Card losses, sad but true...
 

About 15-17 years ago I had a group of 10 or 12 Boston Garters from the "locker room series". Before I had sold a single one, a guy I was talking with on the phone wanted to see scans but my scanner was broken. What did I do? I went to the local public library and scanned them all 1 by 1. I had them in a binder and when I was finished scanning, I left... only 1 problem - I forgot the Fred Clarke on the copy machine. When I realized it was missing I went back to the library, in a state of panic, and naturally it was long gone. Some kid probably found it and thought it was a coloring book or something.

I was depressed, deeply depressed, for quite a while. Not just at the monetary value lost but also because it is a truly rare f'n item!

Anybody else have any stories of loss?

My desk has a ton of raw (large and small) and slabbed cards on it, where I work from everyday. I am a procrastinator and there are piles of stuff I have almost forgotten about. Around a month or two ago, I spilled a semi full cup of coffee on it. Yes, cards and all.....Not a good morning. Live and learn to be more careful.
.

Ouch!

Ouch. It seems somehow a little sadder to me when the incident involves a destruction or possible destruction of the card than a theft where the card will probably at least remain extant and in the hobby for the next generation.

I’ve been pretty lucky, my worst has been misjudging where a card was in the envelope and tearing it in half when opening the envelope. Felt like the dumbass I am. Thankfully it wasn’t expensive, but I hate to see any T card get destroyed.

I certainly sympathize with that, I have done it more than once.:(

I bought a gorgeous T206 Clark Griffith Red Hindu PSA 2 (picture below) a few years ago (I think it was in one of the david Hall Heritage auctions). That sucker has up and vanished like a fart in the wind! I cannot find it anywhere. I put it with all my other cards, locked in a room locked in a safe, but I dont know what happened to it. I keep hoping one day ot will just pop up, but I am losing hope.

Talking about theft...did you see this story?

Japan rocked by Pokémon card crime spree as thieves go to extravagant lengths to steal from shops
By Bradford Betz FOXBusiness

A Pokémon card crime spree has reportedly been sweeping Japan, with shop owners reporting tens of thousands of dollars in losses. A new report from The Wall Street Journal details the extravagant lengths thieves have gone to steal these highly sought-after cards – some of which fetch six figures.

Last August, thieves stole around 540 cards worth about $200,000 from a shop in Tokyo. And last month, thieves targeted a shop in Kyushu, stealing some 600 cards worth around $47,000, according to The Journal.

In another incident that defies belief, a man tied a rope to the top of a building and rappelled down to the sixth floor where he smashed the window and stole a collection of Pokémon cards. The suspect, who was eventually nabbed by police, said he used the skills he learned in his high school rock-climbing class.

Shop owners have taken to investing in more security, buying safes, or making copies of their collection for display, though such measures have cut into sales. "Do you want to look at fake paintings on display when you visit a museum," Hosaka, a shop owner from the Tokyo suburb of Machida, asked The Journal.

Man, that is a sad story, but take solace in that Fred Clarke was probably the least attractive of the underwear wearing players in the set.

Brian

How about receiving bubble mailers getting all the cards out and then realizing you threw a card out by mistake omg. Happened with a ken dryden rookie. Got the stan makita and threw out the dryden. It happens

I think I accidentally threw out an E121 Cobb.

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi..._doh-12666.jpg

I have a tendency to purchase cards now and again, that I already have!

In fact, I won Lot A in Leon's auction yesterday with the main card draw for me being the Frank King Southern Leaguer with an Old Mill back.

I was thrilled to win it only to find there was one in my box of slabbed T206's that I forgot to cross off on my list!!!!

Anyone want either a graded SGC 1 King SL or the one Leon had at the last auction???

This getting older shit really sucks!!!

JT

Sad memory
 

Back in the early 1980s I bought some Hires Root Beer cards ex-mt w tabs of 4 different guys since I had their original signed contracts ….. as I recall Runnels, Antonelli, Jensen, and Kluszewski. I even remember the paper sack they were in. Within a month I couldn’t find them and I guess I tossed them out in the sack. Still have the contracts…. and a 0.001% hope that bag will still turn up some day in a box !!! Keeping hope alive!!!

When I was a little guy I bought a mint Carlton Fisk 72 Topps rookie at a show. It was so nice and I remember buying it only because it was exceptionally nice. I didn’t even care about Carlton Fisk. This was before grading really took off. Anyway, I got home and wanted to admire my new card but when I tried taking it out of the top loader I went too fast and ended up bending it in half.

Womp Womp. The one and ONLY time I ever creased a card myself. Bought plenty of them creased but the only one I can vividly remember creasing myself.

When I was a kid in the late 80s I hada lot of little shelves in my bedroom where I displayed my best cards. Nothing particularly valuable today (mostly rookie cards from the 80s) but they were worth a lot to me.

