The World According to Mr. Mint

[sports-rings]

I was reading Sports Collectors Digest this week and saw the latest advertisement from Mr. Mint.

I had a little extra time so I read his 8 listed accomplishments in the full page advertisement.

He claims that he has "spent over 150 million dollars in vintage cards and related memorabilia" during the past 30 years.

That seems pretty high. To put that into proper context, that is an average of $5,000,000 a year. Considering that the REA spring auction does about 10 million dollars, that means that Mr. Mint, Al Rosen, purchases the equivalent of half the REA catalog every single year! If Al Rosen is not paying winning auction-house pricing, than he needs to purchase a lot more to spend an average of 5 million a year.

Do you think he's blowing smoke or is he the undisputed greatest buyer of sports memorabilia in the hobby?

This is the same guy that won't reply to any of my emails when he announces his show schedule and I politely ask him to keep an eye out for a ring that I may need from the city and team that he is due to visit.

[Peter_Spaeth]

In further context that is over $12,000 per DAY.

[Duluth Eskimo]

That's chump change, just ask him. It always used to make me laugh out loud when I would see people approach his booth back in the day and ask for his autograph. Whether it was his book or on one of the many trinkets he used to hand out. In full disclosure, I buy and sell autographs, but seriously a baseball card dealer? Jason

[Gary Dunaier]

Originally Posted by Duluth Eskimo

It always used to make me laugh out loud when I would see people approach his booth back in the day and ask for his autograph. Whether it was his book or on one of the many trinkets he used to hand out. In full disclosure, I buy and sell autographs, but seriously a baseball card dealer? Jason

Hey, you never know. Seriously, there may come a time when people will want to break out into various - I don't know if this is an appropriate word - "fringe" aspects of sports and sports memorabilia. Don West, the former Shop At Home pitchman, actually has his own autographed cards from his post-SAH career as a TNA Wrestling announcer, but I was interested in them because of his SAH notoriety.

If there are people who want Alan Rosen's autograph, and he's willing to give it to them (for free), more power to 'em. On the other hand, I can understand how seeking out a dealer's autograph can be seen as silly, and just as I stand up for those who might want to get such an autograph, I also respect the opinions of those who wouldn't add them to their collections even if the dealers paid them.

[Duluth Eskimo]

Originally Posted by Gary Dunaier

Hey, you never know. Seriously, there may come a time when people will want to break out into various - I don't know if this is an appropriate word - "fringe" aspects of sports and sports memorabilia. Don West, the former Shop At Home pitchman, actually has his own autographed cards from his post-SAH career as a TNA Wrestling announcer, but I was interested in them because of his SAH notoriety.

If there are people who want Alan Rosen's autograph, and he's willing to give it to them (for free), more power to 'em. On the other hand, I can understand how seeking out a dealer's autograph can be seen as silly, and just as I stand up for those who might want to get such an autograph, I also respect the opinions of those who wouldn't add them to their collections even if the dealers paid them.

I hope Don West was a nice guy, cause Al Rosen was an a$$hole.

[bigfanNY]

I have bought material from Al Rosen I have sold to Al Rosen and I have Cosigned to his auctions. Examples bought an 1871 Boston Program, a Lone star type. Being from NJ I set up next to Mr. Rosen at a small show in the 70's. I was half his age and he treated me like an equal he had questions and opinions like anyone else coming into the hobby at that time.
He was always drawn to Rare cards and had a knack for finding them that is unparalleled. NOTHING but respect for Al Rosen he has helped this hobby and done very well for himself. My only negative memory of Al is me still kicking myself for not saying yes when he asked me if I wanted a 61 Dice game May's for $100. I walked around room came back to his table to buy it and it was sold. (gonna have to let that go one of these days). And I have never know him to tell anything but the truth.
Jonathan Sterling

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by Gary Dunaier

Hey, you never know. Seriously, there may come a time when people will want to break out into various - I don't know if this is an appropriate word - "fringe" aspects of sports and sports memorabilia.
If there are people who want Alan Rosen's autograph, and he's willing to give it to them (for free), more power to 'em.

Well, the 2015 Allen & Ginter product could have his signature as a celebrity. This year they had Dr. James Andrews relic (tie?) cards included in their set, along with Chef Anthony Bourdain and Mallrats director Kevin Smith.

[insidethewrapper]

Last time I seen him was years ago in the Detroit area yelling at the Hotel Receptionist about his air conditioner not working and that he wanted a complete refund on his bill. He is like "a bully", which we try to teach our kids not to be. He does turn over his buys fast, inventory is not good. Cash flow is !

[Bocabirdman]

The claim is even more remarkable. He says he spent $150M/$5M a year/$12K a day. REA's $10M is prices realized, no? Mr. Mint claims that he spent that much. He obviously would have a large out-going dollar figure.

[Rich Klein]

Al used to publish his tax return (with the SSN blacked out, etc) in SCD each year to quell the people who doubted him. If he is not at $150MM spent over the years, I'll bet he's darned close.

Rich

[4815162342]

In the Tango Eggs thread, there were a few posts about Mr. Mint advertising them in SCD after the find, but no one received callbacks to be able to actually buy any. I've also read that he doesn't sell - only buys - at shows. Where does Mr. Mint sell? Has anyone here ever purchased from him?

[whitehse]

Originally Posted by 4815162342

In the Tango Eggs thread, there were a few posts about Mr. Mint advertising them in SCD after the find, but no one received callbacks to be able to actually buy any. I've also read that he doesn't sell - only buys - at shows. Where does Mr. Mint sell? Has anyone here ever purchased from him?

