My Al Capone Museum | home
MY AL CAPONE MUSEUM | Myalcaponemuseum Reviews | The Capone News | FAQ's | Mario Gomes | Al Capone's Gold Service | Al Capone's Tableware | Al Capone Shot Glass | Al Capone's Personal Silver Locket | Al Capone's Personal Dress Shirt | Al Capone's Personal Telephone | Al Capone's Elephant | Al Capone's Flatware | Al Capone's Etched Glasses | Al Capone's Personal Cuckoo Clock | Al Capone Framed Signature | Al Capone's Silver Tray | Al Capone's light fixtures | Al Capone's Personal Straw Boater? | Ralph Capone's Personal Items | Hymie Weiss Personal Prayer Book | John D. Torrio's Personal items | Louis "Two Gun" Alterie signed photo | SVD Massacre bullet fragments | Interesting items retrieved from Al Capone's Lexington office suite | Alton Hotel Relics | Al Capone Wax Figure | 7244 Prairie Avenue | 93 Palm Avenue | 93 Palm Avenue Part 2 | 93 Palm Avenue Part 3 | 93 Palm Avenue Part 4 | Renovated 93 Palm Avenue home | Renovated Palm Avenue home Part 2 | The Sad Demise Of Al Capone's Estate | Artifacts from 93 Palm Avenue | The Capone era Cicero, Illinois | The Harvard Inn | The Four Deuces (2222 South Wabash) | The Hawthorne Hotel | The Metropole Hotel | The Lexington Hotel | Al Capone's Bathroom Tile From The Lexington Hotel | Geraldo's Capone Vault Grand Opening | Lexington's Destruction | X Marks the Spot magazine | Capone Magazines and Booklets | Capone Videos | Capone Books | Knick Knacks | Capone's Chicago | Chicago photos | Capone Documents | Capone Photographs | Capone Photographs 2 | Capone Photographs 3 | My History channel Shoot | Gravesites | Gravesites 2 | Al Capone; The Early Years | Al Capone's Sister Gets Married | Al Capone Speaks On Film! | Al Capone's CPD Mugshot | Al Capone and Friends: | FDR and Al Capone's Cadillac; Truth or Myth? | Al Capone in Hot Springs | Al Capone and Miami | Al Capone goes to Atlantic City | Al Capone Goes to Cuba | The Real Al Capone Quotes | The Al Capone Interview | Al Capone and Cigars | Capone at the Ballpark | Al Capone in Wisconsin | Al Capone's Death and Funeral | The St. Valentine's Day Massacre | The Massacre Pt.2 | Massacre Victim's Stats. | Massacre News blurbs | Some Theories on the Valentine Massacre | Discounted Valentine Massacre theories | Valentine Killers? | The St. Valentine's Day Massacre Wall bricks | The St. Valentine Massacre guns today | The Infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre forensic evidence | The Adonis Social Club Incident | When, Where and How did they die? | Gangster facts and side stories | The Obituaries | Gangster talk | Gangster Fashion | Gangster Molls | William Hale Thompson | Gangland Armourers | The Chicago Typewriter | Gangster Hitspots | Mae Capone | Louise Rolfe | Charles and Rocco Fischetti | Alberto Anselmi and Giovanni Scalise | Frank Parker | William Niemoth | Jack Guzik | Samuel "Golf bag"Hunt | Jake Lingle | Frankie Yale | Samoots Ammatuna | Jack Zuta | Leo Vincent Brothers | Edward David Vogel | John D. Torrio | Joe E. Lewis | Rocco DeGrazia | Machine Gun Jack McGurn | Willie Heeney | James "Fur" Sammons | Jack "Three fingered" White | George "Red" Barker | Anthony "Tough Tony" Capezio | Frank Nitto | Dean Charles O'Banion | Samuel Morton | George Clarence Moran | Hymie Weiss | Vincent "The Schemer" Drucci | Fred "Killer" Burke | Fred Goetz | Joe Aiello | Edward "Spike" O'Donnell | The Genna brothers | Angelo La Mantia | Edward O'Hare; Hero or zero? And the myth | Frank Rio | Ragtime Joe Howard | Hinky Dink and Bathouse John | Sol Van Praag | Theodore "The Greek" Anton | Joseph P. Bergl | Daniel "Danny" Stanton | Edward Tancl | Louis & Elliott Wisbrod | Eliot Ness | Al Capone's tax trial and downfall | Al in Jail | Mr. Joe Walters | Gangster articles | Newspapers of the day | Newspapers part Two | Newspapers Part Three | Newspapers Part Four | The Green Mill | Colosimo's | Alcatraz | Alcatraz Part 2 | Al Capone goes to Baltimore | Gangster sites today | Gangster Sites part 2 | Dead Gangsters | The Famous Capone Soup Kitchen | Origins of the Scars | Al Capone Myths | Collecting Al Capone? | The truth about Al Capone's signature | Al Capone Books | Fred Pasley's Al Capone book | Other Al Capone related Books | In Memoriam | Contact Me | Capone/ Gangster Collectibles for Sale | The best Al Capone Bobblehead! | UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Collecting Al Capone?