My sister and I would horseplay a lot, chasing each other around, banging against the walls, etc. Typical kid stuff.

One day I noticed that a whole bunch of cards from one shelf had disappeared. They were just gone, completely vanished. It made no sense to me as nobody outside the family had been in the room, so they couldn’t have been stolen, and nobody in the family had touched them.

It took me a while to put together what had happened, but I noticed that the missing cards were on a shelf that was right next to my garbage can. I vaguely recalled that a couple of days earlier while horsing around with my sister I had bumped into that shelf while running past it. I also realized that it had been garbage day the previous day and my mom had emptied the contents of the garbage can without looking at what was in it.

In all likelihood my cards ended up at the dump!

Have faith Ryan, I recall the postwar post recently, and the members name escapes me, but he lost his Mays, Aaron, Ruth, signed ball for 25 years, it showed up at his dads house if I recall.

Doug Goodman. Anddon't forget Saduhara Oh! What a story! I tell it to everyone I know. Someday when I get a chance, I'm going to tell it over the pulpit for God to hear how happy I am for Doug. LOL

As for my own story, I got adhesive stuck on my only Ruth, a 1934 Butterfinger. They are extremely fragile. I can't believe it existed 90 years, essentially a flimsy piece of paper, and someone who cared about it and took extreme pride in it is the one who ruined it.

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Bath Time
 

When I was a kid, I used to look at my cards while I was in the bath tub. Until, one day, the tray holding my cards fell into the bath water. I still remember crying, and crying; and my mom pressing all my cards between towels to 'salvage' them.. 45 yrs later, I still have those cards...

Thats a heartbreaker, I would have cried too!

Moms are the best...mine would have done the same.

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Your mom
 

When I was a kid, I used to look at my cards while I was in the bath tub. Until, one day, the tray holding my cards fell into the bath water. I still remember crying, and crying; and my mom pressing all my cards between towels to 'salvage' them.. 45 yrs later, I still have those cards...

Your mom the first card doctor!!! Lol 😆

November of 2022 I had a return package coming back from PSA/DNA. It contained four key photos from my collection, three of Fred Clarke and one of Vic Willis from 1909, all Type 1's. All four were taken by Louis Van Oeyen, and I'd never seen these images anywhere else. I tracked the package every day and couldn't wait to get the photo's back. Long story short, FedEx delivered them to someone else. They were not signed for by me or anyone else at my company. FedEx maintained they were delivered to me even though I did not know the person who supposedly signed for them, and the fact that I have video footage of the front and back of my building showing no FedEx trucks on the premises within three hours before or after the stated time of delivery.
For all the shit they get I will say that PSA stepped up and paid me for the declared value of my photos, and also refunded me all shipping, authentication, and encapsulation fees.
I've since reached out to every card shop within 100 miles, searched local Craigslist, KSL Classifieds, and Facebook market place adds, as well as weekly eBay searches looking for the photos to turn up, but they seem to have disappeared. At this point I don't care who has them or how they obtained the photos, I'd just like to have the opportunity to buy them back. As a Pirates, photo, and deadball collector, this was a major loss to me as I could care less about the money.

Chalk it up to a Card I never had in hand, but a couple of years ago I won a 1953 Bowman Mickey Mantle in a PSA 2.5. The card was delivered by USPS, to the wrong house. I never received it, someone tried reselling the card on ebay about a week later, in New Jersey (for reference I live in NY). Contacted ebay, eventually got my money back, I'm still upset about it though.

It presented much nicer than a 2.5 and I got it for a good price, a little over $650. Now that card in the same grade goes for over $1000. I was eventually able to purchase another 1953 Bowman Mantle, this one also presents nicely, however it is a PSA Altered Authentic. I got it for a little over $300 which in my opinion, is a steal. However I'd still rather have the 2.5. I'd imagine it was broken out of its original slab, and resubmitted by now.

Around the time I joined Net54 I bought a T206 Heinie Wagner Bat on Right with a Sovereign Apple Green back. It was a few days before Christmas, and I knew the card was out for delivery. On my way home from work, I passed the mail man and really excited to get the mail knowing the card was in the box. Open the mailbox and no card just bills. Checked the tracking and saw that the card was delivered about an hour away from my house. Who ever got my card apparently either kept it or threw it away. Still pisses me off when I have miss delivered mail.

Ugh - this one hurts.

(and if they ever catch this Louis Van Oeyen guy, I hope his punishment is substantial)

Haha
 

He didn’t mean they were stolen by Louis Van Oeyen lol he meant that he was the photographer !!! Nice play on words there…… and just in case you think he is still a suspect….. he passed away in 1946!

Even if dead I will still keep an eye out for this notorious Van Oeyen (lack of) character.

