Probstein - '15 Cracker Jacks
 

Don't know how many followed the nice group of '15 CJ's Probstein had on auction last week but the auction results were impressive. I got shut out on all my bids, which I thought were at least competitive. For example, a McGraw PSA5 went for over 6k. Just shows the eternal appeal of the cards and bidders waiting in the wings for any opportunity to pounce.

I was debating whether I should go up to 8K on the 1915 CJ Alexander PSA 5....yup, $12.5K.

That was a big sale, with some very big cards. I came up empty as well in my bidding. The Cracker Jack market is red hot right now, which bodes well for the cards I already hold -- not so much for my chances of ever building the set.

If one had an SGC 9 common CJ 1915--would it be worth sending to PSA, even though likely to only get an "8"?

A common Cracker Jack in that condition is a no-brainer to submit, regardless of the likely grade PSA might give.

I know some board members hate on Probstein, but cards in his auctions do well. And yes, CJs are red hot right now.

I wanted to post specifically about the Heinie Wagner card from last night's auction.

I love that card. I use it as my profile image here as I'm a big old time Sox fan, and something of a modern day fan though I want to sob every time I see Mookie Betts face. I have a reprint of that card and a somehow never bought the real deal but started looking recently for a good quality one.

A few months ago a Heinie Wagner 1915 CJ PSA 5 sold on eBay at auction for something like $850 when other common players from that set at that level were going for about $350-375. I figured it was a one-off of two guys bidding and both putting in a figure they figured would definitely win for them and then one of them did win - at a price he figured he'd never have to pay for.

But then Wagner's PSA 7 sold yesterday for $3,181. There were a load of PSA 7s that sold last night on eBay and they went for $650-1,500, with the exceptions being HOFers like Ed Walsh at $3,124, Nap Lajoie at $8,100 and our man Heinie. He outsold Big Ed Walsh!!

I've tried to hunt around, but am I missing something and this Heinie Wagner card is very low pop and commanding a huge price? Is it idiots who just got into the hobby for investing and are confusing him with Honus? Is it just a couple cases in a row of two guys both putting in high bids to ensure they won and now they're on the hook for way too much?

And does anyone have a good Heinie for sale? :) Yes, I'll post that in the BST section!

Is the gap closing a bit between 15s and 14s or is this just an indicator 14s are continuing to climb to insane values?

This card is my favorite in the whole set. A PSA 8 sold for $11,543 in August.

I have an SGC 9 common and I am inclined to just get a new flip rather than submit to PSA for the very real chance it sees a grade of 8

I would still stand to have a better card to eventually resell as an SGC 9 pop 4 with none higher than a PSA pop 11 with 3 higher if it becomes and 8

Ouch, again that's more than I expected again for Heinie Wagner. I've looked on sites like 130point and it seems his 1915 CJ wasn't going for that much more than any other common card until about a year ago. I guess I'll always have my high-quality reprint!

Good luck tracking down a real one at a reasonable price...his card has such a great pose.

Here is a fun Heinie I came across about 20 years ago that is shellacked to a wooden plaque, but whoever did so was considerate enough to copy out all the backside writeup onto the back of the plaque.

Brian

Good things cost money

Unless 20 years ago you had different standards for items that qualified as a good thing...I think my plaque cost me about $6 or $7. And it is worth at least twice that now.

Brian

That handwritten copy on to the back of the plaque is fantastic! And I'll give you two and a half times what you paid for it ;)

I've checked the population reports for graded Heinie Wagners and he's at the same volume as people like the other Heinie (Zimmerman) and teammate/manager Bill Carrigan, yet he commands prices like he's a lower tier HOFer. In fact, in that same Probstein sale on eBay this week Zimmerman's 1915 CJ at PSA 7 sold for $1,050 and Carrigan's PSA 7 for $817 while .

Heinie Wagner's card is cool looking, and that prominent "Red Sox" on his uniform sticks out for us Sox fans, but I would not be surprised if some newbie investors in vintage think he's Honus Wagner of that famous T206 card and have driven up the price in the past year or two.

i meant the cracker jacks lol

You should get that slab, slabbed. ;-)