Help with 1909-11 T206 Wildfire Schulte

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Posted By: Dustan Hedlin

Hey guys, I have been a collector for about 16 years, but have just been starting to look at vintage cards recently. I was directed to these forums to help me learn more about t206's and other similar cards. I am looking to pick up a few cards to add to my collection, and found this one at my shop:

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He has a tag of $45 on the card, which looks to be a little high. There was a PSA 3 on ebay that sold for $43, and it looks to be in better shape than the one at my shop. Also, I prefer the look of SGC slabs to PSA ones. If I do buy this card, do I need a membership with SGC to send it in for slabbing? Thanks in advance for your help, and if you have links to pages or sites where I can learn more about t206's, please link them. I am trying to learn all I can about these great cards.

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Posted By: ScottIngold

I think 30.00 would be fair........But with "T'S" going for the #'s i see on fleabay who know's.

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Posted By: fkw

IMO that card if it has a common back is a $25-$30 card at best (maybe a PSA-2)

No membership fee for SGC, but I wouldnt just send a single card in...... the more cards you send in the better (cheaper overall) as the shipping alone both ways adds up. I have been sending in 15-25 cards each time, and ship USPS there and FedEx back and its usually like $30-$40 round trip with insurance.

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Posted By: T206Collector

Welcome to the Board!

It is a very good idea to start to explore vintage cards and you picked a set I started putting together about 10 years ago. It has been a remarkable journey and I've loved every minute of it.

Now, as far as purchasing raw T206 cards at hobby shops, it is generally a bad idea -- the prices will be much too high. You are right to hold the real thing a few times before you make the plunge on ebay, because there are plenty of reprints out there. Stick with SGC or PSA or GAI and you'll be fine, if you buy from reputable dealers. You are smart to compare what the market will bear on ebay, that is what most of us use as a reliable price guide these days.

I would not recommend that you pay more than $25 for this card. If you do wind up buying it, you do not need a membership to SGC to have SGC grade the cards, but I believe you do for PSA. Check out the SGC website at

http://www.sgccard.com/index.php

You can also see many of the T206 sets and partial sets that have been registered with SGC here:

http://www.sgccardregistry.com/index.asp

And don't forget to check out the vintage links section of this website, which also has a link to:

http://www.oldcardboard.com/

Good luck and, again, welcome!

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Posted By: Dustan Hedlin

Thanks for the replies, guys. I have found a lot of great looking cards just in the past few days, and I think this is going to end up being pretty fun. SGC 40 and 50 cards seem to be in my price range for the moment. Just starting off, I don't want to dive right in and spend a bunch of money. This is really an entirely different market than modern cards. While I don't like the look of the GAI slabs as much as SGC or PSA, I might grab a few of those too. I'm looking forward to this. Even if I never buy any t206's, it's been fun researching a few players along the way.

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

How do you determine which t206 cards to buy first, when you are just starting out? Or is it a bargain search, or a mad free for all, or do you seek large lots, or ...

just the red ones to start?

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Posted By: Sean

It's best to get a few raw ones (usually cheaper) and get the feel of the cards and look over eBay auctions and check out the ones that appeal to you and figure out the going prices. Look closely at condition and cards that look to be in near mint condition and selling for $100 on eBay, they usually are trim jobs. Slabbed lower condition common cards seem to sell for reasonable prices if you factor in how much you will spend for getting them graded.

You have endless options for collecting, you can go for teams, portraits, neat poses, interesting backgrounds, different backs, HOFer's, minor leagues...the possibilities are endless.

Enjoy!
Sean BH

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Posted By: Dustan Hedlin

As to what ones I will buy to start off, I just bought an SGC 40 of George Hunter, an old Brooklyn pitcher for my first one. I liked the look of the card, and felt I got a decent price. Not necessarily a bargain search, but I am going to start off with commons. The next one I buy will probably be the raw Schulte pictured above. It was the first one I noticed, and what got me started at these in the first place. Plus, he was a pretty good player for the Cubs, and I'm from IL. Maybe I'll pick up a few more Cubs guys, but more than likely I'll buy the ones that catch my eye, regardless of team. Once I get a little more knowledgeable about the cards, I'll start making bigger purchases, but for now I'm sticking to lower grade commons to get started. Just from lurking on here for a little while, I've learned a lot. You guys have a great deal of knowledge.

