10,000 to spend at national what would you buy

[MR RAREBACK]

If you had 10,000 cash to spend at the national what would you buy?
This should be interesting to see what people are looking for.

[VintageBen]

all 4 t206 Cobb's.

or

1952 topps mickey mantle psa 1

or

1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie BGS 9.5

or a

1951 bowman mickey mantle PSA/SGC 4.5-5.5 range

[Stonepony]

I'm looking for a Cobb Red portrait T213 Type 1 or 3 ( lower grade obviously) that I'd be hoping to get for that $ or less

[Rich Falvo]

Some of the Broad Leafs, Carolina Brights, or a Drum for my Providence set.

[Johnny630]

Hold. Wait till a month after the National when stuff comes down.

[tab]

DRUM!

And to be specific would hope to find Charlie Rhodes drum for my back run

[btcarfagno]

Hookers and blow.

Just kidding.

Maybe....

Tom C

[edjs]

I've never been. Do the have those big soft pretzels with cheese and beer? I would buy that. :D. I'm hungry.

For real, though, Rhett has me hooked on 1912 Zeenuts lately. There are a few of those I would like to find.

[conor912]

Hookers and blow.

Just kidding.

Maybe....

Tom C

Yes!!!

[quinnsryche]

A Wayne Gretzky & a Sydney Crosby hard signed multi color patch card of each and the rest on Patrick Kane cards and unopened boxes of hockey stuff I can't usually afford.

[Louieman]

Fun thread topic...

3 cards: Fleischmann Bakery Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Smoky Joe Wood, all with coupons.

2 cards: a really nice 1921 Exhibit Babe Ruth and a really nice 1949 Bowman Satchel Paige

1 card: a down payment on a 1914 Boston Garter Christy Mathewson

[Steve D]

My Top-Five wants:

1939 Playball Ted Williams
1948 Leaf Jackie Robinson
1951 Bowman Willie Mays
1954 Bowman Ted Williams
1969 Topps Reggie Jackson


Steve

[iwantitiwinit]

A five hundred dollar ticket home and a 9500 deposit on a new bmw scrambler.

[Bobsbats]

A low grade Kalamazoo Bats Harry Wright or a N172 Ed Delahanty....

[nat]

One million 1985 Topps Rusty Staub cards.

[Sean]

A couple T206 commons from Dean's cards.

[Cowboy Fan]

Hookers and blow.

Just kidding.

Maybe....

Tom C

I'm hangin with Tom :)

[kmac32]

T205 Hindu backed Cubs and E121-80 Ruth

[Paul S]

Hookers and blow.

Just kidding.

Maybe....

Tom C

And when you get home and your significant other asks what you picked up, you can answer: "VD and a blown septum".

Just kiddin':eek:

[conor912]

Just kiddin':eek:

Maybe....

[jasonc]

If I was to pick something, let's say the highest graded/best eye appeal T206's of Cobb, Lajoie, Speaker, Matty, Young and Wajo... Man, that would be fun just searching for those within that budget, and if the 10,000 was a gift then even better!!!

Fun thread -- this is going to be cool reading through these.

[rats60]

The best 1933 Goudey Ruth that I could find for 10k. If there was any left over, a Gehrig or lower grade t206 Cobb or E95 Wagner.

[bigfish]

Buy the best Babe Ruth card you can find. The earlier the better. If pictured in a Redsox uniform even better.( e121, e220, e210...). Babe Ruth is recession proof.

[Rich Klein]

Long term, the American Icons are always good to invest in:

Ruth. Cobb, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Clemente etc.

If the name is someone a person who does not follow sports would know: probably a good person to buy now and in the future

Rich

[mark evans]

Buy what you like to look at without concern for investment potential since no guarantees in that regard. And, if mainstream stuff, you may want to keep VCP data handy to ensure you don't pay more than you would via eBay or auction houses.

[bbcard1]

DRUM!

