Relative value. Opinions?

[Mark17]

Compare these 2 cards, both graded PSA 4:

Fred Clarke T205 $163.50 + $6.00
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1911-T205-Sovereign-Back-Fred-Clarke-Pittsburgh-Pirates-HOF-PSA-4/143605525400?

Fred Clarke T202 $152.02 + $4.50
https://www.ebay.com/itm/T202-Hassan-TPL-Folder-Collins-Easily-Safe-w-Robert-Byrne-Fred-T-Clarke-PSA-4-/373057840613?

The T202 has the Clarke end panel, which is similar to the T205, with interesting write-up on back. But it also has another end panel - Byrne, plus a vintage action shot of HOFer Eddie Collins, which also has a great write-up on back.

They were issued just one year apart. I'm thinking, the value of the T202 should be higher than the T205, simply because you "get more stuff" with it. This is just one example.... I see most T202s with HOFer end panels consistently selling for less than their T205 counterparts.

Looking for opinions why the T202 set doesn't get more love relative to T205.

[tiger8mush]

Size of the T202s is odd

Also, a big name (Cobb or Wagner or Matty etc) is usually more sought after than being combined with the common players on the team. Just like autographs on a ball.

But I agree, T202s are neat and a good value!

[x2drich2000]

I think the price is reflective of demand. T205s are just simply more popular among collectors. Same reason T206s, sell for more than T205s and many of the caramel sets. Plus, T202 are just an odd size which is turn off for some collectors.

[GasHouseGang]

I think it's a size issue. This is one example where big isn't necessarily better. :D

[Ronnie73]

Demand and popularity is always going to drive the prices up. T206 is probably one of the most common pre-war issues and preforms much better than many other issues that are many times rarer. T205's are probably right behind T206's when it comes to demand and popularity. You'd probably be shocked at the number of fully active T202 collectors, compared to T205's and T206 collectors. I like the idea of more card surface and players should carry more value compared to a smaller single player card, and they would, but this time the T202's are not winning a popularity contest. Collectors like a longer challenging checklist. They also like cards that are easier to display and store. Having most of the big star players at the time helped a lot too. As I mentioned before, it comes down to demand and popularity. Many would say supply, but I say no. There's a huge supply of T206's.

Another great example I always use is coins. I will talk about 2 different coins. One random coin and one not. One of the most popular US coins is the 1909-S VDB penny. Literally anyone that has ever started a penny collection knows about this penny and the steel cent made of copper in 1943. The 1909-S VDB is so popular, that David Hall's son once said he'd eat worms to get one for his penny collection. I don't know if he ever did.

The 1909-S VDB Penny had a mintage of 484,000.
An estimated 50,000 still exist today.
The circulated value ranges from $806 to $1800.

A 1859 Liberty Seated Half Dime had a mintage of 340,000.
144,000 less than the penny and it's 50 years older and made of silver.
There's currently an estimated 850 coins that still exist today.
The circulated value ranges from $19 to $230.
So it's 58 times more rare than the penny and you can get 42 of them for the same price as one penny.

I use the same type of comparing numbers when talking about new shiny manufactured rarities. It's not about supply but when you know the way the numbers stack up, you have the ability to build an extremely rare collection of something for a fraction of the cost. Something you can truly be proud of. Not something you collect because everyone else collects the same thing.