JB, trust me: you absolutely KILLED it with that Aaron. And for UNDER VCP? That don't make no sense. That's a card that gets a mad premium at auction. Major score for your collection bro.

Spent a bit more on this than I'd have liked but I did want one for my Aaron collection:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...0Aaron%201.JPG

Since I got rid of the slabs and started trying to have fun again I can't resist these 'silver age' Topps HOFers in decent shape when the price is very right:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...1%20Snider.jpghttp://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...20Drysdale.jpg

I don't think I ever had one of these when I was a kid:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...0Mays%20IA.jpg

One more for the personal HOF
 

Pretty happy with this one....

Nice El Tiante!

Whale Ho!
 

Finally after a long search: a nicely centered, tilt-free '52 Topps Mick to pair with the rookie! Thanks Sean1125 for an amazing deal. This is a keeper forever.

http://i741.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps9b6473ed.jpg

Nice cards all. MattyC - always solid eye on those pick ups. jb67 - that Aaron rookie is ridiculous. Very envious.

Mail today today - received a '53 Bowman color Eddie Mathews to (basically - that '52 Topps remains outside my budget; if anyone has one and is looking to deal, please let me know) complete my entire basic Mathews run. Always a favorite of mine and, in my opinion, an extremely overshadowed/undervalued player.

Would love to post my entire run at some point, if anyone would be interested.

On that subject, can anyone recommend a solid scanner for my collection? Nothing too fancy as I would probably just utilize for my cards. If I need to start a different thread, I can.

Thanks

Yoss-- I got a very cheap Epson Perfection V300 (I think that's the model number). Ran me like $75 and works great.

And yes, you gotta post the Mathews run! I think he is almost tragically under appreciated, but the secret is kind of out on his 52T. I know lots of guys who want one of those centered. It's a real monster in that regard.

Congrats on the 53B. I don't know if there's one card in that set that's not beautiful. Whoever took and decided on what photos to use just killed it.

There are several good discussions on the forum about scanners, with members posting information about price, operating system, etc.

Here are a few:
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...hlight=scanner
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?p=1148653

I have been using a Canon Canoscan 8400F which I picked up off of eBay for about $45 total. It was used, but it has served me well for about a year and a half. You absolutely want a scanner with a CCD scanning element, which stands for charge-coupled device. Your average office scanner has a CIS element. Avoid those, because they're awful for scanning graded cards. The reason? The elements are unable to scan anything with depth. Obviously, a graded card is slabbed in plastic. A CCD element takes care of that problem. It also has a cold cathode fluorescent lamp, which is great for scanning highly reflective cards (no streaks). I think some of the second generation led lighting elements have gotten better about this. They use less energy, and the scanner is just faster. But I love the scans I get. I leave the scanner top up, and either scan with no backing (for some graded cards), or I use black or white construction paper as my backing. Sometimes, I use the back of a steno pad for cards needing a neutral background.

52 Mantle RC
 

Holy Moly! Greg
Awesomeness...thats the version i been looking to get and about the grade area i been looking around. I would give a arm and a leg for that. You certainly had to be very proud when you finally opened the package and saw it for the first time in hand. When i got my (B var.) I was thrilled and overjoyed with excitement. It immedialtly went into my safe and eventally found the right spot for it. It is the most $$ i ever spent on a card or perhaps anything besides a car. How are you going to 'stash' the icon away? Keep in mind, i also dont show my collection or talk about but here, but i be more vigilant in letting people know i got one.

Congrats on the Mick Rookie! Presents much better than the grade.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...74f18b6b9f.jpg

Thanks to a board member I have another card toward my Roberto collection.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...a4c02a7a8c.jpg
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...24af30a0b3.jpg

Low grade = inexpensive

Very nice looking 52 Mays for PSA 1. Congrats. Not sure why it is a PSA 1. How does the back look? You might be able to get a bump up of .5 grade or 1.

That may very well be the best 1.5 Mantle out there. Cannot envision a better combination of centering, lack of tilt, and with his face still being clean enough to appreciate.

eBay been berry berry good to me today...

The 59 Mick compared favorably to the centering of all the 6s I could see on VCP. Meanwhile I suspect the #250 Ted may be bump worthy. The 59 Sandy is the best centering I've seen in a long while of searching. There's something about that card that makes me smile. The Bench could 9 on a crack resub down the line, and I have always loved those AS Rookie trophy cards since I was a kid.

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...s-johnny-bench

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...-mickey-mantle

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...s-ted-williams

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...s-sandy-koufax

MattyC,
Unless the 69 (PSA 8.5) Bench has some issue on the back that is a sure 9. I have an 8.5 and a 9 your card presents better than any 8.5 I have seen and better than a lot of 9's I have seen. That is a very nice score. Was that an Ebay purchase? The Ted Williams is another outstanding find for the grade. You never cease to amaze me with your ability to find under-graded cards.