And to be specific would hope to find Charlie Rhodes drum for my back run

I am looking for a Davidson Drum to finish my run. Hoping to find a 1 in an auction some day. Dreading the day I find a 1 in and auction some day.

Though I am not sure it would be considered proper vintage, I would probably see how far back into the 50s I could walk from 1961 guying vg-vg-ex complete sets. In my limited experience (5 or so) have personally found the National to be a little overrated in terms of filling out the want list at a price I am willing to pay. Some years were an outright disappointment.

[samosa4u]

Here are some of the things that I would try to get my hands on:

- 1911 Turkey Red Jack Johnson cabinet card (boxing)

- 1951 Parkhurst Maurice "Rocket" Richard RC (EX-NM)

- Any Pele card from 1958 (any condition)

- 1923 V145-1 Paterson Howie Morenz RC (any condition)

[packs]

E90-1 Tris Speaker
E101 Mathewson
A signed T206
1951 Bowman Mantle

Something game used from Trout, either a signed game used career hit baseball, home run baseball, bat, hat, or jersey.

[3-2-count]

Buy the best Babe Ruth card you can find. The earlier the better. If pictured in a Redsox uniform even better.( e121, e220, e210...). Babe Ruth is recession proof.

This!!

[frankbmd]

A Body Guard

[Touch'EmAll]

I would buy all the early-mid 1920's Exhibits in PSA 5 or higher of Ruth, Gehrig, and Walter Johnson. But good luck finding them, they are wayyyy low on the PSA population figures. If budget allows or you can't find that many Exhibits, a perfectly centered 1949 Bowman Satchell Paige in PSA 7 (or PSA 8).

[Mdmtx]

Things I would buy:
5,000 for the best #144 Ruth I could get
5,000 for as many n269 as I could buy including a minimum of Sullivan, Poole, morrissey and Hyer.

If there was any left, a happy meal at McDonald's.

[KMayUSA6060]

I'd take about $500-1000 and set it aside. I'd use it to pay people to search the bargain bins for Cleveland vintage I don't have and Jim Thome's I don't have, then use the rest for Finder's Fees for some of the massive cards on my want list. The trick here is I wouldn't be at the National. I'd be able to stay in Ohio and avoid Chicago.

To avoid dying, loss of eye sight, and arthritis, I'd say that'd be money well spent.

[Jewish-collector]

I'd use it to pay for the Net 54 dinner :D

[birdman42]

T206 Elberfeld--$1,000
Old Judge Hoy--$2,500
Old Judge O'Day--$1,000
Mello-Mint Schaefer--$500
E107, any Washington--$1,000
E123 (Curtis Ireland) Johnson--$1,500
E253 (Oxford Confectionary) Johnson--$1,000
Texas Tommy Johnson--$1,500

Home-cooked meal at my mother-in-law's house (10 minutes away)--priceless

Bill

[Yoda]

Although I doubt 10 Grand would seal the deal, a Texas Tommy Jackson in vg or vg/ex condition, that is if one could be located at all.

[TheBig6]

N173 Hofer

[bnorth]

Finish my T210 Ft Worth team set.
Autographed 1984 Pawtucket Roger Clemens
Autographed 1981 Pawtucket(both variations) Wade Boggs
1952 Topps Eddie Mathews
OR
I really do like the hookers and blow mentioned earlier.:D

[sterlingfox]

Find a nice, graded Gehrig exhibit (not a 25 or 26, of course). 4 on 1 is fine.

Find a nice, graded Plank (E95 or M116, preferably)

Finish my T206 want list, which includes all 4 Cobbs, 2 WaJos, 2 Mattys, etc, all in a presentable low grade.

Finish my T205 want list (Joss, Young, Speaker, Cobb, WaJo, etc)

Anything left over can go towards my Diamond Stars or Goudey 4 in 1 master sets, as well as towards my 41 Play Ball set and the rest of the 33 and 34 Goudey HOFers that I'm still missing (that includes Ruths and Gehrigs)

Also need to find the rest of the 48 Leafs that I want (DiMaggio, Ruth, Musial, Rizzuto, Boudreau, etc).

