from there," he added. The wear on the items, the make of the bat, and the signatures all were found to be in order by the expert, but things soon took a turn when Jeremy started examining the paperwork closely.
"The gentleman listed on this authentication was implicated in this enormous FBI sting operation in the late 1990s. It was called Operation Bullpen, and it was all about getting fraudulent signatures on memorabilia. Therefore, auction houses won’t recognize his authentication as legitimate," he said. Jeremy told the pawn boss and the seller that the items are unlikely to be genuine. Furthermore, he noted that the signatures were too dark, and the period also put a doubt on their validity.
"Sounds to me like he pretty much came up with a really nice way to tell you that your bat’s fake," Corey interjected. Thus, Harrison refused to make an offer for the items, and the value of the baseball memorabilia went from $100,000 to $0 in an instant.
However, the seller was not happy at all with the evaluation. "I think they’re missing the boat on these items. This young guy, not even sure he heard of Babe Ruth," he said in the end.
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