"We are currently investigating how this ring landed on an auction site," Cubs spokesman Julian Green said in an email statement. "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."



Lelands.com has put up what it says is the first authentic Cubs ring to be offered for auction — the kind the team handed out to players and other employees after winning the championship in November — but the identity of the ring's original owner remains a mystery. The site referred to the owner simply as "a scout who loyally served the Chicago Cubs organization" and added that the "name has been kept hidden to honor their anonymity."



Here's the thing: The Cubs instituted a buy-back policy to discourage just such a sale. The team reportedly sent a memo to employees reserving the right to buy the ring for $1 before it can be sold elsewhere. The policy doesn't apply to players or coaches.



Lelands also noted that one side of the ring "features the scout's last name atop the W Flag, created from 31 round white diamonds and a fire blue corundum understone that forms the 'W.' " A picture of that side of the ring masks the name with a blur.



The auction started Sept. 27 with the opening bid set at $1,908 — a nod to the year 1908, when the Cubs had last won the World Series before their 108-year drought. Lelands has received 23 bids so far the championship bauble, which contains 214 diamonds and is presented in its original box, but offers have escalated in the last day and a half. Bidding opened Sunday at $12,838 but had eclipsed $36,000 by noon Monday.



The auction ends Oct. 27 at 9 p.m.