Hmmm, I don't think 10k will cut it lol

[pokerplyr80]

If I could find a nice looking low grade CJ Jackson for that I'd be pretty happy.

[vintagerookies51]

I can't pick just one. A few cards that come to mind...

E90-1 Joe Jackson
1952 Topps Mantle
Nice E107 HOFer

[gemmint77]

T206 Green Cobb/T206 Cy Young Portrait or 51 Bowman Mantle rookie. Maybe some year I will make it.

[MVSNYC]

T206 Proof, if you see one.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

One million 1985 Topps Rusty Staub cards.

cool, what about the other $9,900?

[spaidly]

Best 33 Goudey Gerhig I can find and a Louis Vuitton purse because wifey is all about equitable spending.

[LEHR]

1) I'd call Graig Kreindler from the National and commission another painting.

2) I'd buy the nicest/clearest N173 I can find.

3) Buy a nice 1968-1973 Topps baseball rack pack.

If there is any money left I'd eat a lot of steak and treat a few others to the same.

[puckpaul]

i would buy some E90-1's, love that set and i only have a couple of them. And a National copper Plate Dummy Hoy if i could find it.

[puckpaul]

Or maybe a Brunner's Bread Cobb or Cy Young.

[mattsey9]

A blue 1934 Goudey Lou Gehrig

[Billy5858]

Both perfectly centered and PSA

T205 Cobb PSA 6 And
1958 Topps Mantle PSA 8 I love this card for some reason

[TheNightmanCometh]

I would buy every Topps Braves base card I'm missing for my run. $10,000 should cover it easy. :D

[daves_resale_shop]

A nice Matty autograph

[A2000]

A nice psa 10 aaron judge signed rookie refractor :D

[RTK]

Card wise, I'd look into a Ruth, Jackie Robinson, early Mantle, Shoeless Joe.... see what I could find but I'd also really hope to get some old stadium pieces; maybe an Ebbets seat, possibly Fenway (wood of course), also see if I could find old ticket price signs. I enjoy relics from the past that can be incorporated as décor.

[conor912]

$10,000 should cover it easy. :D

You haven't been to a National, have you? :)

[brian1961]

If you had 10,000 cash to spend at the national what would you buy?
This should be interesting to see what people are looking for.

If I were still "in the game", I honestly would not wish to divulge to you what I was looking for. While someone on here might say, "Hey, I've got one I'd be willing to sell you", I would fear raising up more competition for what I really want. I speak from the standpoint that when I was in the game, I was on the prowl for some pretty rare, or scarce, and highly-desirable Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris items.

Now, after I successfully tracked down my rare game, sure, then I would enthusiastically talk about it.

----Brian Powell

[nat]

Dude, what this thread is actually about is sending out decoys to distract people from what you're really looking for. All this talk about 52 Mantles is just a smoke screen. The thing to do is raise your price on everything that's NOT getting mentioned in this thread.

[T_Hamilton]

Card wise, I'd look into a Ruth, Jackie Robinson, early Mantle, Shoeless Joe.... see what I could find but I'd also really hope to get some old stadium pieces; maybe an Ebbets seat, possibly Fenway (wood of course), also see if I could find old ticket price signs. I enjoy relics from the past that can be incorporated as décor.

Would love to see how you are using relics as decor currently... sounds awesome. I have always dreamed of a room with seats from different stadiums. Have friends over to watch a World Series or All Star game and can pick where they want to sit!

[ls7plus]

Buy what you like to look at without concern for investment potential since no guarantees in that regard. And, if mainstream stuff, you may want to keep VCP data handy to ensure you don't pay more than you would via eBay or auction houses.

