Are sports collectibles the 'dirtiest' hobby?

For the sake of argument we'll lump sports cards, sports autographs, and sports memorabilia together.

There are a lot of problems in our hobby. I don't want to give a laundry list, but certainly anyone who posts on this site is aware of them.

My question is ... are we dirtier, less dirty, or about the same as other hobbies?

I suppose that any 'collecting' hobby like coins, stamps, entertainment collectibles, etc. has some darkside ... but I certainly haven't heard of anything on the level of what I've heard about our hobby.

And I suppose that any 'recreational' hobby like flyfishing, golf, crocheting, etc. is fairly 'safe.'

What say you?

scammers and scumbags are everywhere, where there's money that's where they'll show up. i don't think it's any better or worse. i got into watches for a bit and there are plenty of 2-bit scams on 4-5 figure watches all the time. they just dress and smell better, usually with a tan and have a foreign accent, unlike some of the uneducated slobs you see in our hobby.

I think the forgery and scamming in the art collecting world is far more extensive and sophisticated than what we see in the vintage card biz. Likely because it's motivated by much more $$$.

fisherboy7 wrote:I think the forgery and scamming in the art collecting world is far more extensive and sophisticated than what we see in the vintage card biz. Likely because it's motivated by much more $$$.

Ben, have you ever seen How to Steal A Million with Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole?

It instantly came to mind when you mentioned that.

Chris - nope, but I just youtubed the trailer. Good flick?

There have been some incredible art heists over the past few centuries, some even very recent....the most famous being the Mona Lisa theft in 1911. Of course it was recovered and returned to the Louvre a few years later, but still you gotta wonder...how does one get away with something like that?

fisherboy7 wrote:Chris - nope, but I just youtubed the trailer. Good flick?

There have been some incredible art heists over the past few centuries, some even very recent....the most famous being the Mona Lisa theft in 1911. Of course it was recovered and returned to the Louvre a few years later, but still you gotta wonder...how does one get away with something like that?

I enjoyed it, but I'm a sucker for Hepburn.

If I remember the plot ... her father is a legendary art forger and one of his pieces is going on display at a museum and she fears her father will be found out as a forger so she and O'Toole steal it.

It's the usual 60s fare, but the casting is great and there are some funny bits and lines.

But it does really run the gamut of problems in the art world. Forgeries, theft, etc.

All you have to do is look at religious relics to see how rife that field is with very, very good forgeries. If they brought that level of sophistication to our hobby, it wold be decades before anyone caught on.

fisherboy7 wrote:Chris - nope, but I just youtubed the trailer. Good flick?

There have been some incredible art heists over the past few centuries, some even very recent....the most famous being the Mona Lisa theft in 1911. Of course it was recovered and returned to the Louvre a few years later, but still you gotta wonder...how does one get away with something like that?

Multiple thefts of "The Scream"...the Gardner heist (Boston)...very sophisticated forgers...fine art has it all.

Fine wine also has some scammers...a very recent arrest on charges of massive fraud via wine counterfeiting: http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/46509/

Being located near the hundreds of Yakima Valley wineries I agree with Blair the wine industry is rife with counterfeiting and general corruption. The art industry is plagued by theft, fraud, and an eager black market. Rare coins and precious metals have been appropriated, or heisted and resold under the banner of neutrality during the atrocities of World War II. Religious relics have been stolen, fought over in courts for decades, and lead to distrust of outside "collectors".

The baseball card, memorabilia industry is not harmless, but with open sites and discussion many unscrupulous individuals can be uncovered.

In view of yesterday's revelations, if any of you would like to change your votes, feel free.

The book, coin, and stamp hobbies, at least, have well-known and long lived collector or dealer associations that promote knowledge and have standards for fair dealing. Whether or not they are successful is somewhat answered by their longevity. The sports collectibles business may have had attempts at such an association, yet it is telling in regards to this hobby's reputation that a recognized association has failed to gain traction. Oh, and pardon me if there is an existing association. Proves my point.