Picked up my first vintage card : 1955 Topps Hank Aaron

[bravesfan22]

Pretty excited about this. I was truly shocked how beautiful it was in person and how much the color really popped. The corners are really good on it from what I can tell for a 5.

Can someone with a good eye for the 1955 set tell me how the centering is on this card?

Here it is:

[Harliduck]

Beautiful card...nice. I have that same card in raw, and yes, it is a work of art in hand. I love the colors. Thanks for sharing!

[the 'stache]

Congratulations, Adam! I'm a huge Hank Aaron fan having been born and raised in Milwaukee. That's a beautiful card.

[ALR-bishop]

Very nice Adam

[Chris Counts]

The '55 Topps Aaron is my favorite card of the home run champ (sorry Barry). Like you said, the color really pops off the card ...

[Gmrson]

Great looking card!

[doug.goodman]

That's a great way to start. Too bad you can't feel the actual card in your hand. Insert smiley face here.

[71buc]

Congrats, beautiful card, I hope to add that one to my own collection one day soon!

[bravesfan22]

thanks for the kind words guys!

[CobbSpikedMe]

Very nice way to start out. What a great card.

AndyH

[Bocabirdman]

Really nice way to start. You are kinda setting yourself for a letdown though. There aren't TOO MANY cards that will look better in your mitts.:)

[Wymers Auction]

I think for your first card you have really good taste.

[Harliduck]

That's a great way to start. Too bad you can't feel the actual card in your hand. Insert smiley face here.

His is NICER than mine, but I can touch mine...:)


http://i.ebayimg.com/t/1955-Topps-47-Hank-Aaron-VG-25748-/00/s/Nzg5WDU2NQ==/$(KGrHqJ,!gwFBLNyovrPBQkD2Rrvbw~~60_3.JPG

[bravesfan22]

His is NICER than mine, but I can touch mine...:)


http://i.ebayimg.com/t/1955-Topps-47-Hank-Aaron-VG-25748-/00/s/Nzg5WDU2NQ==/$(KGrHqJ,!gwFBLNyovrPBQkD2Rrvbw~~60_3.JPG


I wouldnt mind owning a raw one but I just dont feel comfortable buying raw online and I dont have many chances to buy raw in person. Not to mention I'd be too scared I'd damage a raw one and be mad at myself haha.

[geor952]

Great card Adam! I need Snider and the Koufax to finish my '55 set. You are well on your way. The centering is pretty on par for the set.

[bravesfan22]

Great card Adam! I need Snider and the Koufax to finish my '55 set. You are well on your way. The centering is pretty on par for the set.

Good luck, I hope you get it finished, is it a raw set or graded? Also thank you for answering my question about the centering, thanks!

[brob28]

Great card Adam! I think you're doing the smart thing buying the high $ cards that are slabbed until you have a good eye for spotting any alterations etc. It can be hard to see trimming etc from a scan.

[rjackson44]

pretty card wow :)

[Harliduck]

I wouldnt mind owning a raw one but I just dont feel comfortable buying raw online and I dont have many chances to buy raw in person. Not to mention I'd be too scared I'd damage a raw one and be mad at myself haha.

You know whats funny...I have literally bought thousands of raw cards off ebay over the years, and have only bought a couple of trimmed cards and have been taken care of each time. I have bought 3 graded cards (and freed two of them, haha) with great success. BUT..my brother, who has bought maybe 5 graded cards got totally taken. He bought a 65 Mantle 4, and once in hand the PSA holder was able to come apart with his fingernail and the card had multiple creases. No way it was a 4, and no way the PSA holder should just "pop" open. He is currently in a battle with the seller and mediating with Ebay. This has been going on for a month. So with that said, by percentage alone, buying raw has completely been overwhelmingly the way to go IMHO and I won't trust anything graded. Just reading through all the posts on this forum has completely turned me off to an obviously flawed, biased system that is too easy to forge. Again...just my opinion and has nothing to do with your obvious AWESOME 55 Aaron. I'll gladly trade my raw one for your graded one...:D:D:D

[ALR-bishop]

John---you and Doug are going to get along great :)

I have a full Topps set run and they are all in sheets in binders, and any that were graded when I got them have long since been freed to their natural state. I can not say for certain I do not have altered or trimmed cards or resealed packs in my collection, but neither in my view can the graded guys. What I do know is that I will be the judge what cards go in my collection without the aid of a minion at a grading company who knows less about post war cards than I do.

But, I will admit I am just in this as a hobby. If you are an investor, or a hobbyist/investor, grading is a fact of life

[geor952]

Good luck, I hope you get it finished, is it a raw set or graded? Also thank you for answering my question about the centering, thanks!

Adam, I consider mine raw, I have about 15 cards graded, because the price was right. I preferred raw. My Clemente is a psa 4.