Hobby history and its nearly continuous growth over decade after decade is shouting out pretty loudly, though. I wouldn't bet the farm on baseball cards, but it's a very attractive area for some diversification in investments.

Regards,

Larry

[ls7plus]

If I were still "in the game", I honestly would not wish to divulge to you what I was looking for. While someone on here might say, "Hey, I've got one I'd be willing to sell you", I would fear raising up more competition for what I really want. I speak from the standpoint that when I was in the game, I was on the prowl for some pretty rare, or scarce, and highly-desirable Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris items.

Now, after I successfully tracked down my rare game, sure, then I would enthusiastically talk about it.

----Brian Powell

Good strategy, Brian, and one I've adopted for quite some time. Who needs competition, less to no availability, and/or higher prices?

Best wishes,

Larry

[mechanicalman]

My experience has been that a lot of the personally desirable material I find at the National was sourced from auctions in which I've already participated. Are there any "dealers" anymore that are uncovering new material from basements and attics and offering them to collectors for the first time at the National? If so, would love to visit your booth.

[JollyElm]

The answer is obvious. I would buy $10,000 worth of the greatest, most valuable vintage cards possible, and then I would immediately go to everyone's favorite thread on here and trade them for only $2,000 worth of worn out cards, so that 'Adrian Jr.' guy could use them for his ULTIMATE TRADE UP!!! Let's get it going, boys!!!

[ajjohnsonsoxfan]

Has anyone been in contact with Adrian lately? Wondering what happened to that dude and what he's obsessing about collecting nowadays.

[kailes2872]

I'd stay home and let my 10k buy me about 3k more in the next major fall auction than what I can get at the National.

[Enfuego]

For 10k, the choices are unlimited as to what I would invest in...I would definitely invest in close to flawless cardboard without a doubt


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mark evans]

Hobby history and its nearly continuous growth over decade after decade is shouting out pretty loudly, though. I wouldn't bet the farm on baseball cards, but it's a very attractive area for some diversification in investments.

Regards,

Larry

I can't argue with you, Larry. I just think trying to forecast appreciation of various issues, even where based upon prior performance, is risky business.

And, to actually respond to the original post, if I had $10,000 I didn't need I would probably buy the best CJ Jackson I could afford.

Mark

[clydepepper]

Sporting Life Walter Johnson, Honus Wagner and Smoky Joe Wood.

[JohnnyFinance7]

For me, I would purchase a couple of the 1933 Goudey Babe Ruths. I've always wanted one.

[Republicaninmass]

A super duper light... to see cards at Gizmos table

[egri]

I'd stay at home and wait for the next stock market correction, then go shopping there.

But if the $10,000 came with the stipulation that I had to spend it at the National, then aside from my project, I'd pick up a few nice Allen & Ginter's. I've always liked the look of them.

[edjs]

Dude, what this thread is actually about is sending out decoys to distract people from what you're really looking for. All this talk about 52 Mantles is just a smoke screen. The thing to do is raise your price on everything that's NOT getting mentioned in this thread.

So since I said pretzels and beer, do you recommend hot dogs and whiskey? Not a bad idea......:D

[brass_rat]

My experience has been that a lot of the personally desirable material I find at the National was sourced from auctions in which I've already participated. Are there any "dealers" anymore that are uncovering new material from basements and attics and offering them to collectors for the first time at the National? If so, would love to visit your booth.

+1

[Westside]

I would spend $9,000 on a 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle. Then, I would use the rest on some low grade T206 cards.

[TheNightmanCometh]

You haven't been to a National, have you? :)

No, lol, but you also don't know how many cards I need ;)

[Johnny630]

Scott I totally agree, wait for the next downturn in the us stock market. Buy on a discount. My number one investment rule; Take all emotion out of the equation :-).

