Balabushkas - How Many are left
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I think your number is low.
I think probably twice that.
Some were mis-identified by accident, some out and out forgeries.
Ken
I think from people who I know who knew him he may have made quite a few more cues then people think. I know a guy who played at the pool room where he would go and it was not uncommon for him to walk in with a cue and leave without it.
In the Billiard Encyclopedia on page 328 there is a copy of a receipt for shaft wood. The order is for 960 pieces of shaft wood. That is a lot of wood for a guy who only made like 1000 cues in his whole life.
I think he may have made a number of cues that didn't follow the formula he later was known for that made his cues identifiable. It has been about 15 years since I met someone who had one in the closet and didn't really know what they had.
Most that are still out there are probably identified and accounted for. I still have two. but I only know one other guy other then a collectors who has a Balabushka sitting under a bed not yet cashed in. I had three others but over the years as they say I got, an offers I could not refuse. I am not a collector I have just had them around for a few decades.
I am confused if the estimate for the number produced is only 1200 at maximum then how can 1400 still be around?
I bought one back in the 80s for only $100 wow what a deal :smile:
Later found out the cue was stolen so i gave it back to the owner :frown:
Later found out the cue was stolen so i gave it back to the owner :frown:
Its a joke. Its because there are plenty of fakes out there.
You can't really fake them. To start with the cue would have to be almost 40 years old. There are a number guys that can easily spot a so called fake cue.
There are not fakes floating around everywhere.
I don't know of one actual legit sale that turned out to be fake and people were fooled. Maybe some idiot may buy one that they would be the only one dumb enough to buy it but you are not fooling a knowledgeable cue buyer.
Now if you want to talk about fakes
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101883857
I almost bought a fake GTO once.
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Probably more fake Southwest cues.
Easier to do, less inspected.
Think of it this way. You have fake $100 bills and fake $20 bills. Which do you think are going to get looked at closer.
Do you really think you can duplicate a cactus on pin?
Just saying.
Ken
Easier to do, less inspected.
Think of it this way. You have fake $100 bills and fake $20 bills. Which do you think are going to get looked at closer.
Do you really think you can duplicate a cactus on pin?
Just saying.
Ken
Although only 1200 were made it is interesting that 1400 still survive. A guy on our 8-ball team has a cue that he tells everyone it is a Balabushka not to try and trick anyone out of money but just to see how they react. It is amusing as they carefully examine it an comment how this joint or that point indicates it really is a Balabushka. We laughing ly call it Balabullshit. It is just for fun but when they act so much like experts about it and determine it is indeed a Balabushka we don't have the heart to tell them the truth.
I know, I know. We are bad men; very bad men.
The question never suggested how new or old the cue(s) might be.
I have seen quite a few fakes in the N.Y. N.J area.
Years ago there were fakes going to Japan.
I know quite a few old timers that have Bushkas sitting in the closet.
They will not part with them, they are going to their children and or grandchildren.
Believe me I have tried, and not to steal them. I have shown them what they may be worth, they just don't care. I wanted to help them get a LOA from Pete, they don't want any part of it, they say let the kids worry about that, I will tell them the value.
Some of these are rare beauties.
The Wedding Cue Bushka that was getting a lot of attention belonged to my friend Walter,he stopped playing and wouldn't part with it, he left it to his brother.
Years ago there were fakes going to Japan.
I know quite a few old timers that have Bushkas sitting in the closet.
They will not part with them, they are going to their children and or grandchildren.
Believe me I have tried, and not to steal them. I have shown them what they may be worth, they just don't care. I wanted to help them get a LOA from Pete, they don't want any part of it, they say let the kids worry about that, I will tell them the value.
Some of these are rare beauties.
The Wedding Cue Bushka that was getting a lot of attention belonged to my friend Walter,he stopped playing and wouldn't part with it, he left it to his brother.
Some are that old, and fool pretty smart folks. There was more than one Verl Horn cue (they were almost contemporary to Balabushka) that sold two or three times as a real Balabushka. Not that Horn tried to counterfeit a Balabushka, he just made a similar style cue that even some very knowledgeable folks innocently believed were genuine Balabushkas. There have been other cuemakers whose cues were mistaken for them in the past...some weren't even close, some (especially contemporary Titlist conversions) would need Pete Tascarella to investigate. Sure, there are idiots bragging about their supposed Balabushkas that are really Adam, Helmstetter or Joss cues.
For the sake of discussion, if he was making cues for 15 years and made 1,000 cues that would be 1.25 cues per week. And remember that he was not making cues from scratch. He was either doing conversions or making cues from blanks purchased from Brunswick, Spain, or Szamboti.
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They are still poping up from time to time ,ive seen some on ebay and people did not know what they had!…and i believe there are as many as 13-1400 of them no one really knows the exact amount he made not even george himself. he did not keep paper work like gus did!
Regardless if a portion were conversions, 1 1/4 cues per week is a great accomplishment.
I could be wrong, but I thought that there were indeed a few cues completely made by George.