John Elway Game Used....Real??

[notslip0602286]

What do you guys think? Very vague description if you ask me, does anyone know this seller? do they have a decent reputation, excluding their ebay feedback....

http://cgi.ebay.com/John-Elway-Vintage-White-Broncos-Game-Worn-Jersey-/140499232187?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20b66825bb#ht_500wt_1156

[ivo610]

If I was looking to buy an Elway jersey I wouldnt buy that one. I would be looking for one with a team letter or some paper work from Elway himself. I havent seen many legit Elway jerseys but I havent been around for that long so im sure some of the vets on here can tell you more about his jerseys. The fact that they cant tell you what year the jersey comes from says they dont know much about it, which should worry a collect imo.

[Jags Fan Dan]

The problem with this jersey, in my opinion, is alot like the Marino jersey we looked at a few days ago: They are 'tweeners. meaning they are priced to low for gamers and too high for anything else. I don't know what an authentic signed Marino jersey would go for, but it ain't $1,800. Likewise, a legit Marino gamer doesn't go for anywhere near as low as $1,800. The same applies, in my opinion, to this Elway. If you had a legit Elway gamer, would you really put a BIN price below $3K on it?

[Lokee]

What bothers me about the jersey is the back nameplate.

[notslip0602286]

What do you mean about the name plate? What is wrong with it?

[Mulligans]

Hey Billy......I would stay away from this one for a few reasons that have been brought up.....

In a recent MHCC auction (the COA) they had half a dozen bad broncos jerseys....run a search on here and you will see.

IMO a Lampson COA is really not very good...in some cases it's worst then having nothing at all. Not that I'm a know it all, but this fact has already been pretty well established within our hobby.

You need to buy pretty low to sell low.....the sellers of both jerseys appear to be trying to move them quickly? If you have a porche why would you ever sell it for the price of a volkswagon?

That doesn't mean it's not legit....it just means that someone already spent some time trying to prove that it's legit and didn't do so well.
Having said all this.....don't be afraid to pull the trigger on something after doing your homework....many of the guys on here have been able to find the diamond in the rough on a few occasions.....although it's not usually from a guy who has already sold 100's of jerseys.....these guys know exactly what they are selling.

[DoctorLoomis]

Elway is one of the major red flags in the jersey business. Much like Favre, Marino, etc. I would stay away unless I was damned certain. JMO...

[DoctorLoomis]

Further, anyone that buys a Peyton Manning or Tom Brady "gamer" without ROCK SOLID provenance is asking to get burned. If it did not come with above mentioned paperwork I would have to see it come directly off Peyton or Tom's back.

[DoctorLoomis]

What bothers me about the jersey is the back nameplate.

Lokee, I just looked at the ebay listing. I agree with you....that nameplate is wickedly suspicious..........

[legaleagle92481]

This is going to sound harsh but investing in jerseys like this and the Marino that was discussed earlier in the week, you are doing the equivalent of taking your money putting it in a shoebox and burning it. There are very, very, very few real jerseys of Elway, Marino, Montana and the other icons from pre 2000. Every serious collector wants one and when one hits the market a bidding frenzy ensues. Blue Chips sports and Southern Living have and have had many jerseys of major hard to find stars at great prices. Where do they get them? How do they get them so cheap that they can sell them cheap and still make a profit? These guys are businesses not individuals selling parts of their collection they are not taking a loss on this stuff. How come most of their stuff does not come with solid provenance or a photo match? Lou Lampson authenticated the jersey in question and to most collectors his loa is not worth the paper it is printed on. This jersey is impossible to photomatch. You have several years that style was used and no distinguishing markings plus the difficulty of finding pics and videos from 25-30 years ago. Ebay feedback means nothing all it means is that the seller shipped the item in a reasonable time and the item was in the condition described when it arrived. Very rarely do you see a seller called out in feedback for an item's legitimacy. If you want hard to find guys like this work with a major auction house or dealer.

[pacman2680]

He picked it up in the MHCC auction that ended a little while back and is looking to make a few bucks on it.

http://www.milehighcardco.com/LotDetail.aspx?lotid=18635&searchby=0&searchvalue=None&page=0&sortby=0&displayby=2&lotsperpage=100&category=23&seo=1980s-John-Elway-Rookie-Era-Denver-Broncos-Game-Used-Road-Jersey

They've had a bunch of Broncos gear on there lately, but none with any significant provenance, so basically buyer beware. I agree it really doesn't hold much value, at least to myself and many other collectors without solid provenance.

[sox83cubs84]

Getty photo of Elway, 1987 Russell jersey (top)

Auction jersey of Elway (bottom)




http://cache4.asset-cache.net/xc/96425097.jpg?v=1&c=NewsMaker&k=2&d=77BFBA49EF878921A343B2C87A49D8F5A4F8884B6F1C538A A915824050A1A3EAF6901A7478F60665


http://i.ebayimg.com/14/!CCS6dFwBWk~$(KGrHqN,!hUE0fJuu3WYBNKm1g)De!~~_3.JP G

Unless another year's Elway road jersey was drastically different than the 1987 version on top, I'd pass.

Keep in mind, as well, that, in the mid-1980s, Elway wore both Russell and Champion unies (several Champion road jersey shots can be found on Getty searching 1986 John Elway photos).

Dave Miedema

[notslip0602286]

cant see the getty photo, is it showing up for anyone else?

[otismalibu]

#96425097

[notslip0602286]

I can't really see the difference....but then again im new to this hobby lol

[nickacs]

I can't really see the difference....but then again im new to this hobby lol

No prob :) Took me awhile to look at these things too!

You can clearly see the spacing between the NOB and top of the '7' are A LOT closer in the Getty pic than the Ebay one.
Also, the letter font and also spacing between the NOB letters are closer together in the Getty pic than the Ebay one.

It's one of those take two pictures and spot the difference :) I've done it so many times with Jordan jerseys I can do it in my sleep almost.. LOL..

I'm no Elway jersey expert, but just comparing real game photos to the Ebay one, I'd say stay far away from the Ebay one!

[nickacs]

Another pic off APImages from 12/13/97 game where you can, again, clearly see the much closer spacing between NOB and top of '7'

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/qlLZ61o9Gq_-RjgZIspgSpvKYerhosZ9Hg6EUyGMm5s-Z4cdXWI1mL1BFE5q02bLNQevRpiHVGYJjh__KLKC88JeLRWFWs 0coghBqPTTTNPUYCviwuw

[Mulligans]

It also appears as the name plate in the live photo is short as it starts right at the E and ends right at the Y. There is no 3-5 inches of extra fabric on each Side. I'm only referring to this photo....I have not looked at other live Elway nameplates......just an observance.

[Mulligans]

The color photo that is.....