Sweet E105 Mello Mint Nap Lajoie

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Posted By: <b>crazy3</b><p><a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2725821606&category=31718&rd=1" target=_new>http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2725821606&category=31718&rd=1</a><BR>

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Posted By: <b>runscott</b><p>so why would ANY not be folded?

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Posted By: <b>jay behrens</b><p>never heard any theories outside of they never got put in the product. Mark Macrae might have the answer.<BR><BR>Jay

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Posted By: <b>petecld</b><p>Was the "folded to fit in the package" ever proven or is it just a guess?<BR><BR>Never made sense to me, why ruin a promotional item just to fit your product's package. In my experiience I've seen more without the fold then I have with a fold.

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Posted By: <b>Anonymous</b><p>We made a brief mention about these theories as to the creases down the center of many Mello Mints in response to a Readers Write question (page 57) in the May 2003 issue of Beckett Sports Collectors Vintage (#145) along with a mention of a sort of un-opened one. I have included the paragraph about it here as I thought you might find it interesting. I did not include the entire respose just the part about the packaging. If anyone knows any more on this we would like to hear about it. <BR><BR> Mello Mints are difficult to find in excellent condition because of the fragile nature of the paper stock they are printed on. It is also common to find them with a vertical crease down the center of the card leading many to believe that they were actually folded when placed in the gum package. This may or may not be the case since there are no known examples of the un-opened packaging or even empty wrappings. However, at a show in San Antonio, Texas some twenty years ago San Antonio dealer John Billingsley had in his possession a Mello Mint envelope package with a card inside. The envelope was slightly larger than the card and the card was placed inside the envelope flat and not folded. There was no room inside the envelope for any type of product other than the card itself. It is unclear if this was the way they were packed or if perhaps there may have also been some sort of premium offer where the cards may have been made available as well as in the gum packages.

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Posted By: <b>Wayne Grove</b><p>Forgot to put my name on the above post. It wasn't meant to be a shameless plug, rather just to add something that I had found interesting. By the way I asked John about it in case my memory was off and he confirmed what was written. He also remembered who the player was. Coincidence? It was Lajoie!

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Posted By: <b>brian parker</b><p>Interestingly, E106 cards are also seen frequently with a heavy vertical crease running the length of the card. Did Mr. Burdick (of American Card Catalog fame) intentionally classify these two issues together at the end of the small, color candy card 'E' sets because of their propensity to bend in half? Was this a coincidence, or perhaps some kind of candy card conspiracy?<BR><BR>Just fooling around,<BR><BR>Brian

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Posted By: <b>B C Daniels</b><p>and not a one of them was folded. pete is correct,they are rarely folded it seems unless the greater number of them were tossed,folded and in very poor condition it seems obvious they are not like T-201's and although supposed to be folded are not.Maybe some were to fit the packaging but they have no indication on the cards 9 like the (T-201's) as well that they were meant to be. The cards I received from John are all ex/mt or better raw and I also purchased a Hall of Fame group from our beloved John Spencer five years ago and they too had not a fold in any of them.I sent 10 to SGC and they are so noted in the population report. And how about the J.V. grooup Scott brockelman ended up with! I have two of the PSA 7's as well as a 6 and i think most of them scott sent in and came back anywhere from 5-7*. hard to imagine any of those were folded either.

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Posted By: <b>RC_McKenzie</b><p>is that one employee folded the cards out of habit. I see about 1 in 5 folded. Say they had 5 employees inserting the cards into the product....???<BR><BR>Cool series nonetheless.

