Gents, I was under the misunderstanding that only 500 specimens of the 2013 NSCC Card that Never Was 1915 Cracker Jack Babe Ruth were ever printed. However, as you mercifully stated, Gary, the backside of the 500 appear as a fantasy Cracker Jack would have appeared, whereas Memory Lane's have their advertising printed upon it. That makes for a different case, although I imagine PSA would not encapsulate any of the Memory Lane "ad" Ruths.
I must retract, then, what I projected---a future $500 value will likely never be reached. I based my prognostication on a couple eBay entries I saw for "Buy It Now". The cheapest was $180.
As far as being self serving, Pete, I have no intention of selling my Cracker Jack Babe Ruth. Period. I could use the $500, but I'd rather keep the card. I only have one of them, and if I had more than one then yes, I would gladly part with the duplicate.
Let me say this, in my forthcoming book, NEVER CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, I wrote of many postwar regional / food issues. Most of them I do not own; a few of them I do own. Without owning a few of them, I seriously doubt I would be able to bring as much enthusiasm and passion to the subject at all. Moreover, I was not going to sell the cards I had, just to avoid catcalls from the likes of you. I feel certain that I will still be accused of trumpeting my own cards by a few guys. WILL ISN'T THAT JUST TOO BAD? There is absolutely nothing illegal in writing about something you own.
Borrowing from another hobby of mine, in 1980 Joel Finn wrote the most thorough and authoritative work on the 1957 - 1962 Ferrari Testa Rossa racing sports cars. Without going into great detail, today they routinely auction for over $15,000,000. Mr. Finn happens to own one of them, beautifully restored, and several fine studies of HIS VERY OWN TESTA ROSSA appear on the front of the book's dust jacket. At the time he wrote his landmark book, the car was worth $1,000,000 at the very most. Try not to choke on your carefully flavored coffee, Pete, when you read these words.
Hey, I'll make ya feel better, bro. So are collecting ultra rare hyper-expensive Ferrari racing sports cars my other hobby. Well, no; collecting fine detailed 1/43rd model cars of them is my other hobby.
Many collectors, including myself, rave over the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle. I owned a beautiful specimen for about 24 years. I miss it terribly. I will never be able to own that card again. That has not stopped me from still admiring and speaking very highly of it.
Lastly, I must embarrass myself again. I was also under the misunderstanding the original poster was inquiring about period Babe Ruth cards produced during his playing days. My bad. I chimed in on the Cracker Jack Ruth when someone else encouraged him to buy that instead. I guess my "chimed in" was more like a Quick Draw McGraw EL KABONG.
---Brian Powell
P.S. Pete----I know you think the fantasy Cracker Jack Babe is a real crock and should not be taken seriously in the least. I still seriously love this card, which is what card collecting is all about. I cannot afford a period Ruth at all. The CJ Babe gives me a card collectors fantasy at a fraction of the price a genuine would cost today. Come on, Pete, some of us are struggling financially, yet we have the nerve to like old baseball players and old cars anyway.