Hello, everyone.

This is a real long shot, but can anyone help me locate the ball shown in the poster below? I need the King of Diamonds to complete my much treasured Poker Ball set and will gladly pay a $100 reward for this single ball (plus the postage to Texas).

This partial set was found at a yard sale in Las Vegas, but I understand that they were created by Aramith in the 1970s for the Canadian market. There were two slight variations of this beautiful set: one with extra lettering (A, K, Q, J and 10) engraved on the sides of the balls and one without. My set is the former. I would also be very interested if anybody has full sets to sell in great condition.

I can be contacted by email on ruperman@ruperman.com

Best wishes and thank you for reading.

Ruperman.

I should order and pocket the $76 profit, but I'm feeling generous. Is this what you're looking for?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/4714355...sr_gallery-1-1

Hello, Joe.

Alas, sir, that ball is from a different poker set. Man, did I get excited when I saw that link, though! Thank you so much for trying to help, sincerely appreciated.

Best wishes.

you got some balls

You got that right, Mr C.

I have one of the largest private collections of pool balls in the world, it's become an obsession.

Pics?

Sure.

I'll post up a couple of sets now, sir, to see if any folks are interested. If they're well received, I'll put up a few more.

This dudes balls are awesome!

I'm assuming you have to keep your balls clean, but do you ever play with your balls, or are they strictly for show at this point?

This seems like a niche thread that could be very prolific and interesting.

I liked looking at ur balls.

Many thanks for the interest, ladies and gentlemen.

With regards 'to play or not to play' that is quite a contentious issue in the pool ball collecting fraternity. Some of my fellow enthusiasts believe that the sets were made to be played (albeit very carefully) and take great pleasure in rolling out their rarest sets every now and again.

Personally, I would have a mild coronary if anyone even considered racking them up, my collection is for display only, but each to their own.

I must bid you good night as it's the early hours of the morning where I am at the moment.

Thank you all for showing a new member a warm welcome to the forum, it is sincerely appreciated. I'll leave you with one more rare and beautiful set and look forward to chatting again soon.

Best wishes.

I'm going to assume all of your balls are in pristine condition.

They are, sir.

All the balls in my collection are in mint condition. I always strive to buy sets in perfect shape, but am fortunate indeed to have an exceptionally talented friend in Texas who is something of an alchemist when it comes to restoring billiard balls to their original lustrous glory.

Just as an aside, where I mentioned earlier that I have ONE of the best hoards in the country, this fine gentleman almost certainly is the proud owner of THE most impressive private collection of pool balls in the world. It is quite extraordinary.

Best wishes.

Do you have a rough estimate how much that ‘Turniersatz 9-Ball’ is going for in mint condition?

I’ve seen it on a flea market for ~$10 but that was certainly a used set.

Good morning, Madlex.

A mint condition Raschig Turniersatz (in original box and with the eight-page booklet) can sell for anything up to $500 to a collector. The box alone is worth $50 and the Bumblebee Ball $100.

With regards the box you have seen at the flea market, sir, everything really depends on the shape they're in, but $10 is way too low whatever condition so snap them up as soon as possible.

Best wishes.

A collecting buddy and myself recently paired up to buy sixteen sets of those beautiful Raschigs, discovered languishing in a dusty German warehouse. We have just sold ten of them for $475 each.

Ruperman - did you already contact blackflagsailor on azbilliards? He was looking for the full set about five years ago. I saw you made the same post there but don't know if you saw his earlier post. If he located the set, perhaps he'd be willing to sell it to you or at least let you know how he found his and provide you further leads to follow.

Hello, Chopstick.

Thank you so much for taking the time and trouble to help me out, sir, it really is much appreciated.

I did indeed see that archived thread on AZB and sent a private message to Blackflagsailor straight away. Alas, the gentleman has not yet replied, I fear he may no longer visit the site as he hasn't posted anything for quite some time.

Any other leads or ideas you might have, sir, would be very welcome. I'm desperate to find that missing ball!

Best wishes.

I don't have any other leads, but if it were me, I'd do the following depending on how badly I wanted it:

Contact Aramith for any information they have on the set (official name, manufacturing SKU, etc) as well as the production run and the sales method, including contact information for distributors.

Set up google / ebay / craigslist etc alerts based on the information you have.

If it was only/mostly sold in Canada, contact the retailers (if any) that carried it then, and the hobbyist / collectible shops and clubs in the relevant geographic regions that may carry it now, starting with the highest sales. Talk with the folks running the shops and make sure to let them know about the reward to incentive them.

Run looking for / reward ads like the one here in any related hobbyist publications & forums.

Find the person you originally got the set from and see if they have any ideas where the Kd went, unless you know it no longer exists or is unavailable.

Contact estate sale companies in the relevant regions and let them know what you are looking for. A 30 year old who bought that in the mid-70s is now in their own mid-70s, so if it's been sitting in a basement for the last 15 years and the kids decide to get rid of everything when the original owner heads to the pool hall in the sky..

Good luck in your search!