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Posted By: <b>James Verrill</b><p><BR>Last year, I had the good fortune to acquire about 2 dozen Mello Mint cards from a gentleman in South Carolina. They were cards he was given by his father, the original "owner".<BR><BR>Six of these were of Cy Young, the others were commons (mostly Jack Knight). You've probably seen alot of these in MastroNet auctions, Lipset auctions, Barry Sloate, etc. Only one of the cards was creased, and it was not a center fold, rather a true crease, off to one side. Of course, a couple of corners were wrinkled on a few. The cards weren't flawless, but, the person that purchased them from me had many of them graded, and they have graded as high as SGC 86 and PSA 7, I believe.<BR><BR>What I was told about the history is that, yes, the cards were folded to be placed in the package and/or container.<BR><BR>Those that are not creased at all - such as those I had and then sold, were acquired directly from the company, and not via purchasing the product itself. What I was told is that, alot of people wrote the company and asked for unfolded examples to keep and collect, and the company was good about accomadating these requests. I was also told that, a number of uncut strips and sheets were provided to retailers as sort of semi-promotional material, and alot of these were cut up. I have never seen an uncut sheet of E105s, so I don't know what to think about that theory. I tend to feel that, based on what I have seen and heard, clean examples of these cards were acquired through the mail, and not from the product itself.<BR><BR>E105s are gorgeous cards when they are truly clean. And, they have taught me alot about "scarcity". Scarcity is a truly relative thing. For years, only creased or completely mangled examples of these cards seemed available anywhere. Retailers didn't have much trouble selling off hammered cards for exorbitant prices, simply because they were so scarce. And, then, like with so many other type cards, alot of uncreased examples surfaced out of nowhere. My find was truly amazing, given the scarcity, but it demonstrates that there are really still cards out there waiting to be found. Most of them are with the families of the original owners, often unknown to them (somewhere in storage). I do not think there are that many ungraded examples in private collections that were acquired before the year 1999 (and even this estimation is relative). I feel that most of those that are "ultra clean" are graded (or were, and then were broken out of slabs after they were purchased), and surfaced within the last few years. I think alot of obscure material has surfaced in the last few years. My personal take is that it is largely due to the internet. People in remote locations have suddenly become educated about the true values of cards. The days of a family inheriting a hoard of rare cards and selling them for $100 is pretty much gone by. Most people go online, research the values, and then, paradoxically, try and sell it for the high value price they see listed for it. <BR><BR>I remember a story I was told about a year ago. Two children, both adults, inherited the estate of their parents, in Long Island, New York. The kids did not live nearby, and they were settled to a point where they simply didn't want to deal with the liquidation of the property and belongings. They called a friend of mine, and he was secured to review the contents and do an inventory. During this process, a box was found, in a false cubby space, behind a drawer, in an old bureau. The contents of the box were T206s, basically untouched. Among the cards were a number of Hall of Famers, and several rare variations. The condition of the cards was so great that, an independent expert had to be brought in to evaluate the cards and verify that they were authentic. Everyone was basically sure they were, but wanted independent review of that assumption, because the cards were so amazingly clean. Anyway, to make a long story even longer (and you know a dramatic ending is approaching), the cards were "real". My friend notified the daughter he had come across some old cards and was having them reviewed. Now the sad part: Apparently the son had a history of trouble with "the law". As fate would have it, he ran in to some very messy people at a bar one night, and he ended up in jail. He had a long history, and a number of previous offenses, so his bail was set pretty high. See where this is going, yet? He called his sister, and she did not have access to the kind of cash he needed. She met with a bondsman and reviewed her assets. During the discussion, she mentioned, completely by coincidence, that there were some old cards in her parents' estate. As the stroy goes, the bondsman smelled a winner, arranged to see the cards, and agreed to post bail in exchange for the lot of cards. The sister agreed, having no idea what the cards may be worth, and figured it was the best solution. My recollection is that the bail was less than $5,000, but I cannot recall. I do remember this - the estimated value of the cards was closer to $125,000. Where the cards went, whatever happened to them - anyone's guess. But, it reminds me that there <u>are</u> still "finds" out there, and that there is always the possibility of a new group of exceptional cards coming in to the market.<BR><BR>Thanks for sticking with me through the whole message!<BR><BR>JV