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?

A Card You've Seen A Lot Here -or- T206 Scoops Carey

You've certainly seen this Scoops Carey card if you read my blog with any regularity.  However, I couldn't pass up a raw copy of the card on COMC, considering the price.  I got it for the price of a couple of those Bowman blasters everyone's buying in hopes of hitting the lottery.  

1909-11 The American Tobacco Company T206 White Border #NNO Scoops Carey 

This is the second post in a row that doesn't change my monster number, but I'm more than okay with that.  

My monster number now stands at 28 (of 524).  On T206Insider, my set is now at 12.1, good for 48th.  You can find a gallery of what I have on my Collector Focus page.

If you'd like to learn more about the T206 set, there are plenty of resources.  A very popular one is Scot Reader's "Inside T206."  Others I like are Net 54 and T206 Insider (links above to both), as well as the blog on That T206 Life.

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I've decided to try selling on Sports Card Direct again.  Hopefully you'll take a look at my page and see if there's anything you're interested in.  I can always sell off the site and ship in a PWE if you're only looking for a card or two and don't want to pay $3 shipping.  I'm going to start listing more cards daily.  It's time to get out of a lot of my stuff.  

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back from purchases there.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $150 in a year.  FREE CARDS!  Another $40 was depostied into my Paypal account earlier this month.

If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  You can also find me on Trading Card Database.  I love trading cards, when it makes sense.  Happy collecting!

My Rainbow

A couple of weeks ago I posted about picking up a T213-1 Scoops Carey.  It left me just one card shy of the four-card T206/T213 rainbow.  It happened quickly, but I picked up the T206 Hindu back shortly after the T213.  It came from the same Net54 user I picked up the T213.  My rainbow is now complete. 

This copy didn't set me back as much as the T213, but it was still the second most that I've ever paid for a single card.  Despite the lack of similar sales, I felt good with the price.  Another SGC10 sold on ebay for about what I paid, but that sale was more than six years ago. 

Trading card collecting can be a fascinating hobby.  There are five (or less) copies of the T213-1 and eight (or less) copies of the T206 Hindu back graded by SGC that exist.  I picked both of them up out of the same collection. 

So, what's next? 

I want to put together the same rainbow of Woodie Thornton and Carlton Molesworth.  Like Carey, Thornton attended my alma mater, West Virginia University.  Molesworth is the only player in the set as a member of the Birmingham team.  I was born in Birmingham.  Both of these are long-term projects and I'll only casually search for copies. 

I'd also like to pick up the only other card picturing Scoops Carey, but it's likely just a dream.  The problem is that he's in the E107 set.  Per Pre-War Cards, "One of the rarest and most expensive E-card issues is the 1903-1904 E107 Breisch-Williams set."

The validity of that statement is easily proven.  Beckett book value on the E107 Scoops Carey is $1500.  Vintage Card Prices history only indicates six sales of the card (VCP tracks only graded copies sold through major auction houses and eBay).  A SCG10 copy sold in September 2010 for $427.  Three different SGC30 copies have sold, for $1058 (5/2008), $1880 (5/2009) and $1320 (6/2016).  Two different SGC60 copies have sold, one for $1912 (5/2014) and the other for $3600 (10/2016).  That's it.  There are no recorded sales of PSA graded copies. 

There are ten or less graded copies of the card in existence:

SGC Pop Report

According to their Pop Reports, neither PSA or BGS has graded a copy of the card.  

This leaves the realistic "what's next" as something that I've seen a few collectors write early on this year.  I plan to focus on and enjoy the cards in my collection more and focus less on adding more things. 

I've been working the last few months to get more organized.  A couple of weekends ago I spent over $100 for some heavy duty storage for my cards.  I have a long way to go in both organization and entering my collection into Trading Card Database.  This is likely "what's next" for me.  

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back from purchases there.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $150 in a year.  FREE CARDS!

If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  You can also find me on Trading Card Database.  I love trading cards, when it makes sense.  Happy collecting!

Three Scoops

I've collected cards for more than 30 years, but I don't have many "big" cards.  I think it's related to the fact that even as a kid, money burnt a hole in my pocket, as my parents called it.  I've been one to buy cards when I could, instead of saving for high dollar ones.

Before my latest pickup, I had never spent more than $200 on a card.  I spent more than that on this one.

It looks like a T206, but it's actually a T213-1 card.  There is much debate among collectors if the T213-1s should actually be classified as T206 but that change will never happen.  One person that believes they should be is Anson of Pre-War Cards, whose opinion I greatly respect.  If you're interested to read more about that, click on the link below.

