33 replies to this topic

[Bob Zager]

Interesting stuff here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item1c1b71e60a
(Looks like Burt & Bert's signatures are embroidered)

http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item2eb4f5823c
(Seller doesn't seem to know their from the NBC versions of "High Rollers")

http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item43a4248ea2
(A rare photo on the set of "Word for Word")

http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item3a6456a632
(Seen a similar photo, only Hugh and Bob are shaking hands in this one)

[clemon79]

The dice are gone. :)

(Yes, they may be fakes, though if they were you'd think the seller would call out the show directly. Don't care. You know that "if you could have ONE prop" thread that pops up from time to time? Assuming that the Card Sharks cards don't exist, this is mine. Happy Birthday to me.)

[tvwxman]

Did that literally end minutes ago? Damn. Congratulations.

[clemon79]

tvwxman, on 09 May 2011 - 02:44 PM, said:

Did that literally end minutes ago? Damn. Congratulations.

Better than that, it was a Buy It Now. So yeah, it ended as soon as I locked in my PayPal info. :)

I'm sitting there looking at it, thinking "You know, I'd go as high as $50 for these, but they'll probably go for $100+." And then I realized I didn't have to. And I just turned 40 last Wednesday and hadn't gotten myself a present yet.

And so I clicked figuring they were long gone since I'd been looking at it for a minute or so, but nope. And honestly when you're looking at Bakelite dice in those sizes at Friendly Local Game Stores they go for somewhere between $20 and $25 a pop, usually, for a single die. So, like I said up there, even if they *are*, fakes, if the auction said "THESE ARE FAKE 100% INAUTHENTIC REPLICAS OF DICE USED ON A '70S GAME SHOW", I'd have pulled the trigger anyhow. The fact that they *may* be genuine is just gravy.

I've since emailed the seller asking if she remembered how she came into them (really curiosity, not out of trying to detect their authenticity or anything), and she replied:

Quote

My career was in the entertainment industry, and I was given these as a gift many, many years ago by a friend who worked at the CBS studios where several game shows were taped. I recently found them among some in some boxes of things I was going through... I'm a bit torn about selling them, but I'm retired, am traveling more, and need to lighten my load. I know you'll love these--they're such a talk piece! Enjoy!

So I'm inclined to think they're legit. I'll have my lab analyze them for wine stains when they arrive.

[Matt Ottinger]

That is several layers of wonderful.  I absolutely believe they're legit, for the reasons you stated and more.  The only caveat is that if your seller is right about the connection being a CBS guy, then the dice are probably from Wink's late 80s version.  Alex Trebek's show was taped in NBC's Burbank studios.

[Kevin Prather]

Matt Ottinger, on 09 May 2011 - 04:08 PM, said:

That is several layers of wonderful.  I absolutely believe they're legit, for the reasons you stated and more.  The only caveat is that if your seller is right about the connection being a CBS guy, then the dice are probably from Wink's late 80s version.  Alex Trebek's show was taped in NBC's Burbank studios.

If the snapshot in the auction is accurate, they're definitely the Trebek style dice, with the rounded corners.

[clemon79]

Matt Ottinger, on 09 May 2011 - 04:08 PM, said:

The only caveat is that if your seller is right about the connection being a CBS guy, then the dice are probably from Wink's late 80s version.  Alex Trebek's show was taped in NBC's Burbank studios.

Thought of that. I was thinking that the connection at CBS could have been working on Gambit, also in the H-Q fold, and therefore might have had access to HR props, considering how incestuous the GS industry is. The Wink version had a very different, more-squared-off dice design (more like regular dime-store dice), so they are definitely not from there. If these are High Rollers dice, they are NBC High Rollers dice.