You Can Buy A Cubs World Series Ring, But It'll Cost At Least $36K, & It Might Be Fake

By Stephen Gossett in News on Oct 9, 2017 7:11PM

Getty Images / Photo: Jonathan Daniel

Cubs fans on the hunt for some retail therapy after Saturday night's gut-punch loss to the Nationals in Game Two of the NLDS have the motherlode option at their disposal: a listing for a 2016 World Series ring has now active on the auction block. But! There are two factors to consider before placing your bid. One, it'll cost you (at least) in excess of $36,000. And two, it might be fake.

As first reported by the Sun-Times on Sunday, a listing for a 2016 World Series popped up on Leland's Auctions yesterday. It was reportedly listed by an unnamed scout. The bidding started at $1,908. Get it? 1908?

It didn't take long for the price to rocket up, having spiked to $36,629 by about 2 p.m. on Monday. It also didn't take long for the organization to warn potential bidders that, you know, sometimes don't believe everything you see on the Internet. And it sounds like the Cubs are trying to get get their hands on it, too, for further investigation.

Cubs spokesman Julian Green told the Tribune in a statement:

"We are currently investigating how this ring landed on an auction site. This is not an authorized sale so we’re putting the market on notice 'Caveat Emptor'—Let the Buyer Beware for any interested buyers as this ring may be counterfeit. That said, we are taking this matter very seriously and are using every available resource to identify the authenticity and obtain this ring. Potential buyers may want to take a pass and explore other safer ways to purchase World Series memorabilia."

You might recall that when the Cubs issued World Series rings to some non-players (including goat-turned-folk-hero Steve Bartman) they were required to sell them back to the organization for just $1 if they did ever decide to sell, rather than going for the secondary-market jackpot.