LINK:  T213-1 Coupon: If it Looks like a T206 and Smells like a T206…

One of my collecting goals for 2018 was to add one of the two T206ish Scoops Carey cards, SGC graded, to my collection.  The ultimate goal is to have the "rainbow" of all four backs, SGC graded.  If you know me, or read one of my recent posts on my other blog, you know that I love the black borders on the slabs. 

I already have the two easiest and cheapest copies to find, the T206 Piedmont and Old Mill backs.  This T213-1 and the T206 Hindu back are significantly tougher to come by.  When you add that I want it SGC graded, it becomes a challenge. 

Per Vintage Card Prices, the most recently copy of the card (VCP only tracks graded cards, sold on eBay or auction houses) sold in November 2016.  The only other recorded sale was in 2007.  Another number that legitimizes the cards scarcity is that just ten copies of the card have been graded, five each by PSA and SGC (that's if none of them were cracked and cross submitted). 

At the end of the day, I was looking for a 100+ year old card that there are five (or less) copies of.  I thought it would be years before I saw a copy but I was wrong.  Another collector on Net54 owned this copy and was looking to sell. 

The paper loss on the front bothers me but it wasn't enough to keep me from buying.  I knew that it might be years before I'd see a copy of the card for sale again.  If and when I do, there's no guarantee that I will get it.  Given the opportunity I will upgrade this card.  The four other copies are graded 10, 30, 30 and 50 so they all should have better eye appeal. 

Until then, I am more than happy with this purchase.  Although the card cost more than I've ever spent before, I believe that the price was in line with the limited market.  Besides, who knows if I'll even have another opportunity?

LINK (Net54):  Interesting trivia about 1910 COUPON (T213-1) cards...show us some of these rare gems

I mentioned that is my third of the four cards.  Is there a better way to show them than side-by-side?  I think not. 

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back from purchases there.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $150 in a year.  They put $63 in my Paypal account last month!  FREE CARDS!

If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  You can also find me on Trading Card Database.  I love trading cards, when it makes sense.  Happy collecting!

It Arrived - T206 Scoops Carey

I don't usually bid on eBay auctions until the end.  This card is in my saved searches and when it came up I placed a somewhat strong bid immediately.  I knew I wouldn't win it for that price and I don't even know why I bid so early.  I forgot about it.  Then I received notification with a couple of hours that it was close to ending and was still high bidder.  I watched the countdown while sitting at a high school choir performance and couldn't believe that I won the auction.  More than a week later I'm still dumbfounded.

1909-11 T36 Scoops Carey Old Mill Back

This is the first double I've picked up from the set and it doesn't add to my "number."  It is one of the cards I want to complete a back run of since he attended my alma mater.  I believe there are four back variations and the two I have are the most common.  I'm usually very analytical and remember most things, but the nuances of the T206 set have been difficult for me to wrap my head around.

Adding this card to my collection keeps me at 21 cards (front only) from the T206 set.  If you're interested, you can see my T206 cards here.

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back from purchases there.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $150 in a year (including $15 back on one Black Friday purchase last week).  FREE CARDS!  If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  Happy collecting!

Marking Another Off the Most Wanted List

After picking up quite a few T206 cards in a short period of time, I knew it had been awhile since I purchased one.  As I sat down to write this, I discovered it has been four months.  How time flies.  It was well worth the wait because I was able to knock a card off the Most Wanted List.

My preference on T206 cards is to pick up ungraded ones.  I want to be able to put them into sheets.  They look great in them.  Last week there was a raw copy of this card up for auction on eBay.  I didn't win it, but then this one came available on Net54 for only $20 more than the auction ended at.

1909-11 T206 Scoops Carey

Scoops Carey attended my alma mater (West Virginia University) before playing professional baseball.  He played for Baltimore, Louisville and Washington during his four season in the major leagues.  Carey played in the minors for the final eight years of his career.  He is pictured here as a member of the Memphis Turtles of the Southern Association.

The Southern Leagues cards were printed in much shorter supply, bringing a higher price tag.  Unfortunately the three cards I'm most interested in (that aren't huge names) are all Southern Leaguers.  Woodie Thornton also attended my alma mater and Carlton Molesworth is the player pictured as a member of the Birmingham Barons (I was born in Birmingham).

The card cost me more than a blaster, but less than most modern hobby boxes.  I'll always appreciate this more than any "hit" I may get and this card is all but guaranteed to retain it's value.  That's a win-win.  It's the 14th T206 card in my collection.

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back from purchases there.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $100 in about seven months.  FREE CARDS!  If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  Happy collecting!