I have wondered for many years why it is that Old Judge cards of Browning are almost never on the
open market. According the OJ book there are five poses. He is listed as a "scarce card" (like HOFer Amos Rusie) but not a "very scarce card" (like HOFer Bid McPhee, for example) He ranks somewhere around the 75-100th most rare subject in the set. This conclusion may have been revised by the OJ mavens since publication back a decade ago.
According to VCP there are
no sale prices for any of the Brownings N172's listed...
These lack of sales are consistent with my experience.
The closest I ever came to actually buying a Browning OJ card was a nearly decapitated one that TIK & TIK (Terry Knouse, Sr.) had in his case many years ago ... it was about 2/3 of a card ... I don't recall ever seeing any other Brownings for sale in anyone else's cases back when I attended shows more than once every few years. I have never seen one at the Nationals that I attend when it is held in Chicago (Rosemont).
I understand that Browning is a
desired OJ subject -- he's not in any other commonly available issues. But, again, the same applies to McPhee who is a HOFer and his cards do appear on the open market with some frequency.
Is it just that Browning is so rare, or is something else at work? Does someone or someones have a standing "buy order" on any Brownings that surfaces in the OJ collecting community? Is this a bit of minor league conspiracy theorizing on my part?
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BTW-- If you don't know about Pete Browning he has a fascinating and sad story (see Wikipedia etc --
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Browning) ... He was the original "Louisville Slugger"
Also, he's got great stats in that 19th Century American Association hitter kind of way --> See Baseball reference -
https://www.baseball-reference.com/p...rownpe01.shtml)
... He's has a lifetime .341 average with a .400+ season in 1887.
He's not really HOF material in my book, but that's another thread.
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This is not really a request to buy a Browning. My sense is that the price would be too high given my collecting priorities at the moment but I do wonder what that price is...
In conclusion, any further information would be appreciated to help satisfy my long-festering curiosity.