Our business is our passion, second only to research — which is our first love. Katrina and I have hobbies, but we spend much of our time researching jewelry and antiques, and have often mentioned that if we could make a living just researching, we would do so.
And our business is a “gravity well” also. We often obtain ephemera or physical items that are closely connected to other items we held or owned years ago. We are nationally known as purveyors of championship rings. We owned
Refrigerator Perry’s size 16 Chicago Bears ring and have likely sold more Yankees rings than anyone on the planet. (Go ahead, Google it!)
When a Texas jeweler called us about a Hall of Fame ring, we jumped on the opportunity, giving him a $20,000-$30,000 auction estimate. It was Don Drysdale’s MVP ring!
Upon inspection, it seemed genuine. As we researched it, we found some unsettling news reports of theft of a similar ring. Further research indicated that there was no way this ring should have found its way to a public arena. We contacted the consignor; he sent us a receipt of the lawful purchase from a Dallas store.
The Value Of Setting Things Right
Even though it was purchased legally, it had to go back to the rightful owner. We again researched for hours to figure
out which of Drysdale’s heirs would be the proper owner. We found her and she was quick to tell us when it was stolen
and how she was thrilled that we were getting it back to her.
While we made no monetary profit on this ring, Katrina and I profited by returning the ring to its rightful owner, by a few days of terrific research, and by holding in our hands such an incredible rarity. And Katrina was able to make acquaintance with a lovely woman. The Texas jeweler who sent the ring lost his initial investment, but was also happy to get the ring back to her.
CONTACT US to see why the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, USF, the Shriners, The St. Petersburg Museum of History and MOSI have trusted us to liquidate fine art and antiques.
Always buying rare and valuable items. Cash or auction. We make house calls statewide.
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This is an archival article formerly written and is for informational purposes only. The valuations in this article have likely changed since it was first written.