[Touch'EmAll]

Jeez, its really hard to take all the emotion out of investing in baseball cards. Emotion is fun. Emotion is what makes it more than just an investment. Emotion is why I am here writing this right now. Emotion is why my face lights up looking at my Cobb's. Emotion is seeing my Walter Johnson's who my grandfather saw and said was the best pitcher ever. Emotion is seeing my Nolan Ryan's who I saw and was the best fastball pitcher ever. Emotion is looking at my Hank Aaron's and remembering as a kid the HR chase to Ruth's record.

Long live the emotional tie to baseball cards! The day comes I really, honestly, truly need the money I do feel I would sell. But for right now, I will keep the emotions, er, cards.

[brian1961]

Good strategy, Brian, and one I've adopted for quite some time. Who needs competition, less to no availability, and/or higher prices?

Best wishes,

Larry

Thanks, Larry. I wish you the very best as well. I sincerely hope you will come upon three choice gems to add to your collection over the course of the rest of this year. I frankly do not know a dealer who still helps collectors locate "the tough to find", and most toughies wind up in auctions. However, since there are so many auctions, choice items sometimes are not showcased or advertised enough to attract many bidders.

I will say this. My prized pieces were always ones that I paid top dollar for at the time, whether via auction or private sale. They have all appreciated; some have skyrocketed. The sad part today is that top dollar can be unnerving and downright mind boggling.

DO NOT GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAM CARDS / COINS / ET AL!

Seriously, you might consider placing an ad for specific wants in Sports Collectors Digest. Make the ad at least 1/8 page, so it will be noticed by the dinosaurs still holding onto their collections. Most of these guys couldn't / wouldn't pay the price of having their cards graded. You never know. It will cost something for the ad, which will last at least two weeks before SCD's next issue.

Many of the dinosaurs have an idea of what their cards are worth if graded, but they're content to still sit on them. However, most of the great collections have already been submitted to Mastro Auctions, when they were still a business, and other firms. Most of the pioneers are now deceased, as well.

Look closely at some of the currents ads in SCD. They're indicative of helping someone find cards they want. Again, you never know; leave no stone un-turned, as my dear mother used to say.

The thrill of the chase is great, but the thrill of successfully hunting down a dream item is much, much greater, particularly if it results in what would be termed "a great sea story", which is what I stuffed into my E-book on a CD, NEVER CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN.

While I haven't sold many copies, you would think by the jacked up prices of the post-war regional / food issues, my book's subject, every dealer / seller bought a copy and studiously absorbed its 478 pages!

I better go---getting verbose. Cheers, mate. ---Brian Powell

[Johnny630]

The Emotional ties to baseball are great, I love and cherish them too :-). However I won't mix the two when it comes to investing in baseball cards. As for collecting it's a totally different story, emotion always comes into play for me. To each there own, it's just my style. I want everyone to be happy and have fun, that's number one when it comes to collecting :-).

[Snapolit1]

I'd take the $10,000 and find Charlie Sheen. Just sayin. Guy could use some cheering up.

[LEHR]

I'd take the $10,000 and find Charlie Sheen. Just sayin. Guy could use some cheering up.

Lol.:D Yeah, unfortunately he's looking pretty rough.

[darwinbulldog]

Whatever I could afford from this group:

N172 Cusick, McCormick, Nichols
W600 Plank, Lajoie
D355
1887 Souby Studio New Orleans Pelicans cabinet
H812 O'Rourke
N258 Walter Johnson
1872 Warren Studios CDV
1928 Star Player Lefty Grove

[RTK]

Would love to see how you are using relics as decor currently... sounds awesome. I have always dreamed of a room with seats from different stadiums. Have friends over to watch a World Series or All Star game and can pick where they want to sit!

Currently it's old wood seats, framed programs and pennants. I have vintage small articles displayed in cases, B/W photos, some older color photos, many signed, a couple baseball lithographs. Some re-pop tin signs ( it's too hard and costly to find originals). Some of the stuff is displayed on a brick wall that replicates Wrigley's outfield brick without the ivy.