Ending Tonight!!v 2/14/16 - Net54baseball Member Auctioning T206 Collection
 

When folks ask me about advertising on the forum I usually answer, if it is good for the members, good for the board owner and good for the company or person sponsoring it, then we have something we can talk about. This is certainly one of those scenarios. Is it good for our members (do any collect T206?), is it good for the owner (Invest in Baseball is an advertiser and this is a sponsored ad) and is it good for the person or company sponsoring it, the answer is yes. Our member, Steve Woe.lfel (hi Steve) has decided to part with his T206 near set. I wish Steve, Invest In Baseball and all of our members the best of luck in these auctions. Here is a blurb they put out -


1909-11 T206 Baseball Cards Now Available


Arguably, this is the greatest baseball card set of all time. It is the tobacco card set from over 100 years ago nicknamed "The Monster". To put some perspective on the timeframe, on opening day of the 1910 season, President William Howard Taft declared that baseball would officially become our "National Pastime". That is the backdrop for a massive set that essentially began the history of the hobby while also helping to create the heroes of the game.

T206's were sold as a premium item in tobacco products from 1909 through 1911. Almost all the cards have only a tobacco advertisement on the back promoting the most popular brands of the American Tobacco Company. So, when you turn over a T206, it might say "Piedmont", "Old Mill", "Sweet Caporal" or some other name. There are 16 varieties in all and include numerous scarcities, as well as multiple versions of many players.

Invest In Baseball has acquired a set with over 500 T206's and they are now up for $.99 No Reserve Auction. Each card is graded and authenticated and the collection includes both the famous and the infamous. This is a great opportunity for collectors to own a piece of 100 year-old baseball history. Let's look at some of the Hall of Fame members who played the game a century ago...

> Frank "Home Run" Baker - Played on three Philadelphia Athletics World Championship teams and led the AL in Home Runs for four consecutive seasons (1911-14).

> "Tinkers to Evers to Chance" - In a 1910 poem by Franklin Pierce Adams, this line was immortalized and the legends of Frank Chance, Johnny Evers & Joe Tinker were set in place. These three players comprised the double-play trio of the Chicago Cubs, a team that won four pennants and two World Series in a five-year span. All are in the Hall of Fame and each of their cards are part of this offering.

> Jack Chesbro - In 1904, for the New York Highlanders, he won 41 games with an ERA of 1.82...maybe the best individual pitching effort in history.

> Ty Cobb - Along with Babe Ruth, one of the two greatest players in the early days of baseball. His career spanned both the "dead ball" and "live ball" eras and his lifetime BA of .366 still stands as the all-time record. Elected to the first Hall of Fame class in 1936, his "Green Portrait" card is the most desirable and is part of this collection.

> Sam Crawford - Played alongside Cobb for many seasons with the Tigers and still holds the major league record with 309 Triples.

> Walter Johnson - In the discussion for the greatest Pitcher of all-time, "The Big Train" won 417 games for the Washington Senators from 1907-27.

> Nap Lajoie - This legendary 2B had over 3,000 Hits and when he won the AL Triple Crown in 1902, his BA was .426.

> Christy Mathewson - Another of the original five to be part of the 1936 Hall of Fame class, this Giants hurler won 373 games from 1900-16.

> Tris Speaker - This speedy OF had a lifetime BA of .345 and led the Red Sox to two World Series Championships. He also managed the Indians to a title in 1920.

> Cy Young - You understand how legendary a player must have been to have an award named after him. He was at the end of his career when these cards were issued and his lifetime mark of 511 Wins will never be challenged.

Leaving the Hall of Fame aside, you'll also find some amazing stories behind other cards in this great collection. Included are Ed Cicotte, the White Sox Pitcher implicated in the 1919 "Black Sox" scandal. And you'll find Fred Merkle, the Giants player who cost them the pennant with a base-running mistake in 1908. For the rest of his 16-year career, he was called "Bonehead".

Every piece of cardboard tells a story.

**** Please note- "The Woelfel Collection" was painstakingly pieced together over the years, looking for just the right unique version of each of the cards in the T206 set. Remarkably well centered with eye appeal at the forefront - this incredible collection is offered at $.99 No Reserve Auctions at the following link:

http://stores.ebay.com/Invest-In-Bas...&_sop=12&_sc=1


,

thanks for the background...I had no idea what a "t206" was?

We do but others they put this release out to might not.

Nice looking cards. Good luck to all parties.

I'll take em! No, seriously Steve, best of luck with the sale!

Steve is a great guy, bid early and bid often!!!

Good luck with the sale - to both Steve and Sean.

I wanted to post the link one more time:

http://stores.ebay.com/Invest-In-Bas...c=1&rmvSB=true

Great set!
 

But Steve, you have the "el" on the end of your name wrong, it's supposed to be "le" :D

You are probably right Ed, I was told by an old German woman that my name could be spelled with the LE and meant "little wolf". I had always heard through the family that the name basically meant a shepherd (a "wolf-feller" would be someone who took down wolves and kept the livestock safe). Who knows?! :D

Thanks to everyone for their kind words!! I'm hoping that many of these cards go to my fellow board members. Lord knows a large amount of them came from the good folks on Net54!!

Despite the recent negative news in the hobby, I can say with 100% certainty that I've never had anything but great experiences with everyone that I've bought from and sold to on Net54. I'd also like to think that I've made some good friends along the way.

My decision to sell the set is not due to any financial hardship. The quest to slay the Monster was something that I spent a good deal of time doing with my son James. Since he passed last June, I just haven't had the same enjoyment in looking for T206's, or indeed in looking at them. Just a bit too painful. While I'm sure I'll continue to collect other stuff going forward, this project just lost it's meaning when I lost my "T206 Buddy" Jim. Despite all of his many challenges, Jim was a tremendous artist (he drew my avatar of an aging Honus selecting his lumber) and touched many lives in his brief 18 years.

So here's to the memory of James! Allons-y!!

Thanks to all and best of luck to those who bid. There are some really neat cards scattered throughout the collection. Some cool back stamps, WSTs, a few (same) double names, some color variations (Lindaman missing the red pass), a double factory strike (Owen), a slight name jump (Sheckard), etc...as well as all of the T206 legends, HOFers, Southern Leaguers, and most of the rare backs. :D:D:D

Best,

Steve

Best of luck on the sale, Steve.

Hi Steve--
 

Wishing you the very BEST in selling your collection & I fully understand your reasoning as to why you are selling. I know many are from the Roy Mellinger Collection & hope they go for record prices!

Thanks Fred! There are definitely some of the Roy Mellinger collection Piedmont 150 cards spread through the auction. I'll touch base with you soon, hope all is well down in RI. We got hit with about a foot of heavy, wet snow yesterday. I guess we were due after the mild winter we've had so far!! :D

Steve...
 

very touching my friend! GOOD LUCK:)

Sincerely wishing you the best of luck Steve. I already see a couple of plate
scratches that I have but I can always use more duplicates. (I'm not sure my wife would agree with this)

Just a reminder that "The Woelfel near T206 set" closes tomorrow night! Thanks to everyone that has bid so far and thanks to all for their words of encouragement. Set consists of 519 different cards, all PSA or SGC graded, minus Demitt and the big four. All backs are represented, with the exception of Drum, BL 460, Lenox Brown, Old Mill Brown and Cobb!!

There are a ton of cards that are steals at their current prices! :D

There is a Dode Paskert back run (including both T213-2 variations as well as a T213-3). Also some additional duplicates of other players.

Also, some really cool variations: back stamps, color shifts, a missing red pass (Lindaman), a double factory stamp (Owen) partial double names, a partial Sweet Caporal gutter stamp, WSTs, partial double backs, etc...

Good luck and happy bidding!!

Best,

Steve

Big night tonight Steve. Good luck. I know the feeling...

Bump to the top for a few extra bids. :)

Anyone win any? I won a couple of low grade cards an EPDG Wilhelm and a Magee portrait. Prices were expensive for the low grades.

I won the following riddle
 

I won

Two HOFers

Two cards that will upgrade raw beaters in my set

And two cards showing a guy named George,

For a total of three cards. :confused::eek:

Each of the above pairs are different (a&b, a&c, b&c). :D:D

Who did I win?

Didn't win any
 

I bid on 70 cards. With a few hours to go, many of the commons were still under $10. There were a couple of dozen that were still under $5. With 1 1/2 hours to go, I was winning 28 cards, but I ended up losing all of them, because I didn't want to over pay for PSA 1's and I don't collect the set. I did bid on the Type 3 Coupon, even though it was rough. Someone got a decent deal on that card for a little over $70. If I had been home when that auction ended I would have raised my max bid.

Rick

Hi Rick,

I think I got the Type 3 Coupon from you, if my memory is correct (and that's not a given as I get older! :D). I agree that someone got a decent deal. I enjoyed owning it as part of the Paskert back run.


Overall, there were some interesting results. Some cards went for way more than I thought they would and some were very good bargains. I thought the Uzit back SGC 30 was a good deal at $1,775 as I haven't seen another for under $2k in a while. There were some neat printing anomalies that didn't really bring any premium over normal commons.

Thanks Frank!
 

I'll guess George Davis (HOF), George Browne Washington and Ed Walsh (HOF). No idea on the third HOFer, just taking a shot in the dark!! :D

Paskert
 

Hi Steve, now that you mention it, I think you did get it from me. If I remember correctly, you were putting together a Paskert run.

Rick

Frank,

Since you seem to favor SGC in the VG range and based on your clue's
I'm going to guess...

George Davis
George Moriarty
Marquard (follow through)

Pat,

You nailed it, but my set is better than VG+ now and half way to VGEX at an SGC average rating of 47 and change:D

Steve,

Are you "investinbaseball" ????

If so you're right a couple regular old commons sky rocketed at the last seconds which I was very shocked and left my head scratching. A couple SGC30s.

I won a single card that had been on my list of player/cards most desired right now.

REALLLLLLLLLLLY REALLLLLLLLLLYYYYYY wanted that Red Cobb Authentic last night but had no Pay Pal Credit left. Went in my price range of what I'd want to be on a payment plan for and overall eye appeal for me was top notch.

Karger
 

Finished my Karger back run with the SC150/25 pickup.

I bid on about 15 and won one! I'm glad I now have a t206 from the Steve & Jim Woelfel collection.

I was placing manual snipes and got distracted on the last card I had on my list. Cost you about $5 there - sorry Steve :)


From Steve's point of view, I bet it was really exciting/ nerve racking to watch that unfold!


Great job by Sean and Invest in Baseball.

It was a lot of fun.

I bid on one and lost it, went quite a bit higher than I expected.

Thought I set some strong snipes on a few and got killed.

Seems like Ebay was getting high prices on everything last night, I was shut out on a bunch of items I thought I was going to get.

Biggest let downs of the day were the Green Cy Young Portrait in this group and a B18 Joe Jackson Blanket in another sellers listing.

Got so frustrated I went high and over paid for 33' #181 Ruth later in the night. Oh well, I wanted one. :D

I purchased the T206 Shag Shaughnessy which is the last card I needed to get to 518 different T206 cards.
It looks like someone made a very strong bid early on, and I had to fight it out with that bid and another last second snipe (like the one I placed).
Larry

Hi Steve
 

I was really happy to see the two rare back T206's that you and I worked out a cash/trade deal on (some time ago) sold for more than we had originally figured on.

I won 3 of 4 cards that I needed for upgrades in my sets. The 4th was sniped from me in the last 2 secs.

GOD Bless you and your family, Steve.


TED Z
.

Hi Josh,

Sean Bassik (Hi Sean!) is InvestinBaseball, but yeah that was my set last night. I LOVED the Cobb Red Portrait. I know it had a clipped corner, but to me it didn't distract from the image at all.

It was funny, some cards skyrocketed and caught me by surprise and other cards that I thought would take off got little to no action at the end. Overall, I'm very pleased with the results. And I'm glad to see that some members win a few! A big thanks to Sean for facilitating the sale and to Leon for the nice front page post.

Thanks as well to everyone for their kind words!

Now I have to figure out what to collect going forward. Maybe the T3 Turkey Red set??!! :eek: I've always loved the look of the T3's and I already have Speaker and Bresnahan, so I'm 2% of the way there!!! :D

Best,

Steve

Steve, good luck with whatever you decide to collect in the future.

PS- I got the Leach Piedmont 42. :)
I tried for a couple other rare backs, but I got shutout.

Auction
 

I got the two I wanted in the AB Stovall and Jennings. Great selection of cards.

Craig W. it is great to see you on the boards again, you were missed !!

I bid on 5 but all were sniped out from under me with 2 seconds to go...:mad:

i dont even collect t206...but I bid on a bunch late...lost em all!

Hi Steve
 

So I got the Chief Meyers with the Sweet Cap 460 factory 25 Back. Of course one can't tell the SGC pops because they won't show the factory number, but that is the only one showing in the PSA reports (I know, they didn't report the back specifics until a few years ago). Anyway, I was wondering if that card is really as rare as the pop reports make it seem, or is this another card that is artificially scarce (not a popular card so people don't really get them graded all that often)? That was one of the backs that has eluded me for a while now. Are these backs under appreciated? I know this was a tough auction, I hope it helps seeing the cards go to people who collect and care about them. You have some good friends on this board.

Ed

I'm not a big T206 guy, but picked up six from the Woelfel collection :)

Given what Green Cobb's have gone for recently, I think the one that sold from Steve's collection went rather cheap, IMHO.