mgomistercheezle

July 13th, 2010 at 2:41 PM ^

He says he bought it at the team's garage sale they have after the season.  Even if it isn't real or able to be authenticated, I'd still buy it (if I had the cash) because I always thought the yellow "Michigan" script jerseys were among the best hockey jerseys at any level of play.  Since it also has the nameplate and CCHA 25th anniversary patches, which I'm guessing would be hard things to find or too obscure to replicate.   

Hobo5589

July 13th, 2010 at 4:10 PM ^

I agree with what mgomister said about the patch...one way to tell the difference between a replica and a team issued/game worn jersey is the CCHA patch.  Even now, if you get a replica at MDEN you dont get a CCHA patch, and the only UM hockey jerseys that have the CCHA patch are the ones that the players wear.  I am almost positive that this is a game worn jersey.  Not to mention I don't think I have ever seen replica of those Nike hockey jerseys ever.  

This is a sweet jersey also...to find a game worn jersey from that era is really rare.  Not to mention that it is from a national championship season.  The popularity of game worn Michigan hockey jerseys is increasing and jerseys from a frozen four year are much more expensive than other years.  

BoBo24

July 13th, 2010 at 8:40 PM ^

... even patches:

http://www.custompatches.net/pricing.html

I was going to suggest asking him for a copy of the receipt and letter of authenticity (you usually get such a letter at official auctions), but those also would be very easy to mock up. The only way I can think of to authenticate the jersey would be to match up some of the autographs with known signatures, though that still would not guarantee it was game worn.

I think you more or less have to trust the guy on something like this and adjust your pricing accordingly. It is clearly not worth the same as if you bought it yourself from a reputable memorabilia dealer or, better yet, directly from UofM at a year-end auction.

Hobo5589

July 13th, 2010 at 9:38 PM ^

...gave out letters of authenticity like they do now.  I know the past two years you got a letter of authenticity that is signed by the hockey director of operations.  To be honest, you just have to research the jersey through pictures, talking to people, and what not.  That is really the best way to learn about Football and hockey jerseys.  Talk to people who know what they are talking about.

Based on everything I have looked at, I think that the jersey is 100% game worn and real.  Jerseys from that era are hard to duplicate I feel like.  It is not like michigan football jerseys these days where people are selling tons of fake and cheap knockoffs.  The only problem with the signatures is that it seems like they are fading, but I guess it is a preference of how important the signatures are to you.    

Again, its all opinion but if you asked me that hockey jersey is legit.  I would go after it if I wasn't short on funds.

TurfGuy

July 14th, 2010 at 9:11 AM ^

In 1995-96, the regular season jerseys were made by Cliff Keen and used the dazzle-cloth that this jersey appears to have. Nike made a set (blue, white and maize) that used Air-kint material (little holes in the cloth). Michigan wore the maize jersey in every game during the playoffs. The players kept the maize jersey they wore in the Championship game. The rest of the playoff set was sold to a memarobilia dealer. The regular season set (white, blue and maize) were sold through the U-M hockey auction as desribed in the EBAY listing.

 

Long story made short, this appears to be a regular-season, game-worn jersey from 1995-96. It does not appear to be the jersey John Madden wore in the Championship game in Cinncinati.

As background, I owned a #4 white (Chris Frescoln) from the playoff set and still own the #29 maize (Greg Malicke.) I have been colecting U-M jerseys and hockey memorabilia since 1994. At one time, I have owned about a dozen different game-worn Michigan hockey jerseys and have 4 NHL game-worn jerseys of former Michigan players (2 Mike Komisarek (Montreal), 1 Cam Stewart (Boston), 1 Aaron Ward (Detroit)) as well as a Team Canada jersey worn by Jason Botterill in the gold-medal game of the World Junior Championship.

BoBo24

July 14th, 2010 at 11:16 AM ^

I saw your comment about paperwork maybe not being provided 15 years ago. I have bought items in the past few years but not that far back. I have received paperwork for each item, including a letter indicating tax deductibiity for a couple of items (which I find very odd). As I said, I have not purchased anything that far back either, though 1996 is not the dark ages of sports so it is not unreasonable to expect that they would have provided paperwork.

Even if the jersey is genuine, without paperwork it affects the value. If you intend to wear it, having no paperwork is not a problem. If you ever want to sell it someday, smart buyers will ask for paperwork. If you don't have paperwork, the authenticity will always be in question.

