Price Comparisons 1980-1996-2006

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Posted By: Bruce Babcock

I found an old PSA SMR from 4/1996 and started to compare prices to the current issue. Then I got out my Beckett from 1980 and compared further. My columns got messed up pasting this data into a post but I think you can make sense of it anyway.

Three columns, left to right, 1980, 1996, 2006. The prices are for MINT cards. A dash indicates no listing. At the bottom are some prices from the 1980 Beckett showing vg/ex prices for an "average" (perhaps they meant common) card. My sophisticated analysis shows an upward trend. Too bad my time machine is in the shop.


1980 BeckettPSA SMR 4/1996 PSA SMR 11/2006
(mint)Mint 9Mint 9
T205 Cobb
60.0012,750100,000
T206 Cobb (red port)
50.00 7,50040,000
T207 Loudermilk
525.00-30,000
T3 Turkey Red Cobb
325.00-92,000
T202 Jennings-Cobb
27.00-27,500
1952 Topps Mantle
2500.0075,000127,500
1952 Topps Mathews
400.0017,00068,000
1953 Bowman color Musial
75.001,9505500
1915 Cracker Jack Joe Jackson
75.0025,00085,000
1933 Goudey Ruth #53
200.0021,000105,000
1954 Red Heart Mantle
30.00-4,000
1933 Tattoo Orbit Hornsby
20.00-4,500
1933 GC Miller common
100.00--

“average” card in vg/ex
N2835.00-185
N43125.00--
Duke Cab N142500.00--
E937.00--
E947.00-135
E95.5.50-80
E9712.00--
E1018.00--
E9927.00--
E10311.00--
E10714.00--
N17213.00-200
N172 Spotted tie40.00--
N172 Gypsy Queen60.00--
N173125.00--
1910 TipTop Bread30.00--
T213 Coupon10.00--
T214 Victory17.00--
T215Red Cross10.00--

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Posted By: barrysloate

When I see, for example, a T205 Cobb increase from $60 to $100,000 there has to be more at play than simple price appreciation over time. For one, a PSA 9 Cobb doesn't exist (has any T205 ever received a 9?) But assuming it does, wouldn't one think that a very tiny group of very rich people have everything to do with that baseball card being catalogued at 100K today? If you tracked a VG from 1980 to 2006 it would probably be a lot more reliable an indicator.

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Posted By: JimB

Barry,
You are right that tracking vg prices gives a broader sense of the appreciation of card values, but tracking mint prices (and I don't think SMR is the most reliable source for that, but it is what we have) does give some indication of the intense rise in values of super high-grade cards.
JimB

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Posted By: barrysloate

I think the competition for the Mint cards is what fascinates me. Is it the fierce battle between a few people who don't really like each other part of the cause of the meteoric price rise, or is it the baseball card?

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Posted By: Jeff Drum

Limited Supply + Passion + Ego + Money = Your Answer

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Posted By: barrysloate

That's a good formula Jeff. I should jot that down.

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Posted By: Bruce Babcock

I used the mint prices because the 1980 Beckett guide used mint, vg/ex & fair/good as their three columns of pricing. As we know, SCD uses NM, EX & VG which I believe makes more sense.

It was a different world back then. Lots of odd quirks in the system. The 1914 Cracker Jack of Chance was worth $125 in 1980 while the Joe Jackson was worth $100.

You could also get a table at The National (the very first one) for $50 for the entire show and $40 if you stayed in the hotel.

My original point in digging into these numbers was a theory I had that while we have seen strong prices across the board in pre-war stuff, and extremely high growth in certain "hot" issues, generally the increases in post war stuff have not been nearly so strong, with the exception of the NM-MT and higher categories.

To cite one example, I have a PSA 6 1953 Topps Mantle. In the 1996 PSA SMR it booked for $1500. Ten years later it books for $1800. A 20% increase over a ten year period.

Issues like Breisch-Williams, E93 and others have obviously done far better than that.

Some of the issues in the 1980 Beckett which contain prices for each card in the set included 1952 Wheaties, W517, W711-1&2, W573, and C46 but not N28, N29, N43, N403, N172, N173, E91-thru E99, etc. Certainly a different emphasis these days with more and more collectors seeking out issues of all types and going after back variations, tough poses and other exotica. Overall, collectors have more information available and many members on this board continue to add to that knowledge base as we speak - or rather, as we post.

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Posted By: Dan Kravitz

I seem to remember Lew Lipset having prices in one of his 3 booklets he put out. If anyone has a copy please share it with the group. Mine is boxed up because we moved. Anyway, Lew was a dealer and a hobbiest for many years. He put together some prices for card values in the early '80s. When I first saw the prices I laughed. Jackson's for under $100.00. Hu? There must not have been many guys collecting, or no one had any money back then, or cards were just plain cheap. That might be a better indicator of what cards were selling for, since we don't have much data on sales back then. It will be easy to see how the hobby and prices have grown. I wonder what the increase in percentage is? Not to hijack a thread, but how about where we think prices will be 20 years from now. Any guesses?

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Posted By: joe

Here are some of Lipset's prices on the right. 19th century book 1983, caramel cards book 1984 and Tobacco book 1986. The prices keep jumping to the left, they will be the last price on the last posters line.

Joe


1980 Beckett PSA SMR 4/1996 PSA SMR 11/2006
(mint) Mint 9 Mint 9 Lew's prices ex-mt
T205 Cobb
60.00 12,750 100,000 300.00
T206 Cobb (red port)
50.00 7,500 40,000 200.00
T207 Loudermilk
525.00 - 30,000 650.00
T3 Turkey Red Cobb 1,300.00
325.00 - 92,000
T202 Jennings-Cobb
27.00 - 27,500
1952 Topps Mantle
2500.00 75,000 127,500
1952 Topps Mathews
400.00 17,000 68,000
1953 Bowman color Musial
75.00 1,950 5500
1915 Cracker Jack Joe Jackson
75.00 25,000 85,000 200.00
1933 Goudey Ruth #53
200.00 21,000 105,000
1954 Red Heart Mantle
30.00 - 4,000
1933 Tattoo Orbit Hornsby
20.00 - 4,500
1933 GC Miller common
100.00 - -

“average” card in vg/ex
N28 35.00 - 185 50.00
N43 125.00 - - 225.00
Duke Cab N142 500.00 - - 700.00
E93 7.00 - - 10.00
E94 7.00 - 135 13.00
E95. 5.50 - 80 8.00
E97 12.00 - - 25.00
E101 8.00 - - 13.00
E99 27.00 - - 50.00
E103 11.00 - - 30.00
E107 14.00 - - 35.00
N172 13.00 - 200 50.00
N172 Spotted tie 40.00 - - 125.00 - 175.00
N172 Gypsy Queen 60.00 - - 75.00 - 100.00
N173 125.00 - - 400.00 - 600.00
1910 TipTop Bread 30.00 - -
T213 Coupon 10.00 - - 30.00
T214 Victory 17.00 - - 125.00
T215 Red Cross 10.00 - - 25.00



Ty Cobb, Spikes flying!

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Posted By: Richard Masson

Lew Lipset presented a study in his Old Judge newsletters identifying the phenomenon of higher grade cards appreciating at a faster rate than VG cards.
I think he used price guides from early 80s vs. early 90s. This was well before grading and slabbing became popular, and in fact may have spawned that industry as high grade cards were "manufactured" to meet the demand. The situation was not too different from today, just with fewer zeroes at the end.