Sadly, today there is alot of fake stuff showing up on ebay and on other auction sites. Some with no provenance at all, or some totally made up, so buyer beware. Take time to do some research. It's your hard earned money! This web page came about through the overabundant emails I have received about collecting Al Capone. Did Al and Mae sign a bat? Did Al sign this book? did Al sign this baseball? I have gotten many emails on people getting items that weren't what they expected. Hopefully this will help someone one day and of course will avoid me replying the same song in my emails to future collectors inquiring.
The typical emails I get ask where to find Al Capone related items.
Most emails are unrealistic as they expect a real authentic item to be cheap.
That's the key. You will never find an authentic item with solid provenance going cheap! period!
And on the same token, that doesn't give the right for someone to rape your wallet in selling something that is authentic.
Unfortunately, there is greed in every walk of life.
ATTENTION!!!!
Please be aware of scam artists passing fake random items as once belonging to Al Capone. eBay has recently become a haven for idiots taking random old antique household items and personally attributing them to Al Capone. It's easily spotted by the lack of provenance! They do not have any chain of ownership, and authentication is virtually non existent!I know it feels tempting, but it's complete bullshit! If you are not sure, then email me and I'll set you straight!
Can I find authentic stuff on ebay and on other auctions?
Sure!!! Absolutely!!!
Although few and far between, it does happen. You just have to know what to look for and be very, very patient.
I recently got an email from a fellow who bought an Al Capone signature. I verified it at first glance and I'm very sure it's authentic.
Although authentic, it will never sell high because as explained in another webpage here, a Capone signature is worth more when it's on a legal document, police record or bank check etc...
Documented signatures and items are very worthy. You need provenance.
Let's face it! Today anyone can even make a COA (certificate of authenticity) or notarize a paper. Even some reknowned autograph authenticators names (Frangipani and DiMaggio) have been forged to peddle the fakes.
Also stay away from overseas signatures!!! Too much forgeries! I have even seen signatures from overseas, in which the crafty devils take blank pages of a 1920 ledger or book, and use an old fountain pen with brown ink in order to forge the Al Capone name.
Cut signatures are also problematic. Why would you cut Al Capone's signature from an official document??? This raises questions and the answers better be good before buying one.
Got an email from a person who was taken in by a seller claiming an authentic Colosimo item.
The seller had twisted the words just right into making them believe that it was an authentic Colosimo matchbook printed with Al Capone as manager.
I have seen people taken in for amounts ranging from $250 to $699.
Jim Colosimo's cafe novelty matchbook.
It's simply a novelty matchbook. Many of these are up on Ebay and many people unknowingly dish out hundreds of them, much to the delight of sellers. Please be aware that these never existed as originals, and were simply a novelty Item printed from 1954 to 1978, to promote a place called the Gaslight. It was a private member club started by an advertising agency. The decor was roaring twenties with made-up ashtrays and matchbooks relating to Big Bill Thompson, Colosimo and Al Capone. Item condition as a novelty item is 15 dollars tops!
Al Capone was never a manager at Colosimo's. Even if it were true, know that Al Capone would never in a million years accept that his name be put on matchbooks showing that he was a manager. (Proof of employment). That would have led him to the slammer faster, since he had paid no income tax.
Real Colosimo matchbooks are plain, with no mention of stars and employees. Ask yourself this question: Stars names that appeared there changed weekly, so why would Colosimo's print up costly matchbooks for one event?
