New Blog Post. BOND BREAD JACKIE ROBINSON!!!!

[vintagerookies51]

Not sure how I missed this post... love these cards. Got my portrait several years ago for just a couple hundred (PSA 1), and one sold via PWCC nearly cracked $1K pretty recently. Wish I would’ve bought a higher grade but oh well. Would be nice if the rest of this set followed that path, but I think they’re unfortunately just too rare

[griffon512]

following up on another post by vintageclout in a different thread, all cards distributed in the same rookie year are generally considered rookie cards, regardless of the month of release. given this, jackie's homogenized bond bread card (beveled corners) and old gold cigarette cards, both issued in 1947, are also rookie cards. the old gold cigarette cards are incorrectly labeled 1947 by tpg's, but some excellent work by a board member, shaun fyffe, proved they are a 1947 issue. some speculate that the homogenized bond bread card was released before the bond bread portrait, but this will likely remain unknown. it doesn't matter at the end of the day because they are both rookie cards given the definition above.

i agree with vintageclout that the leaf and bowman jackie cards, issued after the beginning of 1948, are not his rookie cards and it is just a matter of time before this becomes generally accepted and reflected in card values.

[Exhibitman]

Agree with the analysis, James, except that last bit. Popularity of a later card can outpace a RC. The 1951 Bowman Mantle will never top the 1952 Topps Mantle. The W600 Wagner won't touch the T206. And so on.

[guy3050]

I have both , I don't really care about which one is his rookie card , I would take his leaf card any day over his Bonds Bread , His leaf has and will always be an iconic Baseball Card , and one that I always wanted since I started collecting many years ago.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by guy3050

I have both , I don't really care about which one is his rookie card , I would take his leaf card any day over his Bonds Bread , His leaf has and will always be an iconic Baseball Card , and one that I always wanted since I started collecting many years ago.

I don't have either card, so I don't any financial stake in one or the other. But I don't see the Bond Bread portrait supplanting the Leaf card as the Robinson card to have. The Leaf card is such an iconic image, the image that many people think of when they think of a Jackie Robinson card.

I think the fact that the Bond Bread card is black and white and the Leaf is in color hurts the Bond Bread card as well. Obviously, there are many black and white cards in the hobby that are worth huge money, but I do think it limits the chance of the card becoming the iconic Robinson card to own when there are color options issued so closely to the Bond Bread card.

[Anish]

Originally Posted by Bored5000

I don't have either card, so I don't any financial stake in one or the other. But I don't see the Bond Bread portrait supplanting the Leaf card as the Robinson card to have. The Leaf card is such an iconic image, the image that many people think of when they think of a Jackie Robinson card.

I think the fact that the Bond Bread card is black and white and the Leaf is in color hurts the Bond Bread card as well. Obviously, there are many black and white cards in the hobby that are worth huge money, but I do think it limits the chance of the card becoming the iconic Robinson card to own when there are color options issued so closely to the Bond Bread card.

The scarcity of the BB makes it more appealing to me and, I imagine, others. The Leaf is available in various conditions quite readily whereas the BB is not.

I myself thought of the Leaf as the *the* Jackie card until I read about the BB. It came out earlier, is harder to find, and IMO looks as nice if not nicer. That makes it the best card to me.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by Anish

The scarcity of the BB makes it more appealing to me and, I imagine, others. The Leaf is available in various conditions quite readily whereas the BB is not.

I myself thought of the Leaf as the *the* Jackie card until I read about the BB. It came out earlier, is harder to find, and IMO looks as nice if not nicer. That makes it the best card to me.

I get the scarcity factor. I love the rare and obscure myself (not saying the Bond Bread is rare or obscure).

There are numerous Mickey Mantle cards that are scarce or obscure, yet they are not the 1952 Topps. The Robinson Leaf card will always be iconic, even though it is not a rare card by any stretch of the imagination.

I still think being black and white hurts the Bond Bread card.