Brian

A few years back I purchased a small commerative Cal Ripken Jr boxed set. It contained cards, a couple of game used cards, and an autographed Ripken. It had a seal on the box. Stupid me, I used a box cutter to open the box. I cut too deep, and yes, I sliced the top card in the box. Yes, it was the autographed Ripken card! I still have it.:mad:

My story has nothing to do with dollar value.

I bought my brother our first pack of cards when he was in the hospital getting his tonsils out. It was a 1981 Topps Rack Pack. I can still tell you a bunch of the cards in that pack!

We played with our cards hard until the mid 80's when we learned better. There were even the occasional purges as our mother got frustrated with our accumulations.

Somehow a 1981 Topps George Brett with "AP" in black crayon on the back survived all the purges, moves and other life events from the time I was 8 until I was about 30. It was the only card either of us had from that original pack.

I was moving in with my then girlfriend now wife, and somehow it disappeared in the move. I was and am heartbroken by it's loss as it was a tangible link to a huge part of my personal history. Rounded corners, creases and crayon writing on the reverse, I'd gladly shell out a hell of a lot more than the 5¢ it's worth today if someone told me they found it on the street outside of my house after I moved.

cards oops story
 

About 12 years ago, I was removing a beautiful 1963 Fleer Roberto Clemente
from one of the old "screwdown" holders. It had been there for 15 years before
that, so 1 of the screws was resisting, I couldn't get it loose. I pulled the
loose plastic area away from the rest of the card and really put some torque
into the remaining screw. This action caused a reaction- my screwdriver slid
vertically the length of the entire card! I turned a "7" grade into a ".7" grade!

Trent King

In 1971 my Dad, brother, and I were in Oklahoma visiting my Dad's cousin. His chicken coup, about 8 ft by 12 ft, had 50's cards probably 6 inches deep covering the floor. We scooped up a shoebox full. Cards included 53-59 Topps, 53-55 Bowman, and 54-55 Bowman and Topps Football cards. Among the good cards were 4 or 5 56 Pee Wee Reese, a couple 56 Williams, and a 55 Clemente. Two years later when my Dad went back we told him go get ALL the cards. His cousin said the rats had eaten them. My Dad verified with his own two eyes the cards were gone. The cousin says to this day there were Mantles in the lot. What could have been.

When I was a broke 21 year old I sold a 1914 CJ Wagner, clean, centered, for $400 to cover bills, that's the only card I've ever regretted selling.

A self imposed loss for sure and I'll replace it someday but it taught me an important collecting lesson.

Not my story: Who was the gentlemen who sent a huge portion of his collection to a new auction house and had the worst time ever recovering his property? Was that in 2019? I remember a portion of what he gave then was returned to his porch in a rain storm. That has to be one of the worst stories I've read on this board in the last 5 years.

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That story was weird in every direction. Still can't figure out what, if any of it, was truth.

Faves
 

.. That Crazy Uncle Auction thread , and the Skydash saga , are my favorite threads to re-read when I'm snowed in .

..

Yes, the dog ate my baseball card. My beloved yellow Lab, Captain, had a voracious appetite for anything that looked interesting. One day when I was out, he discovered my precious E90-1 Tris Speaker on a chair where I had carelessly left it. When I returned, I discovered, much to my horror, that Captain had had a little snack. Nothing left except a few slobbered pieces. He was a BAD Boy for a couple of days until, of course, I forgave him.

For my 8th birthday, all I wanted was a Willie Mays card. My dad ended up going to a garage sale and finding a beat up Nolan Ryan rookie and a 1968 Tom Seaver (I am a Mets fan), but I had my heart set on a Mays, and I wasn't happy. Soon after I went to a card show and paid the princely sum of $13 for a 1972 Topps Mays. Despite many moves, I have managed to keep almost all of my collection from when I was a kid, but somehow that 1972 Mays got lost.

Not a loss, but a stupid decision. When I was a young teen, I was very much involved in working card shows for a dealer in NJ named Ron Durham. Ron actually ran the 1988 National in Atlantic City. Well, I was all full of myself and fancied myself as a card dealer. Rented a table at a few shows and sold some stuff.

One day, I went to a garage sale and found a 1957 Topps Al Ciccotte card and a gem mint 1957 Topps Yankee Power Hitters with Mantle and Berra. This card was glorious. Bought both for $5.00!

Went to a card show and read that book value on that card was like $40 or something so I laid it on my table and some shrewd buyer snapped it up.

I'm still crying.

You know my often repeated story, Phil. Not one story, but two. What became of my first collection, built from wax packs. Then, decades later when broke in the Navy.

There won't be a third.

I had to look up Skydash Saga. That was before I was a member on this board. Quite a collection to read about.

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I miss that card.

I once returned a broken scanner to Staples. When I got home, I realized there were four cards still in it, and they were some good ones. I quickly drove back to the store, and was able to retrieve three of the cards, including a one-of-kind Play Ball color proof, but one was missing, a 1952 Berk Ross rookie card of Minnie Minoso.