Scarcest 1933 R305 Tattoo Orbit Cards?

[Archive]

Posted By: Richard

Greetings, I am interested to know what are the scarcest 1933 R305 Tattoo Orbit cards? Also, I just acquired a Rogers Hornsby raw and was wondering if there are any experts out there who could give their opinion on the condition? Look forward to some replies.
Thanks

[Archive]

Posted By: Mike

Let's see the back..


Edited to add that the Andrews, the Blaeholder, the Hadley, and the Hornsby were supposedly short printed. So what you have is a somewhat rare, and in demand card. I've always thought of this set as rare and undervalued. They are printed on very thin paper as you know, and it has always amazed me that these survived as well as they have. When you hold one in your palm, it is barely detectable. Light as a feather. Forgot to add, nice card.

[Archive]

Posted By: bruce Dorskind

We have collected Tattoo Orbits for more than three decades. We purchased
our fist set from Cliff Lambert in 1978.

It has been our experience that. depite rumors to the contrary there is little
evidence to support that some cards are scarcer than others.

We have correspondence from the Wrigley Company that affirms our
view on this matter.

If one reviews the PSA Population Report, our position on relative scarcity
is also affirmed.

A total of 754 examples have been graded by PSA. The examples graded per
card range from 8 to 18. More than 75% of the examples have acheived a
grade of 5, 6 or 7. Tattoo Orbits are quite scarce in the Investment Grades
of 8 and 9. Only 7.5% of the total number of graded cards have achieved a grade
of 8 or above. In fact, only two cards have been graded "9"

Amongst the lower population cards, here's what PSA tells us

Herman- 9 cardsgraded - 1 card "7" and above
Harnett 12 cards graded- 1 card "7" and above
Haines 9 cards graded 3 cards "7" and above
McManus 9 cards graded 3 cards "7" and above
Martin 13 cards graded 2 cards "7" and above
Hallahan 10 cards graded 3 cards "7" and above
Kamm 8 cards graded 2 cards in *8"- no "7's

It is interesting to note that only a limited number of teams were represented in the set
and that there were no Yankee Players to the best of our knowledge.

Bruce Dorskind
America's Toughest Want List

[Archive]

Posted By: Darren

I consider Hornsby one of the tougher cards.

[Archive]

Posted By: Mike

Notice in my comment I said, "supposedly". I have never been of the opinion that they were short printed. But for the sake of the author, I thought I should throw that comment in there, since his initial question concerned rarity. I have always thought the Tat's were neat cards. In the last few months I seem to see their demand rising. It seems a lot of people are trying to put sets together. I see alot of folks looking for them. Anybody have a reason why that might be the case, Or is it my imagination ?

[Archive]

Posted By: Bob

Mike- I subscribe to the "tbob-iron" theory, that whenever I start buying cards in a set it seems like I draw others to it like a magnet. No one was collecting those drab sepia Zeenuts until I started and suddenlt, "poof," collectors appear out of the woodwork and you can't buy any for less than 4 or 5x what they were selling for. Ditto the Pacific Coast Biscuits and Tattoo Orbits. I know, I know, it sounds like I am paranoid but I recall a client who once told me that just because he was paranoid didn't mean people weren't following him
tbob

[Archive]

Posted By: Mike

I once thought of putting a set of these together, but I am not a set guy. Commons don't interest me at all. I also thought of doing a delong set, but no again. But this would be a tough set to put together, especially if you were going upscale. But it seems like every day I see a few people looking for these. 5 to 10 years ago no one seemed to care much about them. The four or so supposed short printed ones, though I don't believe they were, are still formidable in the higher grades.



Edited to add my Foxx is an SGC 80. Nice card. And I believe between SGC and PSA only 10 or 11 Foxx's have been graded higher.

[Archive]

Posted By: Anonymous

We are not trying to be obstreperous, but we also recall someone stating they did not collect sets, hence no sets on the PSA registry. Whilst we may forget our collection from time to time, it would be worthwhile to see the "investment grade" cards from this set.

[Archive]

Posted By: Mike

Obstreperous ? I would never consider you noisy or unruly. Are you saying you want to see my Foxx card ?

[Archive]

Posted By: Brad Green

Not "investment grade", but here's my Grove Tattoo Orbit...

[Archive]

Posted By: Anonymous

Mike,
Our comments wree most assuredly not directed toward you.

[Archive]

Posted By: warshawlaw

I looked for some time before finding the card I wanted.

[Archive]

Posted By: Darren

Adam,
was that O'doul from Clean Sweep?

[Archive]

Posted By: Mike

I was being sarcastic....a little word play. I meant nothing by it. It's just a word I don't use much on a daily basis !!

[Archive]

Posted By: warshawlaw

I got it years ago

[Archive]

Posted By: David Smith

Dick Bartell, the only Tattoo Orbit card I own. I bought it years ago. The lower left corner has a crease. It is graded E-6 (whatever that means) by Acu-Grade. WOO HOO.

David

[Archive]

Posted By: Rob Dewolf

I think it means Bartell reached on a bad throw by the shortstop.

[Archive]

Posted By: Trevor Hocking

I have always liked the odd 30's gum issues like Tattoos, Delong, and GC Millers. The Delong and GC Miller sets have always been on the pricey side because of rarity (GC Millers) and high demand (Delongs) but the R305's have slipped through the cracks because of the absence of Gehrig and Ruth until the past few years. I have seen this set really pick up steam in the last year or two because it is true, whatever set TBob is collecting there will be a big spike! Not because you are paying over market Bob but because you have good taste and share that with everyone else. So when you pick another set please let me know before hand! Seriously though, the R305's have always been undervalued as was so many other great sets in the past. Today there are not to many undervalued sets out there but this set is one of them for sure.

My 2¢
Trevor

[Archive]

Posted By: Kyle

Hey Bruce,

I'm curious of what Wrigley said regarding the cards. I don't believe they were issued by the Wrigley Company. Assuming you're linking Orbit chewing gum to Wrigley, the brand didn't begin until the 40s, and in the US until 2001.

-Kyle-

[Archive]

Posted By: Mike

A couple Foxx's