Now, I would never disparage the good name of any Autograph auctioneers or Ebay sellers. They are good at what they do.
They must hold their name up to higher standards in order for their solid reputations to stand out and make them profits. Unfortunately, as in everything, there are a few bad ones.
What determines value and price?
Rarity and condition determines value. As for the price, an item is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. It's as simple as that!
But isn't he a reputable dealer?
That does not make them infallable, that of which I'll get to in a minute.
I once had an authentic sig from a Capone relative who had various photos for sale. They didn't want to sell them outright and wanted them put up for auction. They asked for my help and I kindly directed them and their Capone photos over to a very reputable auctioneer (HCA Auctions) who was respectful and didn't overprice things. As a thank-you for sending them to this auctioneer, Al's relative gave me a sig and two photos of Al.
I even purchased a photo of Al and Theresa that came from them that was at this auction.
I decided to offer, as an experiment, the sig to another online auction house. Guess what? They claimed it was fake!!!! LOL!
So you see that they are not infallable. This same auction house was later selling another item that HCA auctions originally had sold to a Capone relative, but now it was at 7 times the price. The item also had no provenance (I knew exactly where it came from and from which relative).
So the item went a total of three auctions before it ended up in a private collector's hands.
That's another thing that irks me. Nothing wrong with making a profit, but it's sad to see some people who simply buy these Capone historical collectibles just to sell them immediately in order to make a quick profit and at an over-inflated price. They really don't care about the significance of the item.
When on an auction site, read closely and pay attention to the wording!
Be aware of misidentified and misrepresented items!
Shooting medals misdentified as belonging to Albert Francis "Sonny" Capone.
(Witherell's catalog)
Auction houses a lazy bunch. Most want a quick turnaround $$$, and have no time to put in actual research. Case in point are these shooting medals which legitimately came from the 2021 Capone family auction. I see some of these doing the rounds to this day at various auction houses, and some even on eBay! The misleading part is that most of these medals above were not Sonny's medals, but in fact were won by his then wife Diana Ruth Casey Capone. She was a crack shot with a gun. Upon research, and merely following the dates, we can tie these directly to her, and not Sonny. Witherell's did mention some of these belonging to Diana. Other auction houses, who now resell these unknowingly or knowingly omit that part!
Miami Herald September 8,1958.
Note Diana R. Capone wins the Expert Class. One of the medals shown above is hers and not Sonny!
In fact, many of the medals have the word Women on it!
Diana and Albert Sonny Capone. Two top shooters who enjoyed target practice.
Sonny was an accomplished marksman and gunsmith. He used to test new ammo for the Florida police dept.
Above is the Miami News 1949 published results for this medal.
Key is the date and class.1949 and Marksman. This one was Diana's, and not Sonny's.
(Medal photo Witherell's catalog)
Auction Houses
I'm not a big fan of auction houses for the following reasons.
1)They have so many high user fees, such as the famous buyer's premium and restrictions on payments. After the final hammer, your item's price is so damned inflated that you feel ripped off.
2) A few have been found guilty of fraud by having forged items up for auction or involved in shill bidding. Some have even been sent to prison for this or currently have lawsuits against them. You can google this to read the full story about these auction houses.
3) Their expert authenticators have authenticated items that turned out to be fakes.
Yes, even some so-called experts that have appeared on TV authenticated items that turned out to be fake mass-produced items and signatures. No one is immune to this bullshit! This is why I prefer buying from family members or estate sales and being my own expert. I'm not money-motivated. I do it for the love of this hobby.
One thing to point out. You will never see a warehouse load of Capone items for sale without mention of it in the news. If you start seeing items come out of the woodwork at a cheap price and with no provenance, then that's a good reason to stay away. In 2008, many people got ripped off by a company selling on Ebay who claimed to have many fake items coming from Al Capone's home. If they were real items with any shred of authentic provenance or at least a contact name from whence they came, then you had better believe that they would be showing the documents in order for the price to shoot up in their favor. If the price is way low and there is no provenance, then it can be later used as their defense at such a low starting price, what did you really expect? Something real?
If you google the person's name who signed the COA and come up with zilch, then this pretty much tells you that it's not very reputable. It's your hard-earned money, so question, question, question! Anyone can print a COA. We sure would all love to own an authentic item that's somehow linked to the historical Al Capone. I got an email from another person which all is pretty much the same as all the others I got in the past.
