the way I see it
 

JP- first of all it is a very cool card just the way it is, with full disclosure and being in an AUT holder. Also, you don't owe anyone, including me, an explanation but it's always nice to hear thoughts on strategies for collecting, flipping, trading etc. All of that being said even this last statement you gave kind of goes in about 5 different directions. I might politely suggest a tad bit more focus to enhance your collecting enjoyment. Historically the folks that are the least focused (read - all over the place with high end cards etc...) tend to crash and burn the quickest. This is just an observation and certainly might not be the way you are going. Good luck with whatever you decide and thanks for participating and sharing on the board. All collecting is good collecting in my eyes!!

For better or worse, JP has found himself in the middle of some board controversies lately. I completely missed the humor in his post but as we've discussed previously, you often can't pick up tone, and sometimes even sarcasm, on a written post. So many flip comments go over people's heads.

Leon- that was my 1800th post...you better watch your back!

I understand I don't owe anyone an explanation of my thoughts or strategies, but at thesame time, I don't mind giving them! To be perfectly frank, I have been saving up recently to make a run at the Plank PSA 3 that heritage has in their upcoming. Sort of on a whim I made a lowball bid on the AUTH and was very surprised when I won (still am). My first thought was that maybe I could restore it to a PSA 3 and have what I want at a third of the price. Knowing that's not likely, I can say that I'm quite glad to own such a beautiful specimen, whether or not it is 100% original. Famous paintings are often restored without anyone batting an eye, so I have no problem enjoying this piece of history I just bought. When I was 11 years old, I bought some raw t-206s at a card show in Redding, CA. I still have most of them, almost 25 years later, including a Demmitt St. Louis that was in the group. It looks like a dog ate it and pooped it out, but I love it. My ultimate goal is to get one of the best Demmitts to put by it's side. Recently I bought a couple of Demmitts to give to my kids to get them started (still looking for one more). So while I love this Plank, and several other huge cards I've owned in the past, they will always play second fiddle to my true love.

If anyone out there has any info on how I can get a PSA 6, 7, or 8 Demmitt, you'd be helping me complete my collecting journey. I keep asking, but so far no leads.

"Flip" comments = a brilliant unintentional pun?

I don't care...
 

...what you do with the Plank, but I thank you for sharing your purchasing/trade/use strategies with us. This is the kind of dialogue that makes this board so enjoyable because we all think about these issues to some degree, and so these comments help enhance our own enjoyment of our own cards and collections.

You're of course free to flip the card, or flip-flop in your intentions with respect to the card, at your leisure. I do agree with Leon, however, that a lack of collecting focus is usually followed by apathy and then sale.

If and when you do part with it, I'm sure we would all be curious to hear about what you have decided to do with it.

JP- honestly, didn't even think about it, but "flip" was a well chosen word.:)

Polar Bear Staining
 

You already know this, but Demmitt's only come with Polar Bear backs, which means they resided alongside scrap tobacco and will exhibit staining and tobacco impressions. I wonder how many PSA 6, 7 or 8 Polar Bear graded cards of any player are in existence. Unfortunately, I have owned some bright clean Polar Bear cards that have been rejected by SGC as a result of bleaching. So I would be quite wary of any high grade Demmitt if it didn't have the usual staining -- which, of course, would keep it from being high grade.

The card is very nice. I have often thought about the restoration of paintings as opposed to cards and why there is such a difference, and I guess it is because paintings are truly one of a kind as opposed to something printed by machine. No matter how you look at it, your Plank is real, and probably one of the nicest on the planet. It was probably really nice to start with to look that good, it just has the stigma of being labeled 'authentic'.

That's exactly the case. Boil it down to 2 known examples of a particular pre-war card -- one beater that is original in all respects and one super minty but restored. Which one would you rather have? I suspect you'll get a lot that would take either, but I think there are a few more purists in vintage collecting that would prefer the beater, but I am biased in this case. :)

T206collector, as the Demmitt St. Louis has been a focus of my collection for a quarter century, I'm well aware of the partiulars concerning Polar Bear scrap tobacco and its packaging. But I am part of the camp that believes some Polar Bear tobacco products contained more than 1 card, so conceivably a Demmitt could be protected on both sides and be essentially stain free. I have seen a couple that have been pure white on both sides, just in bad shape, so high grade ones do exist without stain.

There are three Demmitt St. Louis cards in the upcoming REA auction. Perhaps you can ask Rob whether any of them are the high grades you are looking for.

They mentioned that an O'hara was a 5, so I doubt that any of the Demmitts are 6 or higher or they would've mentioned it....so I'm not too interested.

a few comments...

regarding high-grade Polar Bears, i used to own a PSA 8 and a PSA 7, so they are out there, obviously very rare, but they exist.

regarding your plank, congrats, it is a stunning card. i would just leave it alone, enjoy owning it for awhile, then down the road, if a great offer/deal presents itself, take advantage of it.

don't screw with it, the card will probably look like a dog if the restoration is reversed. PLUS even if you spend the money to have it reversed, there is NO guarantee that it will grade numerically. big risk.

Best-
MS

What about a PSA 4 Demmit that looks nicer than most 6's?

MVSNYC: Yeah, I've decided to leave it alone. If the right offer comes along, so be it, but until then, I'm holding. Can't wait to see it in person!

Bicem: PM sent

A PSA 6 just "sold" in Goodwin's last auction.

http://www.goodwinandco.com/LotDetai...100&category=1

They say there are three graded higher by PSA. They are in a couple of places on the pop report. Some are listed under Polar Bear Back and some are under Unknown Back. Combined, PSA shows: PSA 6 - 2, PSA 7 - 2, and PSA 8 - 1, so there are two 7's and one 8 out there.

I also tried to check SGC's pop report, but it never seems to like to work for me on Sunday afternoons. It must be a strict M-F, 9 to 5, kind of report.

Yeah, I'm not allowed to bid in Goodwin auctions (falling out years ago) and so I couldn't make a run at it. There are two PSA 7s and one PSA 8. Their images float through my head nightly...

If the purchaser of the 6 is known, feel free to contact me!

That club continues to grow. But he sure is a great guy.

JP- if you wanted that PSA 6 in Goodwin, why didn't you just get a friend to bid?

in Mastro's April 1999 auction they had an unprecidented array of high-grade T206 cards...tons of PSA 9's HOFers, SLers, rarities and commons...Plank PSA 8, Magie PSA 7...AND Demmitt PSA 8, O'Hara PSA 7.

i still have that catalog, i wish i would have bought the lot of 28 PSA 9's...sold for $29K...around $1000/card...those 9's are worth A LOT more then that now...great R.O.I.

p.s. the demmitt sold for $30K and the o'hara sold for $9K

Jim VB, are you saying that with sarcasm?

If someone doesn't want my business, I'm not going to give it to them.

I understand, and I don't blame you.

Legendary sent out my package the day they received my check.
Got my Plank in just a week's time!
Kudos to them...hope they are turning things around.
Here is my scan...since I won't be able to look at the card in the bank that often! :)


http://i41.tinypic.com/359zuv6.jpg

That is a good looking card! Congratulations.