Looking for Advice - 1933 Goudey Nap Lajoie #106

[dmking]

Hi Folks,

I joined the forum hoping to get some advice, etc. I have an opportunity to acquire a Nap Lajoie #106 from one of my dealers.

The Nap Lajoie has been graded a 4. This grading was done by a company called North American Sports Authentication which is now out of business. I have checked the card and it woud be graded significantly higher but it has some stickyness on the back (Corners are great, etc)

My concerns are

#1 the certification - the company is not in business, and it was a company that focused more on hockey.
#2 the Goudey series prices have stayed flat for a long period of time and am unsure about the upside
#3 I have never seen the change in prices over time and am unsure if the card values are acutually realized based on book.
#4 I have seen significant differences in the value of a graded 4 Nap Lajoie between websites (i.e.- 14k, 19k) --> am unsure what the actual value is

Your help and opinion would be appreciated

[conor912]

Originally Posted by dmking

Hi Folks,

I joined the forum hoping to get some advice, etc. I have an opportunity to acquire a Nap Lajoie #106 from one of my dealers.

The Nap Lajoie has been graded a 4. This grading was done by a company called North American Sports Authentication which is now out of business. I have checked the card and it woud be graded significantly higher but it has some stickyness on the back (Corners are great, etc)

My concerns are

#1 the certification - the company is not in business, and it was a company that focused more on hockey.
#2 the Goudey series prices have stayed flat for a long period of time and am unsure about the upside
#3 I have never seen the change in prices over time and am unsure if the card values are acutually realized based on book.
#4 I have seen significant differences in the value of a graded 4 Nap Lajoie between websites (i.e.- 14k, 19k) --> am unsure what the actual value is

Your help and opinion would be appreciated

Before you even talk dollars with this guy, you need to sort out the grading situation. If I were you, I wouldnt shell out one dollar for it until psa or sgc looks at it. Tell the dealer to send it to one of them. He should understand completely. If he pushes back, that is where you exit stage left.

[ctownboy]

Hello,

I am far from an expert but here are some general thoughts/ideas from when previous situations like this have come up on this board;

1) A scan or clear picture of the card in question would help.

2) If the dealer is reputable and knows about PSA or SGC then why haven't they sent the card in to be regraded and entombed?

3) Doing research on the web is EASY these days so if the dealer doesn't know about grading or this Lajoie card then WHY don't they know? Too old? Too lazy? Or is it because they know this card is a fake?

David

[Ease]

Your first concern is a good one. I am always wary of high dollar cards in a non-PSA/SGC/Beckett slab. That's enough to turn me off right there. Welcome to the board.

[bigtrain]

I was looking at a PSA 4 in an REA auction 3 or 4 years ago and it went for $23,500.00. I thought that was too high but in the last couple of years REA has gotten around $22,000 for PSA Authentics without a number grade. I am thinking I should have popped for the 4 when I had the chance.

[packs]

I have a Fatima T200 in my collection that was graded by NASA. It crossed over as Authentic. I didn't know it was trimmed until I crossed it though. But the card was good.

[g_vezina_c55]

Welcome

1- NEVER buy a card like that is the card is not in a PSA or SGC Holder.
2- The value of a graded 4 Lajoie is probably arround 21-25

[Sean]

Originally Posted by conor912

Before you even talk dollars with this guy, you need to sort out the grading situation. If I were you, I wouldnt shell out one dollar for it until psa or sgc looks at it. Tell the dealer to send it to one of them. He should understand completely. If he pushes back, that is where you exit stage left.

+1
A high dollar card like that should be sent to PSA, SGC, or Beckett. If the dealer refuses, pass on the card.

[brianp-beme]

Wasn't NASA one of those grading companies that graded cut-out pictures from magazines/schedules, etc...?

Brian

[Griffins]

Brian- it was. There were lots of threads about Nasa and Roy Huff on the old board. Some were pretty funny.
Definitely not a legit company, it seemed to be set up just to grade cutouts.
I wouldn't touch this one until it was crossed to PSA or SGC, if it even can be.

[dmking]

thanks guys thats helpful - I am going to get some pictures today.

I have let the dealer know about NASA and the opinion of the company.

Dave

[CaramelMan]

i would say its a fake....

stay away....

noway would anyone send that valuable card to low end TPA....

RUN AWAY while you can!

if real, it would have been crossed YEARS AGO

[g_vezina_c55]

Originally Posted by caramelman

i would say its a fake....


Noway would anyone send that valuable card to low end tpa....


If real, it would have been crossed years ago

x 2

[dmking]

More information - there was a huge auction about 9 yrs ago in Texas. He purchased the card along with many other Goudey cards at this auction.

From my understanding the bar had a ton of cards - I believe an Honus Wagner as well. I have attached pictures.

[dmking]

As you can see from the pics above - they were taped to a bar. These were two examples

[Bestdj777]

The color looks off. I wouldn't touch this. And the holder looks really sketchy.

[ullmandds]

the lajoie is totally fake.

[T206Collector]

I knew it was fake before you even posted it.

As has been said on here a million times, if your first foray into pre-war cards is a Wagner, Plank or Lajoie at a price that seems too good to be true, you ought to spend some time with a few $10 commons to understand what the real ones look like.

[buymycards]

No question about it - fake. My guess is the black spot on the back covers the work "reprint".

[Tcards-Please]

Originally Posted by buymycards

No question about it - fake. My guess is the black spot on the back covers the work "reprint".

Exactly.

[dmking]

well he did say that I can have someone come over and take a look at it. It might be fake but you never know

Are there any good legitimate grading companies in Toronto?

[Bestdj777]

Originally Posted by dmking

well he did say that I can have someone come over and take a look at it. It might be fake but you never know

Are there any good legitimate grading companies in Toronto?

If everyone that just weighed in told you it was fake, you now know.

[Paul S]

Originally Posted by dmking

well he did say that I can have someone come over and take a look at it. It might be fake but you never know

Are there any good legitimate grading companies in Toronto?

Yes, Molson has an on call grader who specializes in cards taped to a bar top

[dmking]

Molson is a good beer

But seriously - if I want to buy other cards, are there any graders in Toronto that are good. Everyone seems like they are in the states

[Sean]

Originally Posted by T206Collector

I knew it was fake before you even posted it.

As has been said on here a million times, if your first foray into pre-war cards is a Wagner, Plank or Lajoie at a price that seems too good to be true, you ought to spend some time with a few $10 commons to understand what the real ones look like.

Yeah, just ask the guy who paid $14,000 for a fake Plank on ebay last week.

[Ladder7]

Originally Posted by Sean

Yeah, just ask the guy who paid $14,000 for a fake Plank on ebay last week.

He didn't pay a nickel

[g_vezina_c55]

100% fake

[bobbyw8469]

FAKE!!!

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...A97F813A15CEA1

[DoubleJ]

Originally Posted by dmking

well he did say that I can have someone come over and take a look at it. It might be fake but you never know

Are there any good legitimate grading companies in Toronto?

If you really aren't convinced by this forum, if you can get the card to the Toronto Sports Card Expo this weekend (http://www.sportcardexpo.com/), the grading company KSA should be there (http://www.ksagrading.ca/). There would also obviously be a number of dealers that would look at it.

Josh