Acquiring large lot collections & their surprises....tell us of your's
 

Recently, I acquired a 400+ (all different) T206 collection. Besides having fun sorting thru large collections like this,
there are usually some nice surprises to be found.
This one was better than usual, as the following cards were included in it......

Lundgren (Cubs) with incomplete color
McCauley with incomplete color
Schulte (front view) with double name and blank back

and, some of the cards with tougher backs in this collection......

Cobb (red portrait) with AMERICAN BEAUTY 350
Donlin (bat) with CYCLE 460
Lajoie (bat) with AMERICAN BEAUTY 460
CYoung (glove) with PIEDMONT 460 factory 42


<img src="http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/tt113/zanted86/lundgrenmccauleyschulte.jpg" alt="[linked image]">
<img src="http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd339/tz1234zaz/clundgren.jpg" alt="[linked image]">



Tell us of your medium to large lot acquisitions and any surprises you have found in such collections ?


T-Rex TED

One surprise that stands out for me is that about twenty years ago I recall buying a family collection of several hunded T206's. I had only given a quick look at them when I purchased it, and after the seller left I sat down to examine it more closely. To my utter surprise I found two Drum backs in the group. I've bought or received on consignment many original family collections, but this is the only one where I ever found Drum backs, and two no less.

Barry
 

Was the DRUM, that I acquired from you on our bet back in the 1980's, one of those two cards ?


TED Z

I'm thinking that it was, but I'm not absolutely sure.

great stories
 

Ted
Could one of the 2 be that great Moeller that you've spoken of as one of a kind?!!!!
If the bet with Barry S. is not too private, i'd sure like to hear about it in order
to know more and more about that One of a kind Moeller!!!


all the best, ole buddies
barry

Barry A and Barry S......
 

Barry A

In the early 1980's, I started my 1st T206 set. In 1983, I met Barry Sloate via an SCD adv. he was running on 1949 Bowman cards.
Barry was also into the T206's, and he encouraged me in collect the tougher T206 front/back combos. To start with, he sold me that
nice looking Lundgren (shown in my initial post here with the very rare EPDG back). I paid Barry $75 for the Lundgren (the most I had
paid for a T206 at that time). Some time in 1985, Barry made me a $100 bet that I would not find a DRUM T206 within a year. Approx.
6 months later, Barry calls me. He tells me that he has a DRUM for me. I said.."but Barry, if you sell me this DRUM, you will lose our bet."
He said that was fine with him, and that's how I acquired my first DRUM. The same Moeller/DRUM card that is now in your collection.
So, Barry...."that's the rest of the story"....as Paul Harvey would say.

I'd venture say this Moeller is a unique T206. It's been almost 30 years, and I have never seen another T206 Moeller with a DRUM back.
Perhaps, some one else on this forum will chime in and tell us that they have (or have seen) a 2nd Moeller/DRUM card ? ?


TED Z

My favorite was years ago in a Lelands auction. I picked up a big lot of T and R boxing cards that were described as mixed lots of various series. Much to my surprise and delight they were actually complete sets. Best of all, a 1948 Leaf card was actually a 1933 US Caramel.

Paul Harvey...
 

Ted,
It is a great story and I am most pleased to hear it!!!
And if I may take the liberty of continuing it...
Just a couple of years or so ago, when i was trying desperately to add a Drum
back to my newly tamed Monster, TRex asked me if I would be interested in
his Moeller Drum which he had acquired from his good friend Barry Sloate back in the early 80's. Happily, I was eager as could be---then he said he would sell it to me for what he paid Barry Sloate in the early 80's---$100.
And my eagerness and gratitude rose exponentially!!! Needless to say, I am
not only indebted to this fine friend but am continually proud of the provenance of this Sloate--Zanidakis Moeller Drum.
It now is displayed in my office,framed along with my Canfield Drum Pouch, another piece which holds much pride as does the friendship.
all the best,
Barry

Ted- wow, I forgot that story but I remember it now!:)

Barry- I did know that the Drum I sold Ted ended up with you. That's the beauty of this hobby- cards get around.

barry s.
 

that is the beauty as well as the enduring friendship and scholarly collegiality we so enjoy.
and the Sloate--Zanidakis provenance!!!

all the best, ole friend

barry

Barry A and Barry S......
 

I really appreciate the kind words, guys. As some others on this forum get their "jollies" by "beating up" on me.

Fortunately, there are more guys like you on here, than them.

T-Rex TED

I bought a large group of raw T206s in an auction about ten years ago. When they arrived and I went through them, I was surprised to find a "Nodgrass" error in the group. It was not mentioned in the auction description and probably went unnoticed.
JimB

P.S. Great story about the Barry>Ted>Barry(2) Drum!
JimB

JIm B- that's amazing. I was just about to add the story that about 5-6 years ago, I bought a large raw lot of T205-206 from a major auction house and in my group was also a Nodgrass! You mean that's happened twice? Pretty cool.

I think there's a world of difference between disagreeing with someone and "beating" them up.

I saw several people who disagreed with you. I didn't see anyone beating you up.

