My First Card...and it's a 1/1

Many of you already know, but in less than 48 hours I will both turn 40 years old and become a married man.  Why would we get married on a Tuesday?  Because my beautiful bride-to-be and I share the same birthday.

She had a girls' day yesterday with some friends and afterwards we all met up for dinner.  Much to my surprise, Miss Crystal had a gift for me.

Now, she has told me repeatedly that she doesn't think she is a good gift-giver.  I completely disagree.  I posted about her gift from Christmas 2017 and how it was the most thoughtful gift I'd ever received.  This past Christmas we decided to give each other just one gift and she gave me a watch that is partly made of wood (I love me some 1987 Topps, y'all).  Needless to say, I disagree with her on her gift giving.

What was the gift she gave me yesterday?

It's an sketch card, drawn by Ken Karl.  I didn't realize it until I opened it that this is Miss Crystal's favorite of our engagement photos.  She said she loves the way that I look in it.  I'm happy that she is happy.

Obviously the card is a one-of-one and is priceless.  I honestly can't even put into words how much I love it.  Thank you to my lovely bride-to-be, my good friend Eric (who put her into contact with him), and Mr. Karl himself.  I know the timeline was short, as we just had our photos done in November. 

You can find Ken Karl multiple places, including his website, Facebook and Twitter.  Miss Crystal told me that he was great to work with and gives him nothing but praise. 

Not that I expect it, but if anyone's interested in watching the live stream of our little wedding, it's 1pm (central) on Tuesday and you can find all the info on our wedding website.

Happy collecting, y'all!

Poor Timing, Or Would It Even Matter?

As many of you know, two weeks from now I'll be a married man.  Even though we're doing a private ceremony (my bride-to-be, her son and I), it still costs money, and it's money well spent.  I plan on this being my only wedding. 

This morning I saw a post from Sports Collectors Daily about another prewar find.  Of course a very rare card that I want is a part of it.  It's poor timing because I likely won't be a serious player for it.  Even without the wedding, it's still one that'll likely command a price out of my comfort zone. 

photo from Sports Collectors Daily

Row 1, column 2 (I obviously work with Excel a lot) is the Scoops Carey Breisch-Williams E107 card.  I've completed Carey's T206 "rainbow" (back run) and this is the only other card from Carey's playing days. 

Even in a condition that appears will come back from SCG just a 1, it'll likely be out of my comfort zone.  I don't have a VCP subscription to see any realized auction prices, but I looked it up before and if I remember correctly it was just one sale, at maybe $600-700 and not in my wheelhouse. 

If you read the article I linked to, you read about the scarcity of these cards.  I wouldn't be competing against just collectors that want Scoops Carey, but also against set collectors and collectors that just want to own one card from this set. 

My card grading company of choice is SGC and they've graded just ten copies of the card.  I don't see any graded by PSA or BGS.  So, yeah, much more demand for any card in the set than supply. 

They do say miracles can happen, right?

OCAAT: Mean Gene Autograph

As much as I can, I'd like to keep the OCAAT posts relevant with current happenings.  As many of you may know, "Mean" Gene Okerlund passed away on January 2.  As a guy that always loved GOOD announcers, and went to school for TV & Radio Broadcasting, Okerlund was one of the voices of my youth.  He was an icon to all who watched wrestling in the 1980s and 1990s.

Almost two years ago, I was fortunate enough to receive back a TTM request I had sent out to Okerlund.  I was much more active sending then and more than a handful of the men that I sent to during that time have passed away.  One of them, one of Okerlund's best friends, Bobby Heenan.  This is about Mean Gene, though.




Because of how the wrestling industry has changed, there will never be anyone that can hold a candle to Gene Okerlund.  There just won't be the opportunity.  Even if there was, Okerlund would be the best, ever. 

Okerlund was 76 years young.  Per Wikipedia (always there, sometimes accurate), his son has stated that he recieved three kidney transplants and suffered a fall that caused his health to deteriorate in his final weeks. 

He is survived by his wife, two children and three grandchildren. 

Thanks for the memories, Mean Gene. 

OCAAT: T206 Tris Speaker

If you liked yesterday's OCAAT, I think you'll like this one as well.  Originally this was going to be the first OCAAT post, but I added yesterday's card to my collection first and decided to post it first. 