I saw an item once stated as personally belonging to Al Capone. It had the letter "C" engraved on it. It must be real?
Here I'm enjoying a shot of cognac in one of Al Capone's owned Italian shot glasses (No monogram).
A gift from Al's granddaughter and my Capone Girl, Diana Patricia Capone.
Not necessarily! I own some Al Capone items that have no monograms on them. Case in point is that I recently got a shot glass from Al's granddaughter that was pulled from his estate before the items were up for auction. There are faked monogrammed items too, so beware! Pocket watches, cigarette cases, belt buckles, rings, pen holder, hip flask, etc.... I know, sure, anyone can fake items, (READ BELOW) find any jewelry with the initials "C" or "A.C." and claim it as belonging to Al Capone. Ebay sometimes has these clowns trying to pass off repurposed monogrammed jewelry as belonging to Al Capone. Here are some rules to remember.
1) PROVENANCE, PROVENANCE, PROVENANCE!!! No verifiable story? Then no money!!
2) Most of Al Capone's personally owned items were only monogrammed AC or ACG, not A, nor C, or any other ***letters!! That's why it's very important to have solid provenance when acquiring these items.
3) Again, and it needs repeating!!! Only buy items with solid provenance!!! The more money the more provenance!! The story, dates and people involved have to fit the history of the item.
I can't stress this enough! The best source are items that were passed down by actual Capone family members or relatives or people that were close to the Capone family. Do your homework and if you get the chance to buy at an auction or estate sale where family members or friends are selling family items, then save your money and go for it! These are rare and hard to come by, but they do show up once in a while. It's better to bite the bullet and pay more money for something real than it is to pay little for something that is fake. Something real will always retain its value, if not more.
Al Capone did have the "C" engraved on some items, but these were not only for use by him but mostly for use by his guests, family and friends. These were not items personally attributed specifically to him. Example, the invoice from a jeweler showed he had all the cutlery and flatware engraved with a "C" for use by him and his dinner guests at The Lexington Hotel or at his Miami home. Only his personally used items were engraved with the letters A.C. or ACG.
An excellent example of someone faking an item is a cigarette case purported to be given to Al Capone by his mentor Johnny Torrio for Al's 11th wedding anniversary. I had first heard of this cigarette case back in 1990.
*** There are a handful of Al Capone's verified personal items, such as a penknife that was attached to his watch chain, a money clip, and a tie bar that had the monogram AL. These are generally items gifted to Al Capone from others. His personally bought items were always initialed A.C.
The dubious case sold for $4400 back in June 1990 at Christie's East Auction in New York City.
Some enterprising person purchased an antique cigarette case that already had a "C" monogrammed on it. The back inscription was later added to now attiribute the case to Al Capone via his mentor John D. Torrio. Alas, they didn't bother to fact check the Capone history before doing so. Note the error in the date. Be careful! Even high priced reputable auction house can sometimes be dubious with their items!
(Chicago Tribune November 4, 1990).
On June 20, 1990, reputable auction house Christie's in New York City had this engraved cigarette case that was said to have been owned by Al Capone and given to him by John Torrio, his mentor. This was featured in their East Auction. A buyer scooped it up for $4400.
The buyer was the late David Gainsborough-Roberts, a wealthy English collector who collected pretty much everything related to the famous and infamous. In an 2015 interview he did for the Jersey Evening Post, he said the following about the item;
~~~ David has in his possession a rare item of Al Capone's, which is a silver case inscribed 'To Al and Mae, 12-18-29'. It was from John Torrio, the mobster who helped build the criminal empire taken over by his protégé, Capone, and dated only ten months after the St Valentine's Day Massacre.
'I bought it 25 years ago. Nobody else recognized what it was, but I knew straight away from the inscription – ''To Al and Mae''. It was a case that was given to Al Capone and his wife on their 13th wedding anniversary by John Torrio,' said David, who was pleased to be able to acquire such a rare object.' There's nothing much of Capone's that turns up for sale because his family took it all away,' said the collector, who has a keen interest in the story. ~~~
He erroneously stated the 13-year anniversary when it was really the 11th according to the date engraved. With that being said, even the supposed correct date engraved on the item has a slight problem for me!
