VINTAGE GINACUE - LIKE NEW
ZEBRA WOOD MERRY WIDOW
(RE-BUILT BY ERNIE GUTIERREZ)
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Ginacues have always been desirable, and in recent years have become one of the most collectible cues of all time, perhaps THE most collectible. And the uniqueness of this Gina makes it even more collectible than most.
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This cue is typical of many of Ernie's early sticks. But the first thing that makes it unique is that it is made of Zebra wood, a wood that comes from Central Africa, and is often used in veneers, furniture, and musical instruments. It is seldom used in cue building, however, primarily because it is very hard and not an easy wood with which to work. It is a somewhat rare wood - not endangered but listed as
"vulnerable" due to its diminishing availability.
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This cue has an interesting history which adds to its uniqueness. In it was built by Ernie for pool player, afficionado and entrepreneur Jay Helfert. His name is still on the ring, opposite of "Ginacue." Jay still says it was one of the best cues he ever played with. However, it disappeared and turned up many years later at Ernie's shop, in bad shape and warped. Ernie called Jay, who came by the shop to look at it. He took one look at the condition it was in and said he wanted nothing to do with it.
So, Ernie ended up totally rebuilding it for a favored customer, including installing a new forearm with the last piece of Zebra wood he had. Because of the historical significance he chose to leave Jay's name on the ring. In addition, under the finish, he signed the cue anew, and put the dates 1965/2009 on it, indicating the year of original build and the year of the rebuild. I have documentation from Ernie about the rebuild, the history of the rebuild by the new owner, and also a very recent accounting of the cue's history from Jay Helfert.
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Today, the cue looks like it could have come out of Ernie's shop last week. It is pristine, never chalked or played since the rebuild, sitting in a private collection. The wood is very pretty, with bold streaks of grain and nice color.
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The butt sleeve is very typical of the designs used by Ernie in the 60s - an ebony butt with a colored ring in the middle, nickel silver rings above and below, a white ring at the top, almost always engraved with the work "Ginacue", and at the bottom, a rather long white delrin butt cap installed for durability and to enhance the overall design.
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A different view of this pretty Zebra wood.
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In restoring the cue to its original condition, Ernie wrapped it again in original old Cortland.
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At the joint, he uses one of his most popular rings, consisting of reddish brown squares on a wide black ring.
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I am assuming Ernie made at least one new shaft for this cue at the time of rebuild, and possibly both. Either way they both look new and are of the best maple you can find - tight-grained premium maple that is so hard to find today. (See my comment below about the shafts.) It has his traditional stainless steel piloted joint with a 5/16X14 steel pin. It weighs just over 19 ounces and is 58 inches long.
This is a rare cue, made even rarer because of its unique history. And, of course, it's a Ginacue - one of the most collectible of all cues, and one of the hardest cues to find - restored to new condition by Ernie himself.
NEW PRICE: $5800 PLUS SHIPPING
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Interesting that one of the shafts has wood a slightly different tone than the other. Perhaps one shaft is original to the first build date and one to the more recent build date? Or, maybe one has just aged differently.
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COMMENTS FROM JAY HELFERT ABOUT THIS CUE
1/15/05
My question to Jay: I recently purchased an old Ginacue that was originally made for you and was rebuilt by Ernie in 2009. The original date on it is 1965 and it has your name on it. Just checking to make sure it has a clear history. I'd appreciate any details you can give me on it.
Jay's response: Yes, that was my cue. Stolen from me in the early 70s and reappeared about 30 years later, with a badly warped butt. Someone, I think Kevin Brewer, found it and gave it to Ernie. He showed it to me and asked me if I wanted it. I took one look at it and said no thanks. If this is the cue it is made of Zebrawood and has little or no inlays as I recall. I loved that cue and played some of my best pool with it. How that butt got straightened out I have no idea.
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