Game Used Michigan Football Jersey? on AMI

[both-teams-played-hard]

I am very proud of The Lampson and/or AMI for including a question mark? in the item title. I agree, the question mark is the perfect disclaimer. There are many, many, more LOAs that should include the question mark. I believe the Macgregor Goldsmith tag was used in the late 1940s or early 50s at best. I applaud an "expert" who questions himself. Serious.

http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/7739/mich5ca1.jpg

When I sold this very same jersey on eBay some months ago, I also included the question mark? The reason. I'm not an expert. My auction started at $9.99.
http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/2629/mich1rz3.jpg
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/557/mich2oy3.jpg
Is it unethical for me to even bring attention to this auction? Discuss.

[both-teams-played-hard]

http://americanmemorabilia.com/Auction_Item.asp?Auction_ID=29818

[trsent]

I believe their use of a question mark, just as you did when originally selling the item shows they have enough class not to abuse the system and state now that the item is from Michigan with no doubt.

I also think it shows that you are respected in this industry, so you are like an authenticator.

[Nathan]

I had a lengthy discussion late last year with another collector about the issues about old football jerseys. The biggest one that I have is that the styles for a lot of jerseys were the same in the NFL as in college as in high school. I have seen untold numbers of high school teams that wear jerseys and/or helmets that very closely resemble their college or pro counterparts.

In the older days, before teams had team names on the jersey (either as a logo or as a team name), how easy is it REALLY to differentiate between something worn by, say, Steve Van Buren and something worn by someone who was a backup quarterback on one of the thousands of high school teams whose colors are also green and white?

[silverschmidts]

I think when a seller uses a question mark like this it obliges the seller to provide as much information as he/she has on the matter. IN other words, if you can't state with certainty what the jersey is, can you at least tell you us how/where you obtained the jersey because those facts might help a potential buyer decide whether it's a Michigan jersey or not. FOr example, was the jersey obtained at an estate sale in Michigan? Did it come from a collector and if so what did the collector say about origins of the jersey? Personally, when I see a question mark like this, I tend to view that as a wink by the seller that they themselves doubt that the jersey is a Michigan relic. Since you originally sold the jersey on Ebay, can you tell us how you got it and what you were told about the jersey? --Steve

[both-teams-played-hard]

Since you originally sold the jersey on Ebay, can you tell us how you got it and what you were told about the jersey? --Steve
I originally obtained the jersey in question from a non-collector on the second-hand market. The question mark did not mean wink-wink, "I doubt its a Michigan jersey"...the question mark meant question-question, "I don't know if its a Michigan jersey". I have obtained numerous game-used jerseys from non-collectors on the second-hand market. The source doesn't matter, unless I claim the jersey has historic significance.
http://img488.imageshack.us/img488/9066/bear1re4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Obtained on the second-hand market in California...Not Chicago

http://img479.imageshack.us/img479/2105/baron1xs6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Obtained on the second-hand market in California...Not Cleveland

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3185/lump1js4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Obtained on the second-hand market in California...Not Arizona

And yes, my sources are a secret. I have been collecting jerseys for more than 20 years. All of my jerseys do not originate from second-hand sources. Many jerseys in my collection and many I sell have come from sports memorabilia dealers and the like.

[silverschmidts]

I didn't mean to suggest that a Michigan jersey has to be obtained in Michigan to be authentic or that a secondary source can't be legitimate. But the kind of information I mentioned MAY be relevant if little else is known about the jersey, especially if we're talking about a high school or college jersey. In other words, if no one is quite certain if this possible Michigan jersey is really a Michigan jersey, it would be potentially helpful to know if the jersey was found at an estate sale in Michigan. By the way, I wasn't suggesting that you were winking at anything. I do wonder about AMI, however. Presumably, they've done some research on the jersey to determine if it could be a Michigan jersey. I'm guessing they've perused archive photos from Michigan games, etc. What did the research reveal? I think they should inform the bidding community of that rather than just shrug and say, "well, it could be a Michigan jersey." In the legal world, lawyers have a habit of saying, "Anything is possible." Essentially, this is just a cynical way of saying absolutely nothing. Similarly, a question mark in a high end auction is the equivalent of saying, "anything is possible," or, put another way, "we have nothing of consequence to say about this matter." --Steve