FWIW, I exchanged emails with the seller and he has no paperwork. I have an email into Dekers to see if they recall the jersey or have any paperwork. If they reply, I will let the board know.

Hobo5589

July 14th, 2010 at 12:01 PM ^

I don't know when Michigan started giving out letters of authenticity with their jerseys, but most Nike jerseys I see from the earlier 2000's did not include a LOA.  To be honest, it is really easy to tell replica jerseys from real deal michigan jerseys.  You have bought jerseys before so you know how much nicer the real deal jerseys compared to the ones in MDEN.  Anyone who has collected UM hockey jerseys can look quickly tell a fake and real one.  That is my opinion, but I am sure most people who collect UM jerseys would agree with me.  Red Wings jerseys on the other hand are pretty easy to fake, so LOA is very important for those jerseys.  

Also I don't know when the idea of LOA became popular, but I am sure any serious collector would buy a jersey if it is the real deal.  I am not an expert on determining value, but I would guess that LOA only matter for some jerseys.  Also if they are in the business of jersey collecting they most likely know how to tell the different between the real deal and fakes.  And/or they know experts who can help them out.    

BoBo24

July 14th, 2010 at 7:56 PM ^

it is really easy to tell replica jerseys from real deal michigan jerseys

It is very easy to replicate almost anything today. Please do not tell people it is easy to tell the difference between originals and fakes/repros because it is not.

I sent an email to Dekers and received one back. They said they can authenticate it but need more info. I relayed the request to the seller but have not received a response.

Trying to determine the authenticity of memorabilia with no paperwork is extremely difficult. Do not tell people on this board anything different. We are all Michigan fans.

Hobo5589

July 14th, 2010 at 10:19 PM ^

Well, maybe I am a bigger collector than most people but it is hard to replicate a few things.  It is hard to replicate the exact jerseys that the players would have worn cause the only way you can get them is through people who worked for the team or people who played on the team.  If it were that easy to replicate a team issued football jersey then you would see a million of them on ebay.  There are some people who try to sell fake Nike michigan jerseys from asia and whatnot.      

Also, I was talking about retail authentic jerseys and replica jerseys.  When I said real deal I meant like the $150 ones in MDEN.  I never said anything about it being easy to determine if something was game worn or if it was game used.  Michigan players get to keep all their stuff so Michigan football doesn't have a sale like the UM hockey team.  So really it comes down to who is selling the jersey and how he/she got it.  So in the sense that it is hard to determine if something was really game worn or team issued for the UM football team is very hard because there are not LOA for them.           

TurfGuy

July 16th, 2010 at 12:26 PM ^

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you.  Work comes first............

 

The newest jersey I have is a white Ryznar.  I also have a maize Vancik, white Magnusson, blue O'Malley............. I have a couple more that i can't think of off the top of my head.

 

I haven't collected any recently, partly due to monetary reasons, partly due to being more officially involved with the team.  I can't wear jerseys to the games any more, so I can't justify spend $150 or more for a jersey that will sit in the closet.  I also have a LOT of practice jerseys.  I usually pick up one a year.

Hobo5589

July 16th, 2010 at 12:50 PM ^

No problem about the responses.  I understand work has to come first.  



Those are some sweet jerseys.  I was just wondering if you had any adidas jeresys or the last Nike jerseys.  But i guess I you wouldn't due to the reasons that you listed.  

I don't have any practice jerseys, but I want to start getting some in the next few years.  One problem is that I can't always make the garage sale.  I have been collecting hockey jerseys the past two years and as I am sure you know, the demand and prices of some of the jerseys are INSANE.  I could not believe it when I heard the prices.

Hobo5589

July 18th, 2010 at 8:14 PM ^

Yea, those jersey prices are insane.  I really only look for Michigan jerseys(and red wings) though.  I have not really found a decent site to buy UM jerseys from.  I just know a collector or two that gets them at the end of the year. 

stankoniaks

July 13th, 2010 at 3:10 PM ^

I must shamefully confess that when I read this subject line, I thought, "wow, I knew John Madden (the other John Madden) won a Super Bowl but I didn't know that he won a NC too."  I also thought that it must be a damn big jersey too.

Hobo5589

July 13th, 2010 at 4:14 PM ^

I guess I am just adding on to the idea of ebay watch,but recently someone just posted a game worn Lamarr Woodley jersey on ebay.  The guy is asking for $1500 or best offer but I contacted the buyer and said that he would take $1200 for it...

I can't seem to post the link but if you go on ebay and search game worn lamarr woodley michigan jersey you should see it.