Video of Lionel Carter

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Chris</b><p>Wow. Incredible video of Lionel Carter fliping through some beautiful T206 cards.<br /><br /><a href="http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5183921" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5183921</a>

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Brad</b><p>Thanks for the link!<br /><br />I really enjoyed watching it!

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Dan Bretta</b><p>Thanks for posting this.

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Keith O'Leary</b><p>I'm sure its hard to let them go after spending almost your entire life passionately pursuing and enjoying them. I enjoyed it as well, thanks for posting a link.<br><br><a href="http://s45.photobucket.com/albums/f92/vwtdi55/" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://s45.photobucket.com/albums/f92/vwtdi55/</a>

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>boxingcardman</b><p>$1 million to $2 million for the collection?? From what I've seen his stuff is so nice and so high grade that I could see it hitting the $1 million mark with just the 96 lots in the current auction. Ex-mt E102 Cobb and Wagner, a T206 Plank, a complete CJ run except for the 1914 Matty, 63 Ramlys including Johnson, etc. And the high grade 1930s stuff...who has cards that old, with that provenance (no chance of trimming to worry about--one owner since day i and a hobby pioneer to boot), in that condition?

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Jason L</b><p>the collection is being broken up, given the fact that so much of it was like original owner - I can't imagine that many 1930s cards-all straight from a pack!<br />If I was a billionaire, I would have approached him with a stoopid $$$ lump sum offer!<br /><br />This is the kind of collection that really brings the joy and fascination back to the hobby.

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Joe Jones</b><p>What an inspiring story! It has rejuvenated my interest in cards, and the old school way of collecting them. I just busted any cards I had in a slabs, and put them in pages. I can't wait to see the video that Mastro is going to put out about the collection.

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Dave F</b><p>It's amazing looking at the T206's just how fake they look from being in such pristine condition...lol.<br /><br />Anybody wanna tell me those are altered too?

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Bob</b><p>I think it is great that SGC has graded the cards and added Lionel Carter collection for provenance. I plan on bidding on many as do, I am sure, many of you.

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>martindl</b><p><br />Here's another article on Lionel and his cards - some duplication from the linked story but some more depth as to some of his purchases, together with his thoughts on the money aspect of the hobby.<br /><br />Lionel Carter: A world before baseball cards were investments<br /><br />Lionel Carter remembers it like it was yesterday. The year was 1933 in the rural town of Kolfax, Ill. He was 15 years old.<br /><br />"I had a nickel in my pocket, and I went to this little drugstore, which doubled as an ice cream store," he recalls. "Something caught my eye – these shiny wrappers and I asked the man, ’what are these?’ He said, ’they’re baseball cards.’ They were one cent apiece, and I said I’ll take five of them."<br /><br />From that initial purchase of five 1932 DeLong baseball cards, grew one of the most esteemed collections in the world.<br /><br />"We just bought the bubble gum for the cards that were in the pack," he says. "We’d chew it long enough just to get the sugar out of it and then throw it in the street. We had so much gum out in the street, that we’d used to joke about the cars getting stuck out in it."<br /><br />During the ensuing years, as Carter moved on from Kolfax with his life – through several jobs, combat service in the Pacific theatre of World War II and finally at the bank where he met his wife and worked for more than 35 years – baseball cards were always a large part of his life.<br /><br />Sunday night at the Carter home was "card mounting night," when he and his wife, Irma, meticulous placed the cards collected during the week into scrapbooks.<br /><br />By the 1950s, Carter – and his collection – was known throughout the United States. He corresponded with the country’s most serious collectors, and became a respected contributor to many of the hobby’s early trade publications.<br /><br />One of the more amazing aspects of the collection is that cards from the early years, roughly 1933 through the 1940s, were purchased by Carter directly from retail establishments. In itself, this is rare in that most collections have been assembled through purchases made at card shows, auctions and other collectible venues, according to fellow collector, Doug Allen, president of Mastro Auctions.<br /><br />Solely from the standpoint of condition, the Carter collection maintains a distinctive niche in card collecting history.<br /><br />"Lionel Carter is one of the original baseball card collecting pioneers," Allen said. "His collection is like nothing that I have ever seen. It is as though the cards he collected have been transported in time. They look as good as they did the day they came out of the packs.<br /><br />"He was a very prolific collector, but he cared about condition. He wasn’t like most guys who – if they had a hole in their collection – they just plugged it in with any old card. From early on, he cared about condition."<br /><br />A few months ago, Carter’s house was broken into, ransacked and several cards were stolen. Although the cards were ultimately recovered, the Carters decided it was no longer safe to keep the cards in their home. They contacted Mastro Auctions and decided to sell the collection.<br /><br />"It’s kind of sad – I really don’t want to sell them," the 89-year-old Carter now says. "I always said I’d have them until I die. But, it’s too dangerous, we’ve been told. It’s gotten to the point where we no longer felt safe with them here, and there’s not a big enough bank vault to hold them all."<br /><br />As a result, the renowned Carter collection will be sold by Mastro Auctions throughout 2007, with the first installment set for phone/Internet auction beginning April 9 and concluding on the 27th of the month.<br /><br />In the 1950s, his collection was estimated to be worth the "astounding" value of $1,000, Allen said. Today, he sets estimates of the sale "easily at the seven-figure" level. "It will easily sell at $1 million, but it could come into the $2 million range," he says. "There are tens of thousands of cards. We’re going to be grading each and every card<br /><br />Some of the premiere offerings of the sale include:<br /><br />• A 1951 Bowman no. 253 Mickey Mantle rookie card. According to Dave Forman, president of Sports Card Guaranty, the company grading the Carter collection, the card is the finest example of its kind. His company said it is a spectacular mint condition card. The opening bid for the card is $5,000.<br /><br />• The 1938 Goudey "Heads Up" complete set, assembled out of packs purchased by Carter in 1938. Mastro Auctions is offering the cards as either a set or individually, depending on which commands a higher selling price. All of the cards have a consistent look, according to the auction company, and it is obvious the set has been together for nearly 70 years. The set is referred by collectors as the "Heads Up" set, as the format depicts a player’s photographic head shot superimposed on a small cartoon-like drawing of the player’s body. One of the cards includes Hank Greenberg, no. 253, graded SGC 98 GEM 10, the only 1938 Goudey Head’s Up card to be graded so high. Bids for the individual cards will begin at $2,500, with bidding on the set as a whole starting at $10,000.<br /><br />• Leaf’s 1948 Babe Ruth, no. 3, again graded SGC 96 Mint 9 – one of only two graded cards at this level with none graded higher. Bidding on the card will begin at $5,000.<br /><br />Ironically, it was never Carter’s intention to begin collecting cards for economic gain. Even today, he disparages the "commercialism" rampant in baseball card circles.<br /><br />"When I started, I had no idea people would pay these prices for cards," he says. "It’s all about money now. I hate it. Back then, we were all card collectors, we all knew each other, it was just a lot of fun … it wasn’t about the money.<br /><br />"I just did it for the love of it. But, these people will buy the cards for the investment. We went to all these little shows, and we made a lot of friends. But all these collectors are gone now, I was just a youngster among them … I have the greatest memories – that’s something money can’t buy."