[griffon512]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Agree with the analysis, James, except that last bit. Popularity of a later card can outpace a RC. The 1951 Bowman Mantle will never top the 1952 Topps Mantle. The W600 Wagner won't touch the T206. And so on.

adam, you are right and there are a number of exceptions to the rule. i'm speculating that over time the relative value of the bond bread portrait and homogenized bond bread card will continue to increase while that of the leaf/bowman will decline given the disparity in population, attractiveness imo of the bond bread cards, and shift in conventional wisdom to seeing these as his true rookie cards following the price increases that have already taken place. i think the old gold dugout card -- also released in '47 -- is still an excellent relative value but recognize it may have less upside as an oversized card (similar to price disparity between a '39 playball williams and his '39 goudey premium). obviously the market's opinion on the relative value of a rookie card or the designation of actually being a rookie card can change drastically over time.

best example of that over the last few years has been the '25 exhibit gehrig, which most hobbyists didn't pay much attention to a few years ago because exhibits couldn't classify as rookie cards. i think it was in 2015 that prices started to increase to high single digit thousands on low grade versions from staying in the mid-single digit thousand range for many years. that got more people talking about the card and auction prices began to gap up. call it a self-fulfilling prophecy or the tail wagging the dog, but the higher prices paid by a few hobbyists initially led to the change in conventional wisdom: that the '25 exhibit is gehrig's true rookie card and is worth a boatload of money. i don't expect the jackie rookies to have the same upside -- and one can argue that the bond bread portrait already had its inflection -- but at the very least i think they are good relative values.

[Exhibitman]

I certainly thought it was a good value when I got mine.

[Anish]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Agree with the analysis, James, except that last bit. Popularity of a later card can outpace a RC. The 1951 Bowman Mantle will never top the 1952 Topps Mantle. The W600 Wagner won't touch the T206. And so on.

Might I ask what examples there are other than those two? An iconic set can make a later issue more valuable, but that’s certainly the exception and 1948 Leaf is no T206 or 52 Topps.

I expect the BB Portrait to become the top Jackie card. It’s relative scarcity and attractiveness appeal to me in addition to it being Jackie’s RC.

If you go back about 5 years ago the iconic 1948 (actually '49) Leaf Jackie Robinson card was readily available in mid-grade PSA 5 for anywhere between 1K to $1200, then the Jackie Robinson movie came out and that card ascended to $3500-$4k essentially over night. Same thing is happening with the 1947 Bond Bread Jackie Portrait only, instead of thousands of copies, there's closer to 125 graded between companies. The card still has room to grow and I expect it will as collectors become better informed about the set and this card in particular...which is the true RC of one of the most influential people, much less ballplayer, of all-time.

[Stonepony]

Put me in the camp which does not consider the Bond Bread card ( portrait/auto facsimile) Robinson's rookie card. To reply to a statement above- I paraphrase- "Don't I consider a distribution in 18 major cities a nationwide distribution?". Absolutely not!!. Bond Bread distributed in 18 states and it's likely the early portrait card was released in a very small regional area ( Harlem, Brooklyn...) and it was only the subsequent cards over the next 2 years that were released in " major markets" ( well....18 cities)
If my dad couldn't walk down to his father's drugstore in Emporia, KS and get the card... or at least get one in Kansas City then it's not nationwide. Could he get a 48 Leaf or Bowman- yep and he did. Thats not to single out Kansas. There were
30 other states that Bond Bread did not distribute in ( Alaska and Hawaii were not states yet). Heck did they even have a factory west of the Mississippi??
To me the Bond Bread Robinson is a glorified/ expanded Regional issue. As a regional card collector- I'd better step up and get me one sometime.
Let me be clear- I'm not suggesting the Bond Bread card won't pass by the Leaf or Bowman issues in value or popularity. I have no idea of course. From MY perspective the Robinson Rookies are those absolutely beautiful, colored 1948 ( 1949) leaf and Bowman cards.

