My $50 pawn shop cue.......

H

Hutchfish

Registered
Here's my raggity ol' piece of wood I picked up in a pawn shop for $50.:cool:

It was made by the A. E. Schmidt Co. of St. Louis, Mo. I have been told by reliable sources(a billiard magazine collector who found an ad with this cue pictured in it) that it is the model SC2. The new price for the cue in the old magazine ad was $495.00. I can't believe how many people have sworn to me this is a McDermott....even tho it carries the AES mark on one side of the butt and the nickname "Pudge" on the other LOL!!!

It has four BEM points layered with 4 veneers in a cocobolo forearm, natural unfinished undyed Irish linen wrap, with six ebony diamonds inlayed with french cut diamonds on the butt. It is standard length and has a 14mm shaft with a 3/8-10 joint pin and a flat face joint. The stick is heavy. Although I have never weighed it, it is well over 20 oz, but it is a very nice playing cue and handles very well. It is my regular shooting cue and I even break with it. It is one of best breaking cues I have ever played with. It's as straight as an arrow and rolls absolutely true put together or apart. I use French Lepro tips when it needs it.

After speaking with Paul Huebler himself on the phone yesterday afternoon(4-4-07), it could be very possible that this cue may be 40-50 years old. That estimate falls in line with the date of the magazine that had the ad. Mr. Huebler used to work for A. E. Schmidt "back in the day", hence my phone call to him to inquire about this cue. It was a pleasure to speak with him again.

I have personally seen one other example of this cue. One of the Schmidt family who owns a billiard supply store in Columbia, Mo owns one and was pleasantly surprised when he seen mine setting on his counter when I was in his store a couple of summers ago.:D

Here's a couple of clickable thumbs, hope you enjoy.




 
Thanks! for the info!

But that leads me to a question or three. Would McDermott make a cue then put somebody else's logo on it? I'm not quite sure how that would work, maybe you could shed some light on that? Also, of the people who I've talked to thus far, no one has definitivly come right out and said that Schmidt contracted with McDermott to make cues for them. From what I understand from speaking with Mr. Huebler, A. E. employed a cuemaker of their own in shop on site. Any further info would be greatly appreciated.

And given these facts, another question that I have is regarding the value of this cue for insurance purposes, I have NO INTENTION of selling it at this time. If this is indeed a C-11 forearm with a custom butt sleeve, would that make it more or less valuable than a normal McDermott C-11. I was quite surprised at the market values of some of those cues on McD's website.

And lastly, I have recently entertained thoughts of having this cue refinished/restored. Would this affect it's value one way or another(meaning would the value go up or down and would the cost of the work be worth it)??? And would it be better to send it to McD to have the work done as opposed to local craftsman?
 
1. yes mcdermott made cues for other people without the Mcd logo and the customers instead. 2.there are many so called cue experts who havent a clue. 3. it could possibly be a sample that Mcd tried to sell to aeschmidt, however, i think they made several models for them. 4. over the years schmidt employed many people in their cue making side of the business, i think they found it easier just to contract it out. 5. the value is only what someone would pay you for the cue. most just collect the standard Mcds. 6. lots of cue refinishers on this forum. but Mcd does great work also. 7. im in contact with the Mcd family, will try to find out more.
 
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