1921 Baltimore Orioles Tip top Bread.
 

Ok let me get this over with since my secret is soon to be out. This is one of my favorite uncataloged issues that I have kept secret for 40 years.

Now that 14 walked into a local Card shop in Baltimore and have been consigned to Huggins and Scott, I might as well spill the beans.

These were issued locally to Baltimore only and were inside a loaf of Tip top Bread.

Now you may ask yourself, how does Dan know this? Is he just guessing or did some old Indian elder tell him while sharing the peace pipe?

Well, Dan has a copy of the newspaper ad that was in a 1921 Baltimore Sun paper and it shows the premiums and a loaf of Tip Top Bread.

These are about the size of a Goudey Fine Pen and are made of similar paper stock.

They are very rare and the true Lefty Grove Rookie card is included in the set.
Or should I say pre-rookie since Baltimore was in the International League in 1921.

Ok now that the cat is out of the bag I would appreciate everyone feeling very sorry for me and returning all of my Alpha cards. Then I want everyone on the board to promise that they will not bid on any of these premiums.

Thanks for your cooperation!

and of course I am joking, good luck to everyone interested, it is a great local issue from the Baltimore area.

take care
Dan Mckee

I'd like to see that ad from the 1921 Baltimore Sun.

Dan,

According to Jeff P., this doesn't count unless you say "Dibs!"

I am going to dig my copy of the ad out tonight for Huggins and Scott, I will try to post a scan of it here for you gents as well. If I remember correctly, it is a poor photo copy of the original Newspaper ad that another local collector actually owns.

Can we see what they look like?

Surely, I will post a card with the ad tonight Barry. Send all donations to Dan Mckee at the Baltimore Mental institution.

Jim, Jeff P. can have the dibs on this one. I call dibs on the 1987 Topps set newly discovered.

Fantastic Dan - thanks for the info!

Dan- I never agreed with the idea that by keeping a set secret it would make it more valuable. After all, the only way to ever reap the gains is to eventually publicize it...or are you bemoaning the fact that a small hoard was discovered? Either way, the example you have is still valuable.

I say publicize the SOB!

no dibs for me, I'm content with my new black/white e93 Cobb, but thanks!

Hey, Dan:

Can you make the sample scan the Lefty Grove card? Please?

I have about 14 examples Barry, and I can assure you that mine will not be public information. As I have kept the issue secret for all of these years.

What amazes me is that SGC slabbed them, not having any clue of what they are. They are labeled 1921 Baltimore Orioles.

All they have to do is pick the phone up and call me, I have offered my services to them several times. But Bill Huggins was the one that took the initiative of contacting me to find out what they were.

I love SGC, but I wish they would use me for what little I am worth. Dan.