Perceived or Real? rarity of 1967 B Robby, 1970 Bench

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Posted By: Jim

Hello, longtime (years) lurker, first time poster. Thanks Ted for all your great research-oriented threads. I don't own a single t206 but I voraciously read anything you post on them.

I have a question, or possible point of research, myself.

When I was a kid in the 70s building sets, I remember it was always stated that the 67 B. Robinson, 1970 Bench, and 72 carew were quite rare cards and were very very difficult to find, thus the high price (for that time - I think the bench was listed at $25 in 1980, which was the highest value card for that era at the time. ) I guess I always believed this, but recently I think I read somewhere that it was really an urban legend or a myth (my words) and that those particular cards were no more difficult than other hi# cards from the same series. I have heard mention of a rumor about a collector hording them to drive the price up.

I believe that current ebay prices for them bear this out - they are not too much more expensive today than they were in 1986 for a raw ex,ex-mt card. Obviously, with grading these days, the higher grades provide a more quantifiable idea of rarity. But I am referring more to the general rarity of the card itself, not the conditional rarity.

I'd appreciate thoughts from the group - as your collective and individual experience is far superior.

thx, jim