The cigarette case that had once made it to Christie's reputable auction house and into an unsuspecting collector's hands had a provenance that was very weak at best! The only information supplied was a brief history of Capone and Torrio and the gift of the case with a claim that Mae and Al Capone were married at St. Mary Star of the Sea church on December 18, 1918.
Any expert or person worth his salt on the Capone subject knows Al Capone and Mae Coughlin were married on December 30, 1918, and not December 18th! So where did the erroneous date of December 18 on the cigarette case come from???
That's easy to explain! The person who made up the history of this dubious item read it in a book that had that specific error in it. That or they picked it up after the error was repeated elsewhere. This erroneous date started back in 1971, when author John Keble wrote a biography on Al Capone. It was an overall good biography, but mind you, it still had some errors in it. Kobler was not entirely at fault, since back in those days real authors had to do their own actual leg work, and do some real head-breaking research! Today, authors just surf the net at home for their info or have people fact check for them. One of the major glaring errors in Kobler's book is the Capone / Coughlin marriage date of December 18, 1918.
John Kobler's 1971 with erroneous wedding date.
The person picked up an old art deco cigarette case probably with the" C" already monogrammed on it and then, with the incorrect info, they picked up in the old style on the back. The cigarette case first made it's appearance outside of the shadows in 1990. Two years later, Robert Schoenberg came out with his excellent biography of Al Capone. He mentions the corrected wedding date of December 30, 1918, because he had seen the real documents pertaining to Al's marriage ceremony. Capone's living relatives, such as his granddaughters and Mae's great-niece all confirmed the 30th, and not the 18th.
Robert Schoenberg's 1992 biography on Capone had the correct wedding date .
Capone marriage register and document.
And finally, you can't argue with the above definite proof. Here is a copy of Al Capone and Mae Coughlin's real marriage documents with the correct date of 12-30-1918! Now you know very well that John "The Brains" aka "The Fox" Torrio would not make such a foolish error with a date, especially on a gift for two people he really cared about.
As always, just because the item is found at a reputable auction house by so-called appraising experts, that does not mean they are not prone to fakes or to make mistakes! Do your own research! Demand provenance! If it's not solid or does not make sense, then just walk away! After all, it's your hard-earned money!
"I have seen his personal whiskey glass with a letter "C" on it at auction?"
Not personally his, but more for his visiting guests, which was probably originally a set of 5 or 6. Unfortunately, Al Capone did not like whiskey. He did enjoy beer, wine, champagne and an Italian apéritif before dinner. For more see Myths
I got a brass lamp that Al Capone supposedly gave to my grandmother when she did a favor for something etc....
How much is it worth?
My answer? No provenance or photos or paper work. What does this make it? Just a brass lamp! And it's worth only what an antique brass lamp is worth. The Capone tie-in just doesn't make it worth more because it's just not there. If you have no provenance, then you would be dishonest in representing it as such.
Example of Authenticity: I have the silver plated serving tray from Capone's mansion. The Florida mansion was bought by Thomas Warren Miller from Mae with all the contents inside the Palm Isle residence. I had purchased it from HCA auctions and the paperwork and research was there. I could follow who had it before and what other auction house had it in their catalog. Is it worth millions? Hell no!! and it never will! If I ever would sell it, I would never gouge the next guy who I know must like this stuff as much as I do.
This collection of items that I have amassed over the years was never about money or profits for me. I really care about this stuff and what it means (Preserving history).
I've seen an authentic Al Capone owned hat and It came from the gangster's relative
Be very careful before investing thousands on an item like that. Do the research, the person might not even be related to Al Capone or if they are related they may be lying about the item. A hat that was recently sold has proven to be a total fake. The inside tag was matched to a hat makers identification site, and the said hat turned out to be a vintage reproduction made in the 1960's. Al Capone died in 1947!
I saw some Lexington Hotel bricks on sale for a couple of hundred dollars, Is it worth it?
Hell no! Why, you may ask? Well, the reasoning is that the only things worth that amount of money is the construction material taken out of Al Capone's office.
Example: bathroom tiles, the wood parquet floor from his office with the initials A.C. in it, lighting fixtures, toilet seat, wallpaper etc...Starting in the 1980's, that office was pretty much picked clean by 1995. The hotel was and is no doubt historic, but when you figure that the building was ten stories high and about ten stories wide, then that gives you a good estimation of how many bricks are out there. Way too many!! So actually not so rare. Worth about $15 to $30 a piece (whole bricks).