Jim B
 

Neat story....I did not bother to check for a "Nodgrass" error in these 400+ cards. I'll go thru them again when I get home.

Also, I'll look for a "Shappe".

As it is, I am very happy with the unexpected errors and the scarce front/back combos I have found already (shown in my
initial post here) in this collection.


Thanks for sharing.

TED Z

Great stories everyone!

I wish i had friends like Barry and Ted..... No one would ever sell me a Drum back for that kind of price....

Ted, once i am back to work and am ready to re-break my t206 cherry, i would love my first one to be a Teddy Z card purchased card. Doesn't matter who or what back, just a decent shaped 206 and will remain in my collection!

Jim D
 

If you are interested....I'll fix you up with a T206 of your choice (if I have it); and, you can pay for it whenever.

Please, no PM. Email me at......
tedzan11@comcast.net

Regards,

TED Z

Mastro lot.....
 

There are a few auction houses who have been fortunate to get large collections of miscellaneous items and just list them all together for sale. Those auction houses also, many times, didn't go through the lots too well before auctioning them. I believe I have heard many stories about those "finds" within finds. One that sticks out for me is when I bought a fairly large lot of tobacco packs from a Mastro Auction. One of them was an unopened Pirate pack that was not described as such (I don't believe). When I pressed my fingers against the pack I could feel a card inside. I have since traded that pack to another board member but I couldn't believe there was a card in the pack that wasn't even described as unopened (and definitely wasn't described as having a card in it, albeit I have no idea what kind of card) regards

Acquiring large lot collections & their surprises....tell us of your's
 

My favorite large lot acquisition was back in 2006 from one of Barry Sloate's auctions. It consisted of 346 - T206's,
of which 262 were SOVEREIGN cards. It is quite rare that this many SOVEREIGN's are found in one lot of cards.

The amazing part of this collection was the 40+ HOFer's in it, including the following SOVEREIGN cards.......

Green Cobb
Both Johnson's
Speaker
Lajoie (portrait)
Tinker (portrait & batting)
Evers (portrait & both batting cards)
Chance [portrait (red & yellow)]
Bresnahan (portrait & batting)

etc., etc.

This gave me a huge "jump start" on putting together my all-SOVEREIGN set.


Thank you again, Barry.

TED Z

Nat Finds
 

I purchased a group of misc. sports guides and books that were heavy on USFL media guides. Also included were some older baseball books. In one of the books was a piece of paper that had a bunch of autographs of older baseball players including Gil Hodges and Joe Paterno. I didn't get the connection until I did some research and found out that Paterno was from Brooklyn. I had the autographs authenticated by Richard Simon some time ago.

I have had other nice surprises as well.

-One of my larger purchases of old Brooklyn Dodgers baseball programs included some Green Bay Packers programs from the 1930's. Included was a Packers vs. Redskins Program that I didn't realize until I got home was from an early championship game...I sold this program for 3k which paid for the entire purchase.

-I purchased a collection on eBay of 1920's football programs that were advertised in poor condition. A few of the programs weren't great but many were awesome and a few had Marion Morrison (John Wayne).

-I purchased a large collection of football programs from a known dealer in Florida. Not a lot of information, so I took a chance and found programs that had Jackie Robinson, AAFL and other really collectible items.

I also have found a Joe Namath rookie card in a book as well as some neat ticket stubs tucked into older programs.

I bought a collection of cards ranging in years from the 1940s-1970s and the seller "threw in" a small box of autographed baseballs that he didn't think much of. They turned out to be almost full team-signed balls. One was the mid 1950s Brooklyn Dodgers, one was the mid 1950s St. Louis Cardinals and the other was a late 1950s Giants. All 3 had the major stars and I sold the balls for nearly twice as much as I paid for the whole collection.

That was pre-wife and kids so I blew the proceeds on a 5 day bender in Vegas (Ahhhhh the good old days!)

Ted, you're welcome, and you don't find stuff like that as much today.

Interestingly, I may have made one of the best finds of my life today, although not a baseball card. Some of you know I collect large cents (American pennies issued between 1793 and 1857). I was going through my album today just checking something incidental. Every large cent is catalogued not only by date but by die variety. Every time a die broke and had to be replaced, there was a slight change as the dies were hand made. Some die varities are rather common, and some of course are great rarities. I've attributed most of mine but found one today, an 1801, that I never got around to doing. It's been sitting in my collection for at least two years and I paid little attention to it.

So today I pulled out my die varieties book and the large cent and sat down to see if I could identify it (it can at times be a very difficult process). Well, not only did I identify it but discovered it is a major rarity, and by far the rarest one in my collection! And here it is sitting in my album for all these years and didn't even know I had it. I can't even remember who I got it from.

I called my large cent expert and he confirmed it is in fact a great rarity and has a high four figure value! So how is that for a find- I found it in my own collection. It's been an interesting day.

Barry
 

That is a great story. On a smaller scale, I can appreciate your joy. Back in 1990 I was rummaging thru a box of miscellaneous cards
that I had stashed away since the early '80s. In it was a 1961 Fleer Wilt Chamberlain. I took it to a BB card show and sold it for $400.


TED Z