I picked this T206 Tris Speaker up from a Facebook group in the fall.  By happenstance I was on my laptop, saw the notification and quickly pulled the trigger.  I actually passed on it initially but thought about 15-20 seconds on it and changed my mind.  I'm so happy that I did. 

1909-1911 American Tobacco Company (T206) Tris Speaker

After I claimed it, there were multiple comments on the card.  The consensus in the room was that I got it for a steal of a price.  Since I made this decision without consulting any of my experts, that was reassuring. 

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, you buy the card and not the holder.  Fellow group members commented about the awesome color of the card and how it might be the best looking PSA 1 you'll ever see. 

LINK:  See other "One Card At a Time" posts

Obviously the color is so great because this was in a scrapbook for years and likely decades.  You can see the indicators - staining on the front corners and the paper loss on the back.  That paper loss "doomed" this card to be graded a "1," but it also is the only reason I was able to get this card at the price I did. 

The amount I paid for it is the second most I've ever spent on an individual card.  Given the option, I'd do it again. 

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out on free money.  There are times you can use it and get cash back on eBay purchases.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $300 in two years.  FREE CARDS!  I promise you it's legit and easy to use. 

OCAAT: T206 Christy Mathewson

What is "OCAAT?"  Isn't it obvious?  It means one card at a time.  It's just me blogging about some of the cards in my collection, one card at a time. 

When I started acquiring T206 cards a couple years ago, I didn't think I'd really end up with any of the big names.  I've posted about some T206 acquisitions on this blog, including the two cards I'd ever spent the money on.  I never really thought I'd pick up any of the big name Hall-of-Famers in the set, until I saw this beautiful Christy Mathewson at a card show back in the fall. 

1909-1911 American Tobacco Company (T206) Christy Mathewson

As soon as I saw the price on it, I was intrigued.  I normally wouldn't buy a card of this value ungraded (because I'm not confident in spotting fakes), but I trusted the seller.  I've bought more of my T206 cards off the seller (Roger) than anyone else and knew that I was going to get a discount off the sticker price.  I messaged two of my trusted T206 guys asking what a copy of the card, in that condition would go for.  Since I never had thoughts of picking up this card, I hadn't done any research.  Both of my sources confirmed what I thought, Roger was either at or (GASP!) slightly below going market rate. 

I decided on four additional T206s and asked him what he wanted for them.  It was EXACTLY the number I had in my head and I pulled the trigger!  The way I calculate my math when I buy a lot of cards, I paid at least $50 below going market rate. 

There are always those people that will look at it and point out all the imperfections.  Does it have rounded corners?  Sure it does.  Any T206 I buy likely will.  The paper loss automatically makes this a "1" if graded.  If not for that paper loss, I wouldn't have this card right now. 

There are a couple of phrases you'll hear often with vintage collectors and they both apply to this card.

• "Eye appeal" - Though it would be graded a "1," the color on this copy is solid.  It looks better than many others that would get the same grade, despite the paper loss.  Also, the paper loss is in a place that doesn't take away from the eye appeal.  
• "Buy the card, not the holder" - It's somewhat related to the above bullet point.  Don't buy a card because of the grade, but it for the card itself.  Not all cards in a grade are equal.  Buy what you like.  Also, there's always the possibility that the card wasn't given a grade that many others think it should receive.  

You know what?  This card looks really nice in the binder with all my other ungraded T206s!  

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out on free money.  There are times you can use it and get cash back on eBay purchases.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $300 in two years.  FREE CARDS!  I promise you it's legit and easy to use. 

Talking Hobby Burnout on @FatPacksPodcast

If you follow me on Twitter (@beansbcardblog), you might have seen me talk a little recently about being a little burnt out with collecting.  I've gone through this a few times over the last handful of years, but this time it feels just a little different.

I chatted with Eric on the Fat Packs Podcast (formerly known as Beckett Radio) for about 30 minutes today on my collecting history, the burn out and also what I see in the future for my collecting.  We talked about how it happens to a lot of collectors but it's not talked about much.

I'm curious everyone's thoughts, both on the interview itself, and in their thoughts on hobby fatigue.  Have you felt it?  What was your course of action?  Please let me know in the comments below! 

You can listen to the episode below, in your browser, and you can also find the show on iTunes.