[QUOTE=GregMitch34;1299619]That R315 is not even that scarce, right?
I looked at the PSA pop report on this issue. The numbers are very low on these. Surely a population of less than 10 Ruths should satisfy you for relative scarcity. Maybe "they're all at SGC"; I doubt it.
The auction house termed this an obscure issue. I remember among the photos showcasing Barry Halper's massive collection in Beckett 3 was an entire page devoted to Babe Ruth cards. Quite an assemblage. The R315 was not among them. Moreover, as I studied the appearance of the card, it has elegance all over it. The BABE looks at the height of his game, his belly pretty firm and not bulging. Postcard-size, which is nice, as it allows us less eyestrain to appreciate his swing.
No, I think the bidders just decided this card has fantastic eye appeal, is scarce enough to have been seen by few collectors, and therefore would make a wonderful addition to one's Babe Ruth, Pre-WWII, or HOFer collection. Most of all, he's Babe Ruth of the Yankees!!!! Not the Red Sox or Bees. Nothing against those teams in the least, it's just that Babe Ruth's main claim to fame was as a Yankee, and there are tragically so few good cards of him as a Yank.
It all adds up to several collectors deciding it was well worth 13K at the end of the day. ---Brian Powell
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