Originally Posted by Stonepony

Put me in the camp which does not consider the Bond Bread card ( portrait/auto facsimile) Robinson's rookie card. To reply to a statement above- I paraphrase- "Don't I consider a distribution in 18 major cities a nationwide distribution?". Absolutely not!!. Bond Bread distributed in 18 states and it's likely the early portrait card was released in a very small regional area ( Harlem, Brooklyn...) and it was only the subsequent cards over the next 2 years that were released in " major markets" ( well....18 cities)
If my dad couldn't walk down to his father's drugstore in Emporia, KS and get the card... or at least get one in Kansas City then it's not nationwide. Could he get a 48 Leaf or Bowman- yep and he did. Thats not to single out Kansas. There were
30 other states that Bond Bread did not distribute in ( Alaska and Hawaii were not states yet). Heck did they even have a factory west of the Mississippi??
To me the Bond Bread Robinson is a glorified/ expanded Regional issue. As a regional card collector- I'd better step up and get me one sometime.
Let me be clear- I'm not suggesting the Bond Bread card won't pass by the Leaf or Bowman issues in value or popularity. I have no idea of course. From MY perspective the Robinson Rookies are those absolutely beautiful, colored 1948 ( 1949) leaf and Bowman cards.

So you simply choose to ignore the research that debunks that myth. If memory serves me Kansas City was one of the markets it was distributed in, but either way it's been fairly well documented that BB's were distributed in, at minimum, 13 metropolitan cities across the country. Not sure how that qualifies as a regional issue, or even a glorified regional issue, but I'm not a regional collector.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by Anish

Might I ask what examples there are other than those two? An iconic set can make a later issue more valuable, but that’s certainly the exception and 1948 Leaf is no T206 or 52 Topps.

I expect the BB Portrait to become the top Jackie card. It’s relative scarcity and attractiveness appeal to me in addition to it being Jackie’s RC.

I differ with you there; the Leaf set is iconic. Though I would love for you to be right since I don't own a Leaf JR but have the BB portrait.

As for later cards worth more than a RC:

1951 Topps Current All Stars Roberts vs. 1949 Bowman Roberts

Test issue doesn't work? OK:

1941 Double Play Reese vs. 1953 Bowman: $775 PSA 8 vs. $1300 PSA 8
1941 Double Play Rizzuto vs. 1948 Leaf: $1,000 PSA 8 vs. $1100 PSA 8
1947 Top Top Bread Yogi Berra PSA 8 $1250 vs. 1948 Bowman PSA 8 $3,000

I am sure I could pot-shot examples out of the SMR all day long.

[Anish]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

I differ with you there; the Leaf set is iconic. Though I would love for you to be right since I don't own a Leaf JR but have the BB portrait.

As for later cards worth more than a RC:

1951 Topps Current All Stars Roberts vs. 1949 Bowman Roberts

Test issue doesn't work? OK:

1941 Double Play Reese vs. 1953 Bowman: $775 PSA 8 vs. $1300 PSA 8
1941 Double Play Rizzuto vs. 1948 Leaf: $1,000 PSA 8 vs. $1100 PSA 8
1947 Top Top Bread Yogi Berra PSA 8 $1250 vs. 1948 Bowman PSA 8 $3,000

I am sure I could pot-shot examples out of the SMR all day long.

The Berra example is probably the most comparable. However, SMR doesn't mean anything. It would be great to see recent sales of the cards in the same condition (perhaps you have).

[guy3050]

Originally Posted by vintagerookies51

Not sure how I missed this post... love these cards. Got my portrait several years ago for just a couple hundred (PSA 1), and one sold via PWCC nearly cracked $1K pretty recently. Wish I would’ve bought a higher grade but oh well. Would be nice if the rest of this set followed that path, but I think they’re unfortunately just too rare

That card resold for $425 ($522 with the juiced and shipped) a month ago in the Love of the game auction, I know I bought it.