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David SmithAn old time collector I once knew didn't have any graded cards. The cards he once showed me included about 1,000 T206's including the Wagner. At that time, about 10 years ago, he wasn't going after the Plank or Magie error or whatever the next most expensive cards were he needed to finish the set, he was trying to find all of the different back combinations for the Southern Leaguers. I have no idea how far along he was at that time or how far he got.
I never saw all of his collection but what I did see was pretty impressive. What was even more impressive was that before I met him, he sold off a lot of his collection and he showed me the full page ad in the SCD where he was standing next to a dealer that no one seems to like and was holding a large check in his hand (instead of 100 dollar bills) totaling over six figures. This was in the early 1990's, so you can imagine what had to be in that sale to get over $100,000.
One of the things I know he said he sold was a complete set of T3's. That was one of his favorite sets and hated to let it go. He said he sold out because he had heard rumors some people were getting ready to try and break into his house and steal some of his collection. Better safe than sorry, he said.
I know this guy is legit because he introduced me to Bill Mastro (when Mastro and Steinbach (SP?) just started their auction business. They were on a first name basis and were asking about each others wives and girlfriends, also by first name.
David