Thx, my friend. They all popped up on ebay in the last 24 hrs or so; the Ted was an auction. The Bench was listed by BBCExchange; I called them to buy direct and they worked with me on price. Always perfect customer service there and reasonable prices, too.

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...s-george-brett

MattyC,

Nice pickups. I was going after that 54 Ted on ebay. Glad it went to you. Love the centering on it.

1953 R.G. Dun Cigars Milwaukee Braves
 

http://www.net54baseball.com/picture...ictureid=16489

http://www.net54baseball.com/picture...ictureid=16490

I haven't looked lately, but as of 2008 these were the only two listed in the SCD.

After watching his terrible announcing during the ALDS, I decided to pull the trigger on his card.

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4e64b8b9.jpg

That Brett is outstanding. No smudge marks and centered. That needs to find it's way into a 9 holder at minimum.

Thanks for the the kind words on the Mantle pick up. Can't wait to get it in hand and introduce him to the rest of the Mantle Family!

Word up on Brett. Never found a Reggie with centering I liked until this, except for 9s and I just can't spent 6k on this card. Hoping for a 7.5 on this one, but 8 would be ideal. Name is not well registered and in a big scan makes me feel drunk (not a bad thing) but the centering was far too exceptional to let that get in the way. In hand will be less of an issue as well.

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...gie-jackson-rc

Got an upgrade for my Furillo collection.

That is such a great shot of the Reading Rifle. Nice card!

Nice '57 Furillo. If you upgraded from a nicely centered 80 I'm interested...

MattyC and Bill - thanks for the comments/pointers on a suitable scanner. I will add one to my short list.

Speaking of which, now that I have completed my Eddie Mathews basic run, I am thinking of turning to that other criminally undervalued/non-appreciated teammate of his - Warren Spahn. Don't believe me? Check his career stats - yikes! I already have his '52 Topps, so the heaviest lifting is already behind me. Any other Spahn collectors out there? Any particularly difficult cards?

Greg - that '52 Mantle is awesome. Presents super fine for the grade. Well done, sir.

Those '76s (Eck and Brett) are both smoking. Interesting set with some oddly tough cards (Johnny Briggs comes to mind - supposedly one of the absolute hardest cards of the '70s. Anyone confirm? Anyone have in high grade?)

I think his 48B has such flavor with the big schnoz profile.

And his high leg kick 50 and 51B are awesome baseball cards-- will get one of those one of these days.

65
 

Picked up this '65 Clemente as an upgrade for my collection. Always reassuring when you get the card in hand and it looks as good as the scan...which is why I prefer and will a little more when I buy cards in person....

http://i434.photobucket.com/albums/q...psa8b45fd4.jpg

Nice card!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's great. It's cool that BBC Exchange worked with ya on the price. I'm also not surprised. I've not had the pleasure of doing business with Steve yet, but I will be soon. I didn't know until a few weeks ago that he even dealt in individual cards. I stumbled across a 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson PSA 8.5, and I must have look at the card front for 30 minutes. I don't know if it sold or not, it was a real beauty. The left to right centering was about 45/55 from memory, and that was the only thing I could find that would warrant a sub 9 grade. The price was pretty good, too.

You're welcome :)

I was born in Milwaukee, and lived in Waukesha until I was 18. I'm one of the biggest Milwaukee Braves/Brewers fans you'll find. Spahn is criminally undervalued in the hobby, imho. That's a good thing for now, as I haven't started buying his cards yet. If they could hold off for another year or so, it would be appreciated. Why that is, I don't know. I mean, look at his career stats. 363 wins and a career 3.09 ERA. That's spectacular, especially when you consider that he pitched in 750 games, starting 665 of them. He won only one Cy Young Award, even though he led the league in strikeouts four times, ERA three times, and wins a whopping eight times. He was a 20 game winner thirteen times! In 1963 at age 42, he won 23 games with a 2.60 ERA. Unfortunately, when the Cy Young Award came around in 1956, Spahn only had ten seasons left. And there was only one award for all of baseball until 1966, the year after he retired. Knowing that, and knowing, too, that he was 35 years old when the award was introduced, he finished in the Cy Young top 5 voting five times. He also finished in the MVP top 5 four times.

Have you uploaded your Mathews run yet? Did you go with strictly Topps cards, or did you include Bowman, too? I only have the one Eddie thus far, a nice mid grade '61 Topps.

http://net54baseball.com/picture.php...ictureid=16003

Spahn spearheaded one hell of a rotation with Lew Burdette and Bob Buhl. That trio won 56 games in 1957 when we beat the Yankees for Milwaukee's only World Series win. The next season, we lost the Series. They really missed Buhl. He'd won 18 games in both 1956 and 1957 as our #3 starter, and in 1959 and 1960 he won 16 and 15. But he only started 11 games in 1958, going 5-2. I don't remember what happened. He didn't pitch in the post season, unfortunately. It was hard enough beating the Yankees. Losing a starter that would end up going 85-46 with a 3.07 ERA between 1955 and 1960. Without him, and a slight drop in power numbers from the season before (the Braves hit 199 home runs in 1957), we just couldn't drop them again.

