First off, my thanks to the original poster of this thread for sharing my auctions with the guys here on Club Cobra. For those of you that do not frequent the advertiser's sub forum, I always post a link to my eBay items there when I put new ones up. The thread for this weeks auctions can be seen at the following link:
FOR SALE: 20 Fantastic Original Items Listed, Signed Pieces, 1 of 1s, LIT/MEM!
Also, a link to my current eBay items which contain the item highlighted in this thread and 19 other nice items can be seen here:
vernonestes | eBay
All in all my name is Vernon Estes, just like my eBay name "vernonestes". This forum is actually the only forum I dont use my own name on. I go by "TheTurd" here. (This is in reference to the nickname Ken Miles gave to CSX2196)
I have been selling original Shelby American literature, memorabilia, and parts since I was 12 years old. I probably sell a couple thousand original items a year. I have an active eBay store but I sell most of my stock to a network of private collectors. I send out a weekly email on which I offer some of the best original items available, from more common items like postcards and brochure to the rarest of the rare, 1 of 1 pieces. About 400 people are on the email list. If you are interested in that sort of stuff and would like to recieve the email, you can sign up to receive it at this link:
Original Shelby Literature and Memorabilia (Your email is never used for any other purchase other than the literature and memorabilia email and it is not shared with anyone.)
Over the last year, I have also moved into buying and selling used cars.
My website can be seen here:
VERNON ESTES CLASSICS
As you can see, I am a pretty public guy and I stand behind every item which I sell. From the posts above and below, it is clear that some clarification needs to be made on the item which is being discussed here. I am happy to respond to the various opinions below.
PS- All of this sounds like self promotion (and it is) but I am a trusted source for Shelby American literature and memorabilia and people who deal with me know that I stand behind everything which I sell. I know what I am looking at, I dont sell reproductions (aside from rare occasions where it is clearly marked as one), and when people publicly challenge the authenticity of an item offered I have to publicly defend the item because reputation is all that a guy in my field has. When someone who is not knowledgeable in a subject claims that an item is a "rip off" he threatens to harms someones reputation even though it may not be intended. It's entirely likely that a few people have read this thread already and gotten a bad impression of me. That is a shame.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eschaider
Look at the precision of the typed wording where the variable data has been entered on the forms. The only thing that consistent is a laser printer or a inkjet printer. 1960's typewriters were not that precise and did not image their characters like they came off a modern computer controlled printer.
Notice the signatures have a much less uniform imaging with multiple points where the hand written character image simply disappears — the way it might if the scanned image of a signature were to be pasted there.
I think you are looking at a rip off!
Ed
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Hi Ed,
I appreciate your opinion but a few things need to be addressed. The typed variable data on the sheet to the right is not done by a laser printer. Nor is it done be a typewriter. I understand that the printing looks very sharp from your perspective because you are looking at the picture in an eBay ad, but I can assure you the typing is not as sharp as you think it is. Further, a quick glance at the typing under a loupe assures me beyond any shadow of a doubt that it is not laser printed.
The second clarification is that the items is not (and was never claimed to be) hand signed. Perhaps a little explanation of what the item is, seen below, will help.
This item is not a 1 of 1, hand signed item. As said in the description, these sheets were produced by Shelby American and were, reportedly, meant to be given to racers to prove that their cars had been legalized for racing. The sheets listed are not the only examples in existence. I have had two or three other examples in my time collecting. They are extremely rare. They were produced by Shelby American and, thus, are original pieces. They could accurately be referred to as "factory copies" seeing as the factory produced them off of a hand signed form in 1965. Sure would be neat to have the hand signed example.
Again, I appreciate you opinion, but this is a factory produced item and certainly not a rip off in any sense. I actually purchased these papers (and about 250 other pieces of factory paperwork) from a gentleman who worked at Shelby's accessories division in 1969 when he was 21. When the company in CA was closing, his boss told him to clean out the old file cabinets in the back. He kept everything with a picture and a signature on it for himself. (he asked his supervisor for permission of course). He kept all that stuff until 2012 when I purchased the pile from him. The pile included the hand signed, hand made FIA certifications which Shelby American received for 260, 289, and 427 Cobras. These are literally the birth certificates for the Cobra and its time on the race track. Each item has glue on pictures and hand written notes along with sign offs from the FIA, or "ACCUS" as it was known in the USA. Below you can see a picture of THE page which legalized the Daytona Coupes to run as a production GT car and, thus, win the 1965 World Championship. The picture is intentionally poor and the bow tie is there to ensure that people dont get any ideas of making fakes of the piece. You can see the signature from the President of ACCUS at the bottom. This and the other 10 or so pages from this document were hand made by Pete Brock. He has confirmed that.
Quote:
I agree with Ed. The signature isn't exactly like the one on my Coupe and Shelby signed that himself and I have the pictures of him doing it. It is close but there are some subtle differences. And the papers look remarkedly new and not even dirty in the pictures for them to be that old.
Ron
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Hi Ron,
I was relieved to hear that you don't think the signature is consistent with your signed models. The reason I was relieved is that Carroll's signature changed in many ways from his many years of signing items. His signature in 1957 looks nothing like his signature from 1969, which looks nothing like his signature from 2011. Even with each heart transplant, Carroll's signature changed significantly. The printed signature on the piece discussed is indicative of a CS signature dating from the mid 60s during the Shelby American years.
I can further assure you that the items are on period correct paper stock. Not modern paper as you seen to imply from your post.
So you all know, the above corrections are not made to sound cocky or "all knowing". Nobody knows everything and I would certainly never claim to know everything about the items in which I specialize. I do, however, know more than the average bear about literature and memorabilia. The above post is only made in an effort to defend a reputation which I have worked very hard to establish. I pride myself on offering great, original items to customers and friends. If you have not dealt with me before, please feel free to give one of those eBay items a bid or join the email list. I pack each item extremely well to ensure that they are not bent in shipment and I do everything I can to ensure that your buying experience is a great one.
Kind regards,
Vernon
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Shelby Homologation Paperwork
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