There is a gun up for auction claiming to be once owned by Al Capone. What should I look for?
Most guns connected to Capone are always a real iffy affair which is the reason I never wanted to own any of these headaches. Very daunting to prove and you need provenance without doubt. Without it, the buyer can come back, complain, sue etc...
Some also recently claimed they had guns personally taken from Capone during a Miami arrest or that the gun was found in his Miami home. Guess what? Capone never had a gun on him in all his Miami arrests. One recent claim from the IRS is they have a gun taken off Capone or found in his house during his 1928 arrest in Miami? Are you kidding me? Who did the research there? The several problems with those statements are as follows;
1) Al Capone was never arrested in Miami in 1928.
2) Al Capone WAS arrested in Miami, three times on May 8, 13, and 19,1930. Every time he was arrested there was no guns ever found by police on Capone.
3) No gun was ever found in his Miami home during a police search. Capone's home was raided March 20,1930. Capone was not there at the time as he still hadn't arrived in Miami yet from his year off in Philadelphia.
West Palm Beach Post 1930. Capone's first arrest there for "vagrancy and investigation".
West Palm Beach Post 1930
Better provenance would be to see from gun company research to know what store or gun dealer it was sold to? If it’s a known gang gun dealer, then it would make it more believable. Miami or especially Chicago's Scaramuzzo, Peter Von Frantzius, Von Lengerke etc. Preferably Chicago, as opposed to Capone having a gun that was sold to a store in Tennessee, etc... I would also research the owners, trace where they lived etc.
The simple fact against it being a Capone gun is that Al Capone preferred models like the ones taken from him during arrests or mentioned in newspaper stories and police files. EX: Arrest in Chicago 1923, Arrest Joliet 1927, Arrest in Philadelphia 1929, or in 1928, for once, shooting himself in the groin on a golf course. All those guns implicated were all .38 pistols and .45 autos. Also, most but not all Capone owned gangster pistol type weapons had the hammer ground down to avoid snagging when pulling it out of a coat pocket or golf bag.
Also, past Capone guns that had once belonged to Ralph Capone now suddenly became owned by Al, thus upping the value substantially! The reality is that Al would have rather bequeathed his legal guns to his son, and not his brother.
I recently read an old story where, after Jesse James' death, his mother was a fan of Jesse visiting her at the James farm. He politely asked her if she had any of Jesse's guns. Sure enough! She had one, and sold it to the excited fan. Another visitor showed up. Eureka! Another gun! And so on and so forth! While I do not know the validity of this story, it is definitely food for thought! Especially with some of the estimated auction prices these days!
More authentic guns would be these!
There recently were two legal guns that belonged to Al Capone that were sold at Witherell's auction. These were in his son's possession ("Sonny" Albert Francis) and they were later left to Sonny's daughters after his death.
These guns would be the most authentic yet. Many gun enthusiasts claim to be fake and really have no clue what they are talking about. They think all of Al's guns were illegal and used in murders, so these can't be really Al's. Another reason they disbelieve is because one gun had modern engravings and a modern sight on it. They immediately cried, fake without even realizing Albert Sonny Capone's background with firearms. Sonny had a love for, and a great expertise at guns. They fail to realize that Sonny Capone took this authentic 1911 Colt handed down to him from his father (Al Capone), and modernized it for shooting competition! He had decided to make it his own while keeping his dad's memory close to him and enjoying his sport. He had his father's Colt engraved and added modern sights to it in order to use it for target shooting, a sport he loved and excelled at. So why was this gun so heavily bastardized from its original Al Capone ownership? Very simple! The IRS were constantly hounding the Capone family for the payment still owed from his income tax trial. Sonny, not wanting to lose it, probably had it modified to disguise it. It also seems to be restamped or overstamped.
I still get questions about this gun. Was it really Al's???? Yes, but heavily modified and disguised from it's original state.
The more visible changes were the trigger, engravings, grips, and both sights. The heavy modifications and restamping now made it Sonny's gun more than Al's. Sonny made sure the government would not get his father's momento.
