Toughest t206 common? Which one is the rarest?
 

I am sure this has been discussed before, but i really don't recall recently. Would love to hear opinions and thoughts on this one......Heinie Zimmerman has none graded higher than a PSA 7 counting all backs. Rube Manning (pitching) is another, only 4 total cards graded higher than a PSA 6 counting all backs!!

It seems it is whichever one that I bid on..:D

Doyle- National....

With my T206 budget all of them

your are spot on leon, i was mainly talking about the "normal commons" that exclude that card and some of the others that are recognized as prized finds. O'hara, demmitt, etc.....

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I have tested the market on the supposedly rare commons and though some are more difficult then others, there is not really a rare common if you are strictly considering the front of the card. I have the Lundgren with the PD350 back and that to me would be a good example of a rare common.

The others that are considered "tough" are usually Tenney, Ganley, Ames(hac) and then the team variations for Lundgren, Browne, Dahlen, Elberfeld, Smith and Kleinow. Dahlen seems to be gaining some ground in price but you could pick any one of these up with a little cash and a trip to ebay.

The SLers are a different group to discuss but again with some money, they are pretty easily obtained.

I tend to like "tough" when describing cards in this set. Some are tougher.

excluding SL'ers and variations, I'll go with Ames/hands at chest and Rhodes/arm extended.

I have compiled the Cubs subset with many back variations about a half dozen times now and have never really found Zimmerman to be hard to source. My records show that $60-$80 will get you a decent looking card. There are 4 on ebay right now from $80 - $175. But, some cards seem to be elusive to me that are fairly common, except when I need/want them. Zimmerman might be that for you.

I edited out my post, I didn't think anyone would take me serious :)

I don't know which are tough. I've always thought none of them were difficult to obtain. I actually learned something here.

There are quite a few that don't come up all the time. Titus has dried up...there are plenty of them but a significant amount is controlled by one guy. Puttman seems hard to me. Joe Doyle is somewhat dry. Though it is a test market of one, the last commons I needed for my set were:

44. Frank Bowerman
46. Bill Bradley (With Bat)
53. Al Bridwell (Portrait No Cap)
128. Mike Donlin (Seated)
130. Jiggs Donohue (Donahue)
192. Bob Groom
232. Fielder Jones (Chicago) (Portrait)
234. Tom Jones (St Louis)
359. Charles O'Leary (Portrait)
382. Eddie Phelps
389. Billy Purtell
418. Boss Schmidt (Throwing)
432. Jimmy Sheckard (Glove Showing)

That does not indicate any particular scarcity, if just means they were the last ones I found in an acceptable grade at a reasonable price.

Isn't the Schulte front view supposed to be tough?

AndyH

Sounds like you are asking what common is toughest to find in high grade? I don't think any common in low to mid grade can be considered tough. Just do an ebay search for any of them and they are there; just a matter of how much you are willing to pay for them.

Puttman seemed so tough I assumed he was an SL and shocked when found out he was not. And actually very cool looking card, one of most underrated for colors.

George Manion. Right now there are ZERO cards on eBay (usually the case).
Ed Foster. There are usually less than 2 cards available on eBay (same SGC 10 card for weeks).

Puttman? There are numerous examples available.

The Titus is the subject of price manipulation and is artificially rare.

Do tell

i'll also add these cards...over the years i've found these commons to be tougher, especially in higher grade.

lindaman
burch, batting
pelty, vertical

I will. A couple of N54 members have come out and said there is a collector that owns 100+ cards of John Titus.

Need I say more? Would you like a definition of price manipulation, supply and demand, and cornering the market?

Additionally there is another long time collector/dealer/auctioneer who has quite a hoard of shag cards...partially accounting for it's scarcity.

There is one at auction and one on a buy it now and two more that feature museum pricing. which is why they are there...I seldom see one at a show.

not so sure about the titus based on psa population reports...only 3 psa 7's and 1 psa 8, not to mention the prices they always bring in any auction

agreed, especially on burch. Very tough card in higher grade

The toughest of all the common T206 cards excluding variations, I would say is Joe Doyle N.Y. & one toughest commons to get in high grade, PSA 5 or higher is Doc Adkins of Baltimore.

+1 on doc adkins, i need that one myself.....

Lindaman and Ganley in EXMT or better are both tough

I'm kind of curious why a couple of members have named lindaman....just checked psa pops and there are 7 psa 8's and 4 psa 9's......Seems to be pretty plentiful in high grade.

Forgive me if this is a silly post, as am not a slab guy at all, but doesn't their inclusion in the PSA pops mean that they are graded and already IN someone's collection? The numbers there don't really have a bearing on what's available, do they?:)

Based purely on personal experience only no pop reports and so on.

I pulled from my notes and scans the last say 25+ cards that for me were tough to find EX+ upgrades for my set. Here they are.

http://photos.imageevent.com/piojohn...titled-1_5.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/piojohn...titled-2_1.jpg

I also think both Bell cards are tough to find in decent shape, along with the usual suspects Ames (HAC), Shulte Bat, Foster etc.

Cheers,

John

Without a doubt, Fred Tenney. Especially recently, look at the past sales.