HOF minimum price tiers

[nat]

Because I'd like to stay married, I usually have a very limited baseball card budget. But due to a birthday and a Net54 contest (thanks Leon!), I've got about $140 to spend this month. (Not much by the standards around here, I know, but a lot for me.) Rather than get several small things that would be available to me otherwise, I thought that I'd put it towards a player who would normally be out of my reach. So I have two questions:

(1) Without much concern for condition (but requiring that the card actually be intact), which hall of famers could I get a card of, which was issued during their playing days, for $140, but not for less than that?

(2) More generally, what do the minimum price tiers for hall of famers look like? There are the lesser lights - like Roger Bresnehan - which can be had cheaply. There are big names, like Speaker, who turn up in strip sets. There are a few big names from the deadball era who retired before the inexpensive strip sets. And there are 19th century guys. Obviously there will be variation within each, but do we have ballpark figures for what the bottom rung of these tiers cost?

[bnorth]

I love the Sanella Babe Ruth card. Great picture and from his playing days. Because it is paper stock instead of card stock i would recommend buying graded or getting it graded. It really pops in a SGC slab.

Some of the strip cards are not super ugly but I can't think of what one it is now.

Good luck finding something you like and please post a pic when you do find it.

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by nat

Because I'd like to stay married, I usually have a very limited baseball card budget. But due to a birthday and a Net54 contest (thanks Leon!), I've got about $140 to spend this month. (Not much by the standards around here, I know, but a lot for me.) Rather than get several small things that would be available to me otherwise, I thought that I'd put it towards a player who would normally be out of my reach. So I have two questions:

(1) Without much concern for condition (but requiring that the card actually be intact), which hall of famers could I get a card of, which was issued during their playing days, for $140, but not for less than that?

(2) More generally, what do the minimum price tiers for hall of famers look like? There are the lesser lights - like Roger Bresnehan - which can be had cheaply. There are big names, like Speaker, who turn up in strip sets. There are a few big names from the deadball era who retired before the inexpensive strip sets. And there are 19th century guys. Obviously there will be variation within each, but do we have ballpark figures for what the bottom rung of these tiers cost?

nat,

You may be in the wrong place. We are all single and sleep with our cards.

Once you accept that premise, take your time. My first prewarcard was a HOFer. I overpaid by more than $140.

Currently I have 96 prewar HOFers. 2/3 of them I obtained for less than $140, and only a couple are true beaters. You should be able to find something you like that is within your budget.

[pherbener]

You mentioned Tris Speaker. This one's not bad and in your price range. Good luck!! http://www.ebay.com/itm/T205-Hassan-...cAAOSwnHZYVykR

[Prince Hal]

For pre-war you can't do much better than T206 and I bet a Lajoie (I like the portrait best) can be had. Find one with a bit of back damage. That always drops the price quite a lot even if the front image is great. He was right there with Cobb as a hitter but much more reasonable price.

[EvilKing00]

Sanella Babe Ruth

[Luke]

For T206, you can get a nice looking lower grade Keeler, Joss, or Lajoie at that price. Maybe a T201 Matty. The Diamond Stars set is also worth a look as are the Ruths mentioned earlier. Good luck!

[packs]

If you like cards with photographs rather than artwork you could take a look at the M101 set. There are some nice real photos of HOFers in that set and some of them run pretty cheap.

[Econteachert205]

I have a nicer raw t205 speaker I'd sell for 140.


If it were me though I wouldn't go with that card. It's an ugly portrait, unflattering which is why I'd sell it.

Find something that speaks to you.

[sterlingfox]

I'd probably go with a T202 card. Real picture in the center panel, 2 players on the ends, and lots of reading to do on the back.

For $140 you can probably get one with C.Mathewson, WaJo or C.Young if you're okay with a grade under 3.

[Leon]

Speaker is a good choice and it sounds like Dennis (above) might have a nicer one for about the same money...although, as he points out, you should go for a card that speaks to you, "so to say."

Originally Posted by pherbener

You mentioned Tris Speaker. This one's not bad and in your price range. Good luck!! http://www.ebay.com/itm/T205-Hassan-...cAAOSwnHZYVykR

[Luke]

I've always really liked the T205 Speaker. I love the T206 set, but the Speaker doesn't do much for me. I think Dennis' card might be the perfect card to get since $140 would be on the low end of what you might spend for a nice looking copy.

[JustinD]

I am a huge fan of W517's for the budget minded.

• Fantastic checklist with cards printed during playing careers.
• Great photos and can be found with great registration.
• Priced in the realm of much uglier strip cards.

A great set for the low budget collector to nail down some prize HOFer's at very reasonable amounts.

[Econteachert205]

Here is my 05 Speaker. I'm not interested in selling him unless it is to the original poster as I did make the claim I would sell it. But for an ugly card it's a beauty. A tiny bit of paper loss on back and off the front but no creases and sharp picture.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Econteachert205

Here is my 05 Speaker. I'm not interested in selling him unless it is to the original poster as I did make the claim I would sell it. But for an ugly card it's a beauty. A tiny bit of paper loss on back and off the front but no creases and sharp picture.

This example shows how different we all are in what we like. I think this is a beautiful card and way nicer than his ugly T206.

[clydepepper]

First of all, let me set something straight:

Frank - I don't sleep with my cards, only my dog.


Nat - an alternative choice could be Game Cards:

1913 National Game has player's photo on front, a beautiful design and even a patent date on the back.

1914 Polo Grounds also has the player's photo on the front, another nice design and a photo of the Polo Grounds on the back.


Raw Hall-of-Famers are easily affordable from each set....$140 could even land you two cards.


A third Game Card choice is the Napoleon Lajoie game card - also attainable in nice condition in your price range.

It should be noted that, while others on this board do not say so, they do not seem to consider GAME CARDS as actual cards. IMO


The previously mentioned Sanella Margarine Babe Ruth is one I have previously owned, though getting one for less than $140 is becoming more of a challenge.


Good Luck in whatever choice you make,
Raymond

[nat]

I started this thread months ago, looking for advice about the card that would be my one big pick-up. (Well, big for me at any rate.) It took a long time and losing a few auctions to settle on a card. This one cost more than the $140 I mentioned when posting the thread, but I managed to scrape together some more cash in the intervening months. It's an N28 John Clarkson. I realize that there are more historically important players out there, but after a while what I realized was that I really wanted a 19th c. hall of famer.

I was a little nervous about buying it raw, but as far as I can tell it looks good. I don't have any other N28s to compare it to, but under 60x magnification the printing looks a lot like a T206 and nothing at all like 1987 Topps. Single-color dots, unevenly shaped. Under a black light the front is barely visible and the back reacts only a tiny amount.

The stuff on the front of the card isn't a scratch, it's a little residue of some kind. I'm not up for soaking this card though, so it's going to stay there.

[sterlingfox]

Great choice! Probably cost you double your original budget, though.

[Stampsfan]

Congrats. Beautiful card, and I always loved the colors in that set.

Glad to hear you took your time and made a choice you can appreciate.

[Eric72]

An absolutely beautiful pickup. Congrats!

Is that your first 19th Century card?

[nat]

Yes, it's my first 19 c. card.

It cost well more than my original budget, but not twice as much. There are advantages to buying raw.

I think the A&Gs are beautiful (I actually like them more than the much more expensive Old Judges), and I like it that they're a link to the very early days of pro baseball. In Clarkson's rookie year they were still pitching underhand!

[WillowGrove]

Congrats Nat. Good looking card. Great player. Really nice.