Some cue experts expect or suspect that Franklin Southwest Cues are now, or soon will be like the Gus Szamboti cues were in the 1990's. Now that just about all of the Szamboti's are in private collections, collectors are focusing on other cues, Franklin era Southwests' to be specific.
As for playability, I bought my Franklin SW in 1995 and never put it down until last year. I would say that 60% of the people who have seen it have offerred to buy it. Though my SW is not fancy, just a simple 6 pointer with a few rings, I always reply that I am only accepting offers over 3500.00. Why? Because it is the finest playing cue that I have ever owned, hit with or seen, and to me as a player, that is priceless. To that end, if somebody actually stepped up to the plate to buy it, I would probably have to decline.
Is it ok to play with such a collectable cue? Though I purchased my SW prior to Jerry's passing, I continued to play with it up until March 2003. I mean really, I bought the cue to play with it, and it still sits in my case today, just in case.
So, what in the world would I possibly replace such a remarkable cue with? Why nothing else than an original Gus Szamboti 4 point, 4 veneer cue. Worth it's weight in gold as both a collectable cue and a playing cue.
And now to make all of the other readers envious. I paid 856.00 for my SW in 1995, and bought it right from the person who ordered it 3 years prior to that date. I still have the original invoice. My partner at the time liked my cue so much, that he laid down his Black Boar and vowed to purchase a SW at the 1996 US Open. He did, buy a brand new Franklin SW at the 1996 US Open for 900.00 cash. By 1997, he stopped playing, and to this day the cue remains sealed in his Centennial Case. He gets offers from buyers who know he has it all the time, but I constantly tell him not to sell it. I tell him to forget he has it for the next 20 years, it'll be worth a fortune.