(Witherell's catalog)
For me, this gun would be more authentic as belonging personally to Al Capone, and used as his legal firearm.
Why? Because I'm reminded of when Al Capone shot himself while getting in an automobile after golfing. Shot himself and grazed his inner thigh as the scar was identified during a physical in Alcatraz.
This was most probably the automatic gun that did it. I couldn't see Al putting the other huge Colt in his pant or jacket pockets.
(Witherell's catalog)
September 21, 1928.
Is there any bonefide gun connected to Al Capone?
Yes, there is one!!! It's one that belonged to William Frederick Sell, Wisconsin hunting lodge owner and guide.
Al used his gun while there and it was photographed, so as far as provenance, it is a real strong one! It came from Sell's family.
(Photos Sell's family via Hindman auctions).
Sellers gouging buyers and dishonesty!!!
Many types of people participate in auctions. Some are legitimate collectors looking for a real authentic item that belonged to Al Capone. Some others are not. There are those whose only real goal is to get the item and then immediately sell it at a higher mark up. And some really, really insane mark-ups! I know you will say "Hey, it's their business! Sure it is! But that doesn't mean you should be dishonest about it either! Now where is the dishonesty? A seller is dishonest when he charges a very high price for an item, but is not willing to take the time to answer any of your questions. That is the first red flag! The higher the price, the higher the amount of information and chain of custody that should be supplied! Answers must be provided! Why? Because one day comes for you to sell your item, you might not even get what you paid for it because you will have no answer as to how this item came to be before you got it, and, in who's posession it was before last! As I always said! Provenance, provenance, provenance!!!
Some will buy an item of clothing, cut it up into small pieces (swatches) and charge a large amount for a tiny fragment. They will not tell you how many pieces they made, and it will make you feel like it's the last one on earth. In reality, they cut up about hundreds of them!
Also, look at the wording of an item! I have seen an item bought at the Witherell's Al Capone auction being resold for a huge amount with the new owner of the said item now twisting the words, making it sound like Al Capone actually owned and used the said specific item. Turns out some of the items were only in Sonny Capone and his daughter's possession. Not Al's or Mae's at all!
Now you will see a huge price gouge by certain sellers who buy from the original auction or consequent auctions where these items make their travels over time and now sell each piece for thousands. Some even buy these at hundreds of dollars and then quickly resell at several thousand. These people are not into collecting at all or for the historical character of the item, but are more driven for a quick turn around profit by unsuspecting collectors desperately seeking an authentic Al Capone connected item.
Some of these sellers are members, spinoffs or satellites of other auctionhouses.
My dear friend Diane Patricia Capone in front of the Capone family dishware at Witherell's auction house headquarters. The 92 piece Lenox set (foreground) fetched at auction around $13,000, while the upper gold and green 100 piece Hutschenreuther Royal Bavarian china service finished out at $20,000.
(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
A good example is dishware. So let's say, as in the Capone family auction at Witherell's, the high bid for 100 pieces of dishware finished at $20,000. Each plate, bowl and saucer would average a worth of $200 a piece. The most fair amount for these would be anywhere between $300-$700. Nothing more than that, because then you are getting royally hosed! It is really not my concern or business as to whatever an individual wants to sell his item for. You can seek whatever amount you want. With that being said, it is however my duty to correctly inform whenever someone sees an item and contacts me to ask what I think before they make the purchase. I'll always be honest in my opinion. Popular or not!
Just be real patient and these items will turn up once again and sometimes at a real fair price!! Not all sellers are money driven gougers! Remember that I have seen the same items turn up several times over my three decades at this Capone collecting game!
In closing
Even though there is endless nonsense being sold out there today, just don't discourage yourself and keep at it. Items are there, though far apart. I was lucky with Capone objects as the people I dealt with were very honest, and their provenance was beyond reproach, so don't be dismayed as there are still a lot of good guys out there! It took me twenty years and many mistakes along the way to see my first real signature. It took another couple to buy one. The guy was very honest and didn't gouge me. I've seen alot of fakes before that. There are alot out there who will give you a fair price for something authentic. Better to save up for something authentic than to squander your money on many low-priced knick-knack "iffy" items that later turn out to be duds and have no resale value!
Remember that if you ever get taken, it's at least a good lesson for the next time for this is how we learn.
First Posted March 2008
|
||