Quote:
Originally Posted by bbcard1
..and 25 that are in private collections but the owners don't publicize that they have one.
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I believe there were something like a dozen known as recently as 1970. When new examples were found, the finds were generally well known and accounted for in the hobby. I'm sure there are many buried in old collections and most don't know where they are now, but that does not mean they are not accounted for in hobby totals. My guess is that it is not correct that 30-40% of the known copies in the hobby were found by grandma, sold directly to a collector, and never re-sold or accounted for in the hobby, which is what I believe you are suggesting here.
For example, let's say a new find of an example was made in 1975 and sold through The Trader Speaks. Let's say I bought it and have had it ever since. If I am private, it may be the case that nobody knows that I have it today. But that does not mean that the example was not accounted for in 1975 and did not bring the known total at the time from 19 to 20, or whatever the number may have been then. I believe long-time hobby experts were keeping fairly accurate running totals as new examples were discovered. The same is true for Ty Cobb backs, Baltimore Ruths, etc.
JimB