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Helmstetter A98-6 Pool Cue Value, Info, and Background

5/27/2017 2:53:54 AM

Helmstetter A98-6 Pool Cue Value, Info, and Background

I was extremely lucky to find a fantastic looking custom cue pool stick by Helmstetter. It is a signed Helmstetter A98-6, comes in a case and has the marking "A98-6".

I found very some info about this model online, but it was quite limited in the blue book (I could have gotten more information by purchasing an online guide, but figured I'd ask around before doing so)! The info I did find online about this particular cue stick is that it's from the "Helmstetter 98 series" and it is a Blue Book level 4 pool cue. I also found out what materials it is made of (smoke stained maple, ebony, burgundy stained maple and much more). I would like to know if the info I found online is accurate, and if at all possible, more information this pool cue, such as:

  • What year it was made and/or released
  • The value of a Helmstetter A98-6 pool cue today
  • The original retail price (when released) and
  • Any and all additional information you may know

I have attached some pics for your reference and hopefully this will help.

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Helmstetter A98-6 Pool Cue Value, Info, and Background

Replies & Comments
  1. Shellfishbilliardsforum on 5/27/2017 11:29:05 AM

    Nice find. So you obviously came across the Blue Book of Pool Cue entry for the Helmstetter 98-6 pool cue.

    Smoke-stained maple forearm, three long hardwood points with ebony veneers and a pearlized plastic dot in each alternating with three short hardwood points with ebony veneers, hardwood butt sleeve with six pearlized plastic notched diamond-shaped inlays set in a maple- and ebony-bordered ebony ring with rows of six pearlized plastic dots above and below set between rows of burgundy-stained maple checks at top and bottom.

    Don't bother paying for the price info. Its over 10 years out of date (last update in ~2005). Here is an attempt to answer your requests for info on the Helmstetter 98-6 pool cue:

    • The Helmstetter 98-6 pool cue as photographed in 1999: helm98-6.jpg
    • See the bottom of my post for an old pic of the catalog page showing the whole line.
    • They were in production from roughly 1998 to 2002.
    • You could get it in weights anywhere from 19-21 ounces, in half-ounce increments
    • The "A" in the model number sytands for "Adam" - Helmstetter pool cues are manufactured by Competition Sports (Previously, the Adam Custom Cues before 1997). Competition sports also manufactures cues under the brand names; Adams, Balabushka, Competition, Nordic, Viscotti and others.
    • They were manufactured in Japan.
    • Helmstetter 98-6 MSRP was $310 originally, but you could get them all over the internet at the time for as low as $215 e.g. on sale billiard warehouse etc. (though they did jack their price to $285 around 2001). Inflated MSRPs are a very common practice... MSRPs are usually very lofty, jacked way up to the point where if that was the actual sales price, nobody would buy them. Look at Meucci cues today for some eggregious examples of this. Point is, take pool cue MSRPs with a grain of salt.
    • Value pf a Helmstetter 98-6 today? Yours is a little beat up (scuff marks, dings, worn stickers), so it won't fetch you the "collector price" (not that they are even really "collectible" at this point). You still see a lot out there from this and similar Helmstetter series' with flawless stickers like yours has... as though it was still brand new. Perhaps between $150-$200, if that, but that's just an educated guess. There isn't a ton of demand for these "more recent" Helmstetters. Since you know the model number, just watch classifieds, etc as they come up, and see what they sell for (but be careful of eBay prices - most sellers over-price and the auction never sells - so you can't use that auction's price as a value - except to tell you that it was too high of a price).

    Also a question for you - does yours have roman numerals on the butt-sleeve? Saw a couple like that.

    helmstetter-a98-6-roman-numerals.jpg

    Here is a photo of the catalog for the Helmstetter 98 series. Quality is low, but hey, it was 1998.

    helmstetter-a98-6.jpg

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Helmstetter A98-6 Pool Cue Value, Info, and Background

  • Title: Helmstetter A98-6 Pool Cue Value, Info, and Background
  • Author:
  • Published: 5/27/2017 2:53:54 AM
  • Last Updated: 5/27/2017 10:41:12 AM
  • Last Updated By: billiardsforum (Billiards Forum)