Mike Erwin Cue Value

[Wydaho]

Hello All,

New here. I am trying to get a rough value on this Mike Erwin cue. Guessing cue was made late 90's to mid-2000s. Can see on the clear coat on the butt has peeled a touch. I'm thinking at the minimum a spot repair is worth it, what about refinishing the butt? Overkill? I'd also like to play this cue but at the same time I am not sure if it's better off keeping as a collectors piece? I know Mike didn't make a ton of cues, but at the same time they aren't unicorns. Regardless of collect-ability, or lack there of, I do think it's a good looking cue. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks so much.

 

[Jimmy_Betmore]

It's a nice cue. Do what Mike made it for and play with it. And unless you decide to use it as a whiffle ball bat, you're not going to hurt it by playing with it. I'd also skip the refinish if you're going to play it, too, because a refinish isn't going to make it play any better. And it'll most likely eventually smack the side of a table or a spectator chair foot rest. If the day comes that you "retire" it for display or whatever, then maybe consider a refinish. As far as value goes, I can't help you. I'm not familiar enough with Mike's cues to know what they might go for.

 

[cue fix]

This cue or one just like it sold on eBay a few days ago for far more than I thought it would. I see Erwin cues for sale, but I never see them sell for high dollar. I like this more than most Erwin’s I have seen

 

[Wydaho]

Figuring a price is always hard. I like it quite a bit more than others I’ve seen. I doubt the inlay is ivory. Color is wrong, no cross hatching, if it’s sharp and nice. I like the color inlays and the skill to do them. My understanding is they weren’t common. How does that translate to value? Who knows. I liked it. Could afford if. Perhaps that’s enough.

 

[straightline]

The screw on bumper is really out of its element.

 

[vintagecollectibles831]

It's a nice cue. Do what Mike made it for and play with it. And unless you decide to use it as a whiffle ball bat, you're not going to hurt it by playing with it. I'd also skip the refinish if you're going to play it, too, because a refinish isn't going to make it play any better. And it'll most likely eventually smack the side of a table or a spectator chair foot rest. If the day comes that you "retire" it for display or whatever, then maybe consider a refinish. As far as value goes, I can't help you. I'm not familiar enough with Mike's cues to know what they might go for.

Yeah, I feel that refinishing is for the Collectors, to display on their wall, or wherever, and not for Players to do, unless there are players who really need their cue to be mint.

 

[vintagecollectibles831]

Hello All,

New here. I am trying to get a rough value on this Mike Erwin cue. Guessing cue was made late 90's to mid-2000s. Can see on the clear coat on the butt has peeled a touch. I'm thinking at the minimum a spot repair is worth it, what about refinishing the butt? Overkill? I'd also like to play this cue but at the same time I am not sure if it's better off keeping as a collectors piece? I know Mike didn't make a ton of cues, but at the same time they aren't unicorns. Regardless of collect-ability, or lack there of, I do think it's a good looking cue. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks so much.

The only thing that I can think to do is look at sold ebay auctions, over the last 3 years.

Here is a nice one, for example, that auctioned off for $925, a few years ago, in 2023.

It always comes down to how much someone is willing to pay, on the day that they are willing to pay it. An item might sell one day for $1k, and then the same exact item might only sell for $500 a week later.

So, putting a value on a item., like a used pool cue for example, is kind of pointless.

People can give you opinions, but they have no real value. They are only opinions, and talk is cheap, as the old saying goes.

 

[Jimmy_Betmore]

The only thing that I can think to do is look at sold ebay auctions, over the last 3 years.

Here is a nice one, for example, that auctioned off for $925, a few years ago, in 2023.

It always comes down to how much someone is willing to pay, on the day that they are willing to pay it. An item might sell one day for $1k, and then the same exact item might only sell for $500 a week later.

So, putting a value on a item., like a used pool cue for example, is kind of pointless.

People can give you opinions, but they have no real value. They are only opinions, and talk is cheap, as the old saying goes.

Yep. Sold Ebay auctions are going to be about your only real source for a value. The Blue Book of Pool cues can kind of get you in the ballpark for some of the big names. But it's expensive to pick up on the secondary market because it's out of print. And, when it comes to Ebay, you're rarely comparing what you have to something really close to it. But you can at least get an idea of what your cue might sell for based on how intricate yours is compared to the sold ones.

I'm in several cue groups on FB and people are constant asking "what is my XYZ cue worth?" In the event that I chime in with an opinion, I always include the caveat that the price is extremely dependent on how long they're willing to hold onto it and that my value is an opinion and a range simply because there are so many variables in play (straightness, condition, number of shafts, location, cue age, materials, season, etc...) Also, to your point, prices fluctuate pretty wildly. A cue that sold for $1500 last month might bring $2k or $750 today.

