How to crack a $50,000 to $100,000 card.....
 

You crack it very carefully.......

This is no longer on a pop report.

I've cracked plenty of cards, the most valuable being a '57 Brooks Robinson.....but for a card like this I would probably have to hire a brain surgeon for his/her steady hands!

Would a smart surgeon be good enough?;)

Probably...do you know one?:D

Balls of steel...

Scary
 

Yikes !

A good friend said I shouldn't leave this information out, so here is the update too. It will be physically given to the NYPL next week, when someone from the NYPL comes to Dallas for it, but the decision has been made for a while.. Thanks to everyone who had patience.

Leon, in that 5th picture, the screwdriver looks very close to the card. :eek:

Has to be tough to give that card up

Joe

Doing the right thing . Should be on the front page of the New York Times .

For future ref - that is an industrial strength sd and way to big for the project. It invites disaster to the card and your other hand / wrist if it slips. I have always successfully used about a 4" sd which has a much thinner blade on SGC slabs, and so, much easier to pop a top corner seam. Then gradually work a slightly larger sd along the top seam, leaving the first sd in place. Never have had to use snips on SGC slabs, since, like the older PSA slabs, they are fairly easy to open.

I'm assuming they wanted it unslabbed to save space?

Steve B

Could also save on mailing cost ---- penny sleeve and a 50 cent stamp :)

Wow, that card is spectacular, I wondered why the card wasn't listed online when your auction started.

But, that is extremely kind of you Leon. I just read about how it was stolen, and sold on by Mastro (good ol' Mastro :(), but you deserve a medal for being so generous, and I think Al Spalding would be proud of you.

Best Wishes,

~Owen :)

I would have left it slabbed just to protect the card from the elements. As surgeon, I always error on the side of safety

There were multiple reasons for not leaving it in the slab. It was graded around 15 yrs ago when grading (especially of these) was more subjective. It didn't belong in a 50 holder by today's standards. Rest assured it is currently in an archival sleeve in an archival top loader, cushioned against one piece of a 3 inch thick screwdown holder and inside not 1 but 2 individually sealed, very heavy duty, water tight baggies. It is being hand delivered. I am not sure how it could be more safe.

As for cracking it, I had multipe devices handy but chose the one that I felt was the most steady for me to use. The picture where the screwdriver is above the card, makes it seem it could be touching it, but it isn't. The card is lower and rests inside and slightly below the gasket. From that point the srcrewdriver went backwards and out of the holder. Then I just flipped the edges and it popped exremely easily. No harm done and the card was never touched (as far as I could tell).

too funny.

good shit, leon. seriously!

not sure the intricate details of how it all went down and obviously there was some reluctance in the beginning stages, but this was the absolute right outcome in my eye. the selling of the collection for daughters college was the reason for the liquidation, but in my opinion what you did will teach her above and beyond what **ANY** institution could do.

great fn job!


btw: there's a song by loudin wainwright entitled: "that's my daughter in the water". if ya don't know it, give it a listen...

this is rewriting history.

+1, I don't think a lot of people would have the gumption to do this for such a high dollar card. If this were me, to be honest, I'd probably see if it were possible for me to legally wriggle out of this since the buyer didn't know it was stolen when purchased. Definitely huge kudos.

gary, he did, but came to the conclusion that it would be best to return it, only after negotiating with sgc to have it re-holdered from a 4 to a 2 holder, leon did sgc pay the difference under their guarantee? Otherwise, why bother negotiating having it re-graded and why even bother cracking it out of the holder at all. you would just send it in, in the holder it was in already.

Is it better than Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road? :eek:

It will be given to the NYPL raw as stated above, well secured and protected.

Well done Leon.
Very glad to hear this story end this way. :)

Leon...a real mensch.

Mark

Travis I'm sure that's the case and a fair resolution. Hopefully Leon got his original investment back, and perhaps a little extra. The card is out of a holder it didn't belong in, and the library has their stolen property back.

Hopefully all who were so vocal in the previous thread will see that Leon simply needed some time to make a difficult decision and ultimately made the correct one.