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Posted By: Brett

When I first started, it was basically a bargin hunt. I only picked up SGC graded cards, because I had no clue what was real and what wasn't. I have a couple of commons, and no I am going to move on to a low grade HOF card.

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

Schulte is the only player other than Willie Mays to amass 20 HRs,3B,2B,SB in a single season.

A good place to buy real t206s which are raw is our B/S/T. I wouldn't think that anyone here would sell fakes. And raw cards which you can rely on as real, will give you a better understanding of these than slabbed ones will.

But slabbed cards are reliably not fake too.

Good luck, all.

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

Dustan

There are two Schulte cards in the T206 set. And, what is quite interesting
about them is that the 1st one (Cubs on uniform) is in the 150-only Series;
and, the last one is in the 460-only Series (the one you have depicted).

So, both cards are somewhat tougher than most T206 cards.

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Posted By: Dave

When I started buying T206 cards, I followed much of the advice here: Start with some commons, not too high a quality, to get the feel of the cards, the buying process, and trimming of these cards, which is all too common. I purchased most of my cards off ebay, a few here.

I started a database of all graded T206 cards sold on ebay, later reduced this to incude only the ones I was missing. I also have kept good records of each card I bought: when, from whom, $, grade - my own if not slabbed. I found that I bought many times from the same sellers. Many of those are here, which I find good deal.

The problem with starting low is that you put the most expensive cards at the end, and if the vintage market continues to climb as it has the past few years, you will end up paying a premium.

Buying cards in slabs is much safer than raw cards, but those cards will carry some premium.

If you really like the SGC holders, they will cross over from PSA or GAI, but no guarantee on the same rating. I've never done this, but I think you can get a new grade first and then decide if you want to break open the old case.

Buying these cards can get really addictive, but is really is a lot of fun and is educational. Just remember that there are over 500 T206 variations (front side only), so the money can really add up. SGC 50 Cobbs usually go for more than $1k.

Best of luck collecting.

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Posted By: Dustan Hedlin

In response to you mentioning that you've found that you have bought multiple times from certain sellers, are there any sellers that you recommend, on here or ebay? A lot of the stuff I have checked out on ebay is being sold by wildman-pete. I'd like to make sure I'm buying from a reputable seller, but I'm not sure it makes much difference if it is a graded card. If anyone else has a favorite seller or sellers, lmk their ID's and I can check them out.

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Posted By: andy becker

hi dustan,
welcome aboard.

if you check the links at the top of this forum, you will see collector links and dealer links.
both provide ebay id's. you should be fine with any listed on this board.
for ebay id's not found on this board, check their ebay feedback. anything over 99% is fine and should be a problem free transaction.

stay away from ebay "private auctions". those are a scammers best friend.

good luck collecting.
andy

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Posted By: leon

I agree with the sentiments on finding good sellers to buy from. While each transaction is caveat emptor, I am not aware of anyone in our own links page that does a bad job.....otherwise, they wouldn't be there . You also should click on the link that says Oldcardboard, at the top of this page, and prepare to spend some time looking at their site. Lyman and Brett Hardeman do an outstanding job with their site and magazine. (if you aren't a subscriber then you don't know what you are missing). Their site has ebay sellers listed with their ratings. Once again, I always want to know about folks acting unprofessionally in our BST area's, on this board, or anyone associated with our vintage links. If it's confirmed then they won't be there anymore....best regards

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Posted By: Dave

Dustin,

There are too many specific names to list. Plus, my limited exposure doesn't mean totaly quality. So, rather than try to list several here, I'll just ask you to contact me privately if you want some names. That will avoid a major response if I should mentin someone that has had a problem with a board member. [Flames ON].

There are many dealers who watch and contribute here; as well as many who are very reliable dealers. A pleasure to deal with.