 

[Chopdoc]

I'd also like to play this cue but at the same time I am not sure if it's better off keeping as a collectors piece?

Play the cue.

Collector piece? Are you a collector?

As has been said, it's worth basically what someone will pay. Sold auctions can provide an idea.

 

[Chopdoc]

The screw on bumper is really out of its element.

Why?

I have a thing for bumpers. Just wondering what you think.

 

[straightline]

Why?

I have a thing for bumpers. Just wondering what you think.

Cheap looking thick, double rings not withstanding the bumper is crude and tacked on to boot. Nothing you can do about the rings but the bumper detracts even further. Maybe new rubber would display better. The rest of the work appears well done.

 

[Chopdoc]

Cheap looking thick, double rings not withstanding the bumper is crude and tacked on to boot. Nothing you can do about the rings but the bumper detracts even further. Maybe new rubber would display better. The rest of the work appears well done.

I thought you had a problem with it being screwed on.

Anyway, it looks off center, that messed with me. And it does not look recessed, or minimally so. To me, that same bumper would look great if centered and well recessed.

 

[straightline]

I thought you had a problem with it being screwed on.

Anyway, it looks off center, that messed with me. And it does not look recessed, or minimally so. To me, that same bumper would look great if centered and well recessed.

I do. Screwed on is to me the most obvious minus. Looks like an afterthought. Recessed would work but now that's a mod - don't know how that works collectorwise.

 

[Chopdoc]

I do. Screwed on is to me the most obvious minus. Looks like an afterthought. Recessed would work but now that's a mod - don't know how that works collectorwise.

I have no preference for the type of attachment, it varies with the design. Overall I guess I might prefer it to be screwed on rather than pressed. Maybe. But the old pill bumpers and mushroom bumpers have their appeal to me on the right cues.

I wasn't implying the cue should be modified, just that I would have liked the bumper installation better if done differently originally.

 

[vintagecollectibles831]

Yep. Sold Ebay auctions are going to be about your only real source for a value. The Blue Book of Pool cues can kind of get you in the ballpark for some of the big names. But it's expensive to pick up on the secondary market because it's out of print. And, when it comes to Ebay, you're rarely comparing what you have to something really close to it. But you can at least get an idea of what your cue might sell for based on how intricate yours is compared to the sold ones.

I'm in several cue groups on FB and people are constant asking "what is my XYZ cue worth?" In the event that I chime in with an opinion, I always include the caveat that the price is extremely dependent on how long they're willing to hold onto it and that my value is an opinion and a range simply because there are so many variables in play (straightness, condition, number of shafts, location, cue age, materials, season, etc...) Also, to your point, prices fluctuate pretty wildly. A cue that sold for $1500 last month might bring $2k or $750 today.

Yeah, for example, I had one of the higher end Meucci Originals, in mint / flawless condition, and it auctioned off for around $1300 on ebay. About 6 months later, I had the exact same Meucci Originals, that I had refinished by Proficient, just like my last one, and the 2nd time around, I think it only auctioned off for around $900, iirc. Both cues were identical, and in flawless condition, after being refinished by Proficient Billiards, and they were both straight.

 

[vintagecollectibles831]

I thought you had a problem with it being screwed on.

Anyway, it looks off center, that messed with me. And it does not look recessed, or minimally so. To me, that same bumper would look great if centered and well recessed.

I have seen screw on, where the screw is part of the rubber, and I have seen screw on, where an actual metal screw, screws into the butt end, on order to hold the bumper on place. And, some cues have no screw at all, and just fit super tight into the slot that they were made for.

I never really cared, just so it was all done correctly, and looks nice and even..

 

[Wydaho]

Thanks for all your thoughts everyone.

 

[maha]

never heard of him so probably many others haven't as well. so little collector value.
besides i wonder why some have a not so big name maker build them a cue that isnt just a playing cue. thinking it will have some great collector value.

 

[vintagecollectibles831]

Thanks for all your thoughts everyone.

Hi, You may already know that Mike Erwin was the head shop foreman at Meucci cues for a long time, from what I read about him in the past.

Well, I always thought it was crazy that a custom one of a kind Mike Erwin cue never commanded as much money as a Production Meucci cue, which always seemed to be the case, in the past.

That just never made any sense to me, but always seemed to be the case, with used Erwin cues.

 

[vintagecollectibles831]

never heard of him so probably many others haven't as well. so little collector value.
besides i wonder why some have a not so big name maker build them a cue that isnt just a playing cue. thinking it will have some great collector value.

Well, Mike Erwin was the head foreman (head cue maker) at Meucci for a very long time. Just not sure what years he was there. Probably during the golden age of Meucci Originals though, as his son is like the leading expert that all collectors send their cues to for Meucci Originals restoration.