Bill - all trenchant points. Glad to know Spahn has some other collecting fans out there. Spahn's durability and longevity are simply unmatched in the modern era. That '57 team had an outstanding roster. Other than his early Bowmans and that '52 Topps, his cards are extremely reasonable. I will be uploading as I go. As usual, I will just be shooting for a mid-grade set.

Re: Mathews - I will get him uploaded once I actually purchase a scanner.
I did both his Topps (except the '52) and all his Bowmans (only 3 of those). The run ranges in grade from PSA 5-PSA 8 (later year cards). I think I paid the most for his '53 Bowman, which is fine - it is just about my favorite of the entire run.

I will definitely share when I get uploaded.

Matty, that's a sweet jax RC. I don't collect high grade or slabbed but I got very lucky and pulled this from a collection I purchased from the original collector:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...%20Jackson.jpg

My scan doesn't look as good as the card. I'd call it ex-mt but pretty well centered for the issue. Not bad for a few bucks...

Adam, Reggies centered like that are quite uncommon. The 69s in general have a huge tilt problem. Great score. The deep color on yours is just outstanding.

October has been a really strong month around here. Great picks ups all around.

Some nice low grades and the raw that popped now in slabs. Also, that raw Reggie came in the mail and is now at PSA. The color in hand was way better than the scan. Looks like a solid 7 with outside shot at a 7.5 or 8, depending on the luck.

This little 65 Mick PSA 3 is actually one of my favorite cards in my collection, alongside the PSA 2.5 53B. I found it raw at my local shop and the centering just blew me away. Love that card. I just can't find 65 Micks with that centering.

The Ricky is a real misgrade; should be am 8.5 or 9 but they killed it on that one glaring PD in the black. The corners are real sharp and centering's nice. Overall a nice card.

Sean laced me with the Yogi and Bob mad cheap so could not resist.

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...-yogi-berra-rc

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...s-bob-clemente

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...-mickey-mantle

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...s-george-brett

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...ckey-henderson

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...pps-nolan-ryan

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...pps-nolan-ryan

I just got these in, my first auction win from Brockelman & Luckey (hi Leon). Super fast delivery. Thanks to Scott and Leon both.

These are real beauties, and well centered. These are absolutely beautiful, imo.

http://imageshack.com/a/img537/6563/ST5Fca.pnghttp://imageshack.com/a/img538/9568/lStvZr.pnghttp://imageshack.com/a/img904/7030/6J1jer.png
http://imageshack.com/a/img633/9494/ReS8li.pnghttp://imageshack.com/a/img907/4732/4cUYqq.png

Great pickup on those 53 Bowmans. I don't think I could tire of looking at any card in that set. Remarkable. Good job!
Drew

When 53B's are centered like that they are as beautiful to look at as any set ever made.

A trio of variations…

Attachment 164942

1962 Babe green tint, a tough '69 white letter in vg and a particularly nice '71 Nashy blob.

Bill congrats on winning the 53 Bowmans. Very nice looking cards for the grades.

Right on!!

After a long drought it seems, I am very, very, very, pleased to add a prized piece to my RC collection. It is not in great shape, but there are very few around. This is his 'true rookie' card.

https://bid.robertedwardauctions.com...em_32458_1.jpg

Congrats; awesome piece. Don't see those in every collection, that's for sure. Really happy for you!

Chris what a way to end a drought! Congrats on the Dimaggio rookie.

Very nice pick up Chris!

Finally picked up an iconic card from 1962.

<a href="http://s209.photobucket.com/user/TopekaPalms/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsceb8c68c.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb212/TopekaPalms/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsceb8c68c.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo image_zpsceb8c68c.jpg"/></a>

Zeenut DiMaggio
 

Nice "DeMaggio" (sic) Zeenut, Chris! I had my eye on that one to see how it would do at auction. Not a bad price for that card with no obnoxious creases and wioth such great registration.

Congrats!

This was the last card I needed for my basic '61 set. Two more remaining for the master set. Centering is a bit off from my normal tolerance, but I'm happy with this one.

Thanks man, I guess Xmas came early for me, I was not totally sure if i would grab it. What kept me in was the pure fact H&S sold one last week (sgc10) for 3k (which i was a underbidder on)..so i relaized what price range i needed to be in, and i was right at it, knowing it reach 2k, another reason i had bumped it that afternoon. It wil be one of the key cards to my RC collection and a nice investment indeed.
Ian(our prewar board member) bumped the price a few times later on and had a good shot. I consider myself lucky. So today i bought lottery tickets (Mega Million and PowerBall) one for 110 mill and the other for 200 mill.
:D



BTW @Gregr2: Nice 55 Ted, i been searching for a RC Koufax as well.