Old Riley on Ebay?

[kev267]

Hi all
just spotted this antique Riley cue on ebay but does it look genuine to the experts?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1611171456...84.m1438.l2649

[tomeestrings]

Not really enough pictures but the screws on the butt plate are replacements as they are far too big !!! But its all relative to final price ?

[100-uper]

Leaving aside the question of whether the badge and cue belong together, I reproduce details of the competition referenced on the badge which started in October 1902:

It ran for almost five years to July 1907, and although the World of Billiards was a weekly publication during the billiards season, it reverted to monthly during the summer. On the basis of two cues per issue, you can see that there were quite a few of these in circulation by the end of the competition.

If you could link a name with the cue, I would be able to tell you the date, size and location of the break, and other associated details.

[kev267]

incredible piece of information as usually 100-uper

does anyone know if Riley ever produced cues with weights stamps showing the OZ above the numbers?

[DeanH]

looks like they either had sideways or no OZ
see as a starting point
http://www.thecuecollector.com/EJRileyWeightStamps.html

[kev267]

perhaps not a genuine Riley cue then by the looks

[ADR147]

I think the cue is absolutely genuine. the owner of the hustler club in newcastle used to have a pair of these.

[kev267]

so Riley did stamp some shafts with OZ above numbers Andrew?

[ADR147]

so Riley did stamp some shafts with OZ above numbers Andrew?

of course - people get hung up on where stamps are and what stamps are used but some cues were not stamped some are stamped by trainees etc etc there are not fixed rules, cues are a feel thing, as soon as you start believing nonsense about how cues are stamped you will find one that does not fit, i have a friend who has a ye olde ash with the stamp sideways on but we know the cue is right because he has the original receipt! maybe an easier way to look at this stuff would be this, there are only 3 or 4 people who could make this cue as a replica/fake and all of them would charge you £400-£500, how much do you think the cue is worth?

[perpetualboredom]

Probably about 5m people who could attached a badge to a cue Andrew... Not that I'm casting any doubts on this cue though.
Im sure you've bought at least one in your recent batch of cues from Wales.. I counted several dodgy cues (knowing where they came from it doesn't surprise me), I think many went before you bought the remaining cues though.

[ADR147]

Probably about 5m people who could attached a badge to a cue Andrew... Not that I'm casting any doubts on this cue though.
Im sure you've bought at least one in your recent batch of cues from Wales.. I counted several dodgy cues (knowing where they came from it doesn't surprise me), I think many went before you bought the remaining cues though.

maybe to attach it but to make a badge? - not seen them yet in the flesh but the inman is not right. i bought the cues for the racks really!

[perpetualboredom]

The old badge inman is definitely just a badge stuck on a cue, Tony did that himself. If the diggle is original stevie wonder fit the badge as it's about an inch oversize for the cue.. the other that stands out was a Tom Reece cue, but that's already been sold on ebay, so you didn't get that one. Unfortunately the orignal owner had his arse raped by a collector in south wales, and paid top money for some right old ****e. He sold a "yoa", which has never seen a YOA for £180 a few weeks ago, he paid over double that for it too. I was pretty angry to hear some of the "great deals" he'd been done to be honest.

Rest of the cues not bad really, 6-7 came from me, so those are nice cues! Just didn't have the heart given the situation to offer 20-30 a cue (which I'd need to do to ensure not making a loss).

[ADR147]

The old badge inman is definitely just a badge stuck on a cue, Tony did that himself. If the diggle is original stevie wonder fit the badge as it's about an inch oversize for the cue.. the other that stands out was a Tom Reece cue, but that's already been sold on ebay, so you didn't get that one. Unfortunately the orignal owner had his arse raped by a collector in south wales, and paid top money for some right old ****e. He sold a "yoa", which has never seen a YOA for £180 a few weeks ago, he paid over double that for it too. I was pretty angry to hear some of the "great deals" he'd been done to be honest.

Rest of the cues not bad really, 6-7 came from me, so those are nice cues! Just didn't have the heart given the situation to offer 20-30 a cue (which I'd need to do to ensure not making a loss).

actually seen a fair number of diggle that i think stevie wonder worked on! - the seller tony had already lost the cream i think, i bought the rest because i had a mate who was willing to go pick them up for me and i fancied the racks - also felt a bit sorry for him having lost the cream for pennies. in the end i paid £2k for 48 cues most of which are worth around the £40 mark i guess.

[perpetualboredom]

Aye he rang me up while Chris was there to see if he should accept - I said it's a lot of effort to sell that number for cues for not a lot of return, ebay fees, time effort etc. Plus you list them up all at once and they go for nothing - I picked up a lot of cues for peanuts when Ian Davies was selling his collection 20 cues a time, and flooding the market...

The Thurston cue astounded me, it was at craftsman cues for several years - I know what he paid for it, and I had no idea it'd sell for £500 - I put it in the 100+ pile when I was going through the cues, and wasn't all that confidant in that, it didn't impress me much in the hand.. someone's done well.

[ADR147]

i didn't think it would get £500 but i would have guessed £300. i figured at £2k i could not actually lose much if anything plus a fair few are interesting cues, the gilesports etc etc.