He sells but not just to the general public. He is a flipper and flips the deals he picks up at shows and gets those deals to the dealers he knows will have interest in what he has picked up and will pay good money for his "finds". I have seen this on numerous occasions when he has interrrupted a conversation I was having with a dealer only to butt in without even an "excuse me" and just lays the finds on the table and starts to negotiate with the dealer.

[the 'stache]

I watched a video last night of "Mr. Mint", which I'd seen once before a few years back. I forget the name of the man, but Rosen was buying a large collection from an older man in Wisconsin. This was a collection that he'd been building for his entire life. He made mention of how his son did it for a while, and I forget what happened. The son stopped collecting, and gave his collection to his dad, who kept collecting. Anyway, the man ended up getting $80,000. As has been already alluded to, Mint was just ripping through binder after binder of cards. He'd look at a sheet of 9 cards, like '54 Bowman Football or something, "twenty bucks", then after he was done adding it up, he'd just throw the binder across the table, and start ripping through the next one.

The elderly gentleman, who was in a Packers Super Bowl XXXI shirt, had recently undergone a surgical procedure. I couldn't believe my ears when Rosen made fun of him for only having one testicle as a result. Later he also made jokes about Polish people, and generally disparaged people in the midwest. One of the people sitting at the table, when they were poking fun at the man's weight, lifted up his shirt, and was flapping his big, fat belly. It was just disgusting, and completely unprofessional. I watched the rest of the videos, and at the end, he'd made 8 stacks of $10,000. Then the guy asked if he could get his picture taken with Rosen. Mint stacked the money into two of $40k each, stood behind him, fanned out the money, and smiled for the camera.

He might have increased exposure for the hobby at one point. He might have had some polite conversations with people when he wasn't busy being a diva. He might have been a big name in the hobby, too. He certainly thought he was important, and that he deserved preferential treatment. But Al Rosen struck me as a completely classless human being. It was appalling to see how he belittled this man, and just threw around binder after binder of cards as if they were nothing. They weren't stacks of pristine '52 Topps Mantles, so it became obvious that Rosen thought this whole collection was beneath him. After he made his offer for everything, and the gentleman accepted, Rosen pulled out $30,000, bragging that he'd brought $110,000. The man said he didn't have any more. I mean, Rosen gave him $100 for a full set of the 1955 Topps All American football players. $100? The man could have bought a price guide, or done some research on his own. But, perhaps foolishly, he expected that Al Rosen would deal with him in good faith. And while Rosen is there buying for his client, he still had a fiduciary responsibility to treat the other parties involved respectfully. I thought, "ok, $80,000. The collection was clearly worth a lot more than that. Several times more. But when I read the comments, I learned that something had been cut from the video. The man had a collection of '52 Topps Mantles. Rosen told the man that they looked like they were fakes, and bullied him into selling them as reprints. But the kicker was when Mr. Mint and his little entourage went to breakfast. They'd heard that some place nearby made great pancakes, so they all went there, and Rosen called the man, and asked him and his son to join them. When the bill came, Rosen gave it to the old man, saying "you're the one with all the cash." He and his group left. The old man's son had to stay at the restaurant while the old man went home and got the money to pay for everybody.

I literally wanted to throw up. It doesn't matter how much money you have. Being wealthy doesn't give you license to demean another human being the way Rosen did. And if I'd been there when this happened, I'd have thrown them out of the house. I'd have been very tempted to do something else, but unlike Rosen, I have class, and I wouldn't have acted on my urges, no matter how badly I wanted to give him a piece of my mind. Al, you and your son, and your business partner, and the police officer you paid to come with you, and your limo driver, and your personal chef--you can all get lost.

Edit: I have amended two comments, one about the behavior of the people at the table that might have been an inaccurate representation, and a second comment about the size and quality of the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle group that the seller included in this $80,000 deal. I made the original comment about the Mantle collection based off of posts I'd read from multiple people on Youtube and a forum. It has been pointed out to me that what I'd posted is not accurate, so I have removed that portion of my post.

[LuckyLarry]

Those videos are hard to watch Bill.

[nickedson]

I've dealt with Al many times and there are some of us on this board who've been around the hobby longer than he has. I used to talk to him quite a bit when I did a monthly column for Baseball Hobby News. But one time I watched him in action at a show and decided I'd let his ego backfire on him. I had for sale a bunch of near mint 1960s insert baseball sets. I wanted $600 for the sets. I asked a well-known dealer next to my table if he would go along with my idea. He did. So when Rosen came to my table and began looking at my insert sets, he asked me how much I wanted for them. I told them they were spoken for (the dealer next to me) and I wanted $700. Rosen asked me if they were paid for yet and I said no. So he reached into his briefcase, grabbed 7 100-dollar bills and laid them on the table. I pretended to think about it and then said OK. After he left, I gave the dealer next to me the extra $100 bill and we had a good laugh.

[sports-rings]

He might have increased exposure for the hobby at one point. He might have had some polite conversations with people when he wasn't busy being a diva. He might have been a big name in the hobby, too. He certainly thought he was important, and that he deserved preferential treatment. But Al Rosen struck me as a completely classless human being.

Yup, that's the Al I know!

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by sports-rings

Yup, that's the Al I know!

++1

The only interactions I've ever had with Mr Mint mirrored some others experiences here. He saw me walking around a few shows with a box under my arm and he asked what I had. I just said "you wouldn't be interested" and kept walking.