[ALR-bishop]

Raw is such an undignified term for a card in it's natural state :)

[bravesfan22]

You know whats funny...I have literally bought thousands of raw cards off ebay over the years, and have only bought a couple of trimmed cards and have been taken care of each time. I have bought 3 graded cards (and freed two of them, haha) with great success. BUT..my brother, who has bought maybe 5 graded cards got totally taken. He bought a 65 Mantle 4, and once in hand the PSA holder was able to come apart with his fingernail and the card had multiple creases. No way it was a 4, and no way the PSA holder should just "pop" open. He is currently in a battle with the seller and mediating with Ebay. This has been going on for a month. So with that said, by percentage alone, buying raw has completely been overwhelmingly the way to go IMHO and I won't trust anything graded. Just reading through all the posts on this forum has completely turned me off to an obviously flawed, biased system that is too easy to forge. Again...just my opinion and has nothing to do with your obvious AWESOME 55 Aaron. I'll gladly trade my raw one for your graded one...:D:D:D


John,
I am sorry to hear about your brothers luck first and foremost. I mean I would love to own raw cards but like a few others have pointed out, with me just starting out the vintage I dont trust my eye yet and it's still hard to trust anything online. I just make sure to read through sellers feedback and buy from sellers who have sold quite a bit of the type of item im interested in. I have already picked up alot of info on what to look for on raw cards to know if theyve been faked IE: if theres a crease or corner bent up what is the color of card stock its on and how does that relate to the set and things like that. Overall I think ill stick with graded for now, I havent decided if I want to do a full '55 set or just do certain stars and hof's out of the certain sets i like. For now I'm doing Braves hof's (aaron,mathews,spahn) and certain stars(williams,mays,robinson) out of the 55 set.

Thanks for the kind words about the card, I'm glad so many people appreciate it like i do!

[bravesfan22]

Adam, I consider mine raw, I have about 15 cards graded, because the price was right. I preferred raw. My Clemente is a psa 4.

Very jealous of the clemente. I am actually surprised about the prices I've seen on some of the lower grade koufax's. still out of my current budget but I may have some hope to own one in the near future.

[toledo_mudhen]

[QUOTE=bravesfan22;1078069]Pretty excited about this. I was truly shocked how beautiful it was in person and how much the color really popped. The corners are really good on it from what I can tell for a 5.

Can someone with a good eye for the 1955 set tell me how the centering is on this card?



My trusty JRuler puts centering at 32/68 L/R and 35/65 T/B

JRuler is free and takes most of the "guesswork" out of centering

[the 'stache]

Raw is such an undignified term for a card in it's natural state :)

Agreed, Al. Raw means crude, unrefined. I tend to look at vintage cards as works of art. Nothing unrefined about them.

[the 'stache]

John, I want to echo Adam's sentiments. I'm sorry your brother is going through such a hassle with Ebay and that seller. I can understand why one awful experience might leave a bad taste in his mouth. If I could offer some advice, however, it would be for him to stick with graded cards, at least until he gets a little more comfortable buying vintage. It's an unfortunate commentary on the hobby we love that there are people who could do things like this, but overall, collectors that are new to vintage collecting are safer with graded cards.

I think some of the best advice I've seen on our forum is to buy the card itself, not the grade. That has become my mantra. If a card is graded a PSA 6, and it's got a noticeable crease, something's fishy. I always keep the PSA grading standards (http://www.psacard.com/services/psa_grading_standards.chtml) up in another browser tab when I'm looking at a slabbed card. I look at the grade, and then look to make sure that it meets the benchmark requirements that PSA have established for that particular grade. I pay close attention to the slab (the plastic case itself), and the flip (the information card at the top of the case). Does the slab show any signs of tampering-ie, is there "frosting" along one of the edges that would indicate it's been broken open? Does the typeface describing the card look right? If needed, I ask the seller for another picture, or scan. I look, too, at their feedback scores as a seller. Have they sold similar vintage cards before? If I'm buying a '56 Topps Roberto Clemente, and the guy's never sold a vintage card before, I might move on.

Remember, you (or in this case your brother) as the buyer have the right to ask questions. If the seller is legit, they should happily allay any concerns you might have. If something still seems off, you can always ask for input from the members here. Start a thread asking for help. If you'd rather keep the auction private, ask a few members to message you directly, and get their input. I haven't been a member on Net 54 for long, but since signing up, I've spent a lot of time reading through older threads, really enjoying the love for the hobby that everybody clearly has. And the collective knowledge of the members here is unlike anything I've ever seen before. This forum is one of the best weapons at your disposal as a collector. If a question can't be answered here, it can't be answered. Just remember that every one of the fine people here started out their collection at some point with the same questions you and I (and your brother) will be having now. They've been there, and can help steer us through the choppy waters that could lie ahead.

[Volod]

Raw is such an undignified term for a card in it's natural state :)

Agree, Al - maybe we should refer to graded cards as "captives.";)