The Trader Speaks pricing from 1974

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Posted By: Dave Williams

I picked up a copy of "The Trader Speaks" from 1974 for $2.00 which was the pre price guide, pre E Bay way to add to your collection.

It's full of people taking classified adds out with a list of what they wanted to auction off. You mailed them a bid, and at the end of the auction, they'd notify you if you won.

A lot of them had no minimum bid, but they could reject any bids that were too low, some have minimum bids listed.

I'm sure some of you on here used to subscribe, or advertised in the Trader Speaks.

Also informative is the "Collecting News" which lists happenings in the hobby in 1974. Previously unknown sets were popping up everywhere, unknown cards and variations are listed as being reported as well.

Jim Beckett was hoping for a good turnout at his Dallas Baseball Card Collection Convention (a 1 day event on a Saturday, with free admission!)

Anyway..... Here are some of the minimum bids for cards in 1974 of Hall of Famers in this publication.

1933 Goudey Hornsby #188 Mint $3.25
Grove #220 EX $3.00
D.Dean #223 VG $3.00
1939 Play Ball Dickey #30 Mint $2.00
T206 Commons VG-EX - 50 cents
T205 Gold Border Commons 75 cents to $1.25

How about a 1972 Topps complete set for $13.00, or a 1971 set for $16.00?

Another auction started a Cobb T206 in good cond for $2.00, T205 Chance EX for $2.00, Tinker EX $2.00. How about a Tim Keefe N167 Old Judge in EX for min bid $5.50? Allen and Ginter Mike Kelly good cond min bid $5.50, or a T202 Bresnahan/Just before the battle/McGraw in GEM MINT, min bid $3.00. E90 Keeler EX, min bid $2.00.

You could have gotten 15 assorted T206 commons in good condition for $14.95.

Now we know where all the cards are, everybody with a little cash in the early 70's was buying them up.

If I could only go back in time....

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Posted By: Glenn

Ouch!

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Posted By: David Davis

I used to read that, and SCD way before Krause took over. I still have an ad saved from an SCD issue from the late 70's.

Tom Pffirman (sp?) had an auction of rare wrappers, including 57-58 Topps Basketball, 1971 Topps Greatest Moments, 1968 3-D, and many others. Until Mastro had the 57-58 packs 2 auctions ago, I had never even seen the wrapper. To this day, I still have not seen a Greatest Moments wrapper (although I should have bought the box Kevin Savage had at the 97 National in Cleveland).

One last thing, when Richard Gelman started auctioning his father's archives, my brothers and I won a pack of 1967 Topps Pirates stickers. Being the types that have to open every pack we ever owned we opened this one, and honest to God, pulled a Clemente, Clemente for Mayor, and Stargell.

We all long for the good ole days where stuff was relatively dirt cheap and seemingly plentiful.

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Posted By: jay behrens

The prices look cheap today, but you have remember inflation. Gas back then was 29 cents a gallon before the embargo and minimum wage was something like $2.00/hr. Let's not forget a pack of cards was 15 cents and you could still get a 10 cent candy bar.

Jay

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming --- WOW, What a ride!

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Posted By: David Williams

While it's true stuff was cheaper 30 years ago, some of those cards have appreciated 100 times or more.

I also know that that was the starting bid, who knows how high they would go, but what would be a minimum bid for a T206 Cobb now? A few hundred bucks at least, probably more, depending on which Cobb it was and what it looked like.

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

In thirty years those oldtimers (us) may be saying "if I only bought 'em up in the early 2000s when they were cheap ....."

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Posted By: Darren J. Duet

Better than Wal-mart stock.

I purchased a box of 1960's cards in 1978 for $20. It contained about 100 1960 topps, 400 1961 topps, 600+ 1962 topps, 100 1963 topps, and 50 or so fleer all-time greats....the lot was not cherry picked, totally raw and in untouched condition. There were 6 1961 Mantles(#300), 3 1962's(#200), and 2 of each from 1960 & 1963, not to mention the numerous all-star, combo, and league leader cards. I still have every card from that purchase. I was eight years old and bought these cards from a 50 year friend of my father's.