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Dan Bretta</b><p>I wonder when/if he stopped collecting at some point? And before his house got broken into I wonder if he really realized how valuable some of his cards were.

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Dave F</b><p>Dan....I know I saw cards in his collection that were Topps from the early 90's. I would assume a guy like that valued his 1992 Topps Wade Boggs as much as his T206 Cobb Green portrait. I doubt he ever collected for the money..and I doubt he ever was really aware of the money he had until now. And, I doubt at 89 years old that 2 million dollars makes much difference.

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Dave S</b><p>Indeed an inspiring story...and how true his visions have become, think most will agree:<br /><br />"When I started, I had no idea people would pay these prices for cards," he says. "It’s all about money now. I hate it. Back then, we were all card collectors, we all knew each other, it was just a lot of fun … it wasn’t about the money.<br /><br />"I just did it for the love of it. But, these people will buy the cards for the investment. We went to all these little shows, and we made a lot of friends. But all these collectors are gone now, I was just a youngster among them … I have the greatest memories – that’s something money can’t buy."<br />

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Frank Evanov</b><p>Enjoyed the video. Hard to believe that the immortal Lionel Carter is selling, but I guess eventually we all will.<br><br>Frank

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Jim Clarke</b><p>I was just loggin in some publications I just got in and saw this article Lionel wrote back in early 70's<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1175817337.JPG">

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Jim Clarke</b><p>Just found another from 1955...<br /><br /><img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1175819480.JPG">

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Alan</b><p>Wouldn't it be nice for him to be an honored guest & speak at the National ? Maybe even attend the network 54 dinner.

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>MikeB</b><p>Perhaps Leon could contact Mr. Carter for the board.<br />Maybe this could be done by Mastro. Let him know there is a gruop of<br />people who still love to collect. That might lead to Alan's suggestion of getting<br />him to the dinner. Maybe more so if some of the board members can show him the <br />cards they won. Wishful Thinking????<br /><br />Mike

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Anonymous</b><p>Many thanks to ABC Channel 7 out of Chicago for airing the story. Great story, wish they would have given it more time.<br /><br />It almost makes me want to buy a piece of his collection, even though it doesn't fall within my collections scope.<br /><br />Best Regards,<br />Joe Gonsowski

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Doug Allen</b><p>Hey You'all,<br /><br />I don't think Lionel and Irma would be up to the trip to Cleveland although I know he would be up to hanging out and communicating with collectors. He is pretty amazed and amused by all the excitement surrounding his collection. I was at his house on Tuesday reviewing a final version of his video entitled "Spared from the Spokes...the Lionel Carter Collection" and Wednesday when Chicago news crews and journalists from the Chicago Tribune (he appeared proudly holding his T206 album on the front page!)were interviewing him.<br /><br />I am bringing out Lionel and Irma to my office during the auction to get a feel for how the auction process works. Maybe he will help me sort through some of the albums I haven't gotten to yet.<br /><br />I honestly still can't get myself to take the T206's out of the album. I wish it would do them justice by selling them in the album the way he assembled them.<br /><br />Should have the video finalized, duplicated and ready to distribute in another week.<br /><br />All the best,<br />Doug

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>jay wolt</b><p>Doug - Looking forward to viewing that video.<br />Can't wait!

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Alan</b><p>It's too bad the National isn't in Chicago this year - if that was the case, he probably would have been able to attend. <br /><br />Looking forward to the video !!!<br /><br />Alan

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Cat</b><p>Since his 96 lots in the present auction are already at $815K, we think the $1MM to $2MM estimate may be a little low.<br><br>________________<br /><br /><a href="http://www.audiocomedy.net/soundboards/jacket.shtml" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://www.audiocomedy.net/soundboards/jacket.shtml</a>

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Joe_G.</b><p>Good for Mr Carter, he should be able to live quite comfortably. So he might hit Mastros' total collection estimate with just the first wave of cards.<br /><br />But now he has traded one risk for another. <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14> I guess it's a little easier to save the money in a bank than a collection of thousands of baseball cards.<br /><br />Best Regards to Lionel Carter.<br /><br />Joe Gonsowski

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>barrysloate</b><p>Hopefully Mr. Carter has children and grandchildren, and that he is a generous man.<br /><br />And keep in mind this is not his entire collection. I think he still has two more auctions to go, the June collector one and the major August sale.