You just need a butter knife for SGC cases. Stick it in the indent and wiggle back and forth until the case opens. Do it on all sides and take the top and bottom halves apart with your hands. Takes like 5 seconds once you get used to it, and more importantly, is very safe.

+1 I use a vegetable knife and it takes about 5 seconds at the most.

only if he was going to get paid for it,

why was the card put in the heritage auction at the sgc grade it was in, a 4, wasnt the ink marks on the back obvious?

why not reholder it in its correct grade BEFORE trying to auction it off?

wouldnt that be the right thing to do as well?

I am hard pressed to believe Leon doesn't know the difference in card grades and what constitutes ink mark and the consequences of ink marks on the back as pertaining to the grade?

The library doesnt care what holder the card is in. The decision wasnt difficult, it was easy,

Getting paid for the card was the difficult part. if only all the people that had to make difficult (but the right) decisions but werent paid for them could be so lucky.

You are "sure that's the case" based on what?? Leon did not buy the card as a 50, he bought it raw and submitted it. So there is no question here of SGC compensating him.

I assumed he was being compensated by SGC, otherwise why remove it from the holder? "I'm sure that's the case" was more a figure of speech rather than a declaration of 100% certainty, although I will still assume it's true until proven otherwise.

I did not realize he purchased the card raw.

You have no knowledge of the circumstances here. Enough said.

More than one.

It is in his best interest to put it at auction as a 4 when it can make him the most money, then when that option was dashed, it makes him the most money for him to drop it down to a 2, because I am sure he was outraged that sgc overgraded it and he demands satisfaction? this is what people dont like about the hobby. What say you leon?

I am not answering you because I don't think you are educated enough on the subject to debate it.

"You know nothing Jon Snow"

I liked your first answer better Leon!! ;)

I have some knowledge of the circumstances but do not have all of the information. I have formed an opinion based on what I do know. If you know something I don't, perhaps you could share it with us so we can be as informed as you are.

Don't let not knowing the key facts get in the way of a good opinion. You seem to do this time and again. I already told you, Leon bought the card raw, and SGC is not compensating him (nor is there any reason it should). What else would you like to know?

Since you seem to be an expert tell us the whole story.

To quote the immortal Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"

Seriously, Guys - this kind of crap is ruining the forum...just drop it and get back to watching Djokovich v Federer.
.
:):):):):):):):):):)
.
.

I suppose I get that from poker. I don't always have all of the information, but need to make decisions based on what I do know or believe. If you know he wasn't compensated then it appears I was incorrect in my assumption.

I certainly do not know all of the facts, but it just seems to me like a wonderful, selfless thing to do! It's a pleasant relief from all those "it's all about me" people, of which there are far too many. Way to go, Leon!

Larry

Curious, was this known to have been taken, or was it part of the NYPL's infamous ephemera-discarding episode(s)?

Or just unknown how it left the library?


David

it's most certainly known.

At this point... I do believe that we know more about How T206's were produced then How this Bad Boy took a stroll from the NYPL.

Sir LeoN...

Through all the Threads of Hoopla, I fir one had crystal faith in You!
iN the end... Character, Integrity and just plain BeiN from Texas stood the Test!

And Luke is RiGHT...
However Luke, Can I watch Baseball in stead?
Tennis gives me a Headache ;)

The issue has been discussed ad nauseum in other threads. The search tool is your friend. The fact that it is being returned to the NYPL feels like the main point of the thread. Cracking the card is just an interesting and entertaining side note.

Some people are never satisified, but I am sure that matters little. In the end, a class move.

Hailing from Texas has nothing to do with it.
I'm guessing people from other States have character and integrity as well.

one sided discussion

Now that is funny. The threads on this have hardly been one sided, lots of members have been beating up on the owner of the forum about this card.

I don't have a strong opinion on this mess one way or the other, but I've been around bulletin boards/forums for 15 years and I've never seen a board owner allow the members to discuss as openly as this issue has been discussed. I mean look at your posts on this thread, you are adding nothing to the discussion other than negativity and your posts are allowed to remain.

You can argue the process but bottom line....the card is back with the rightful owner, and the only party that is out on this transaction (AFAIK) is Leon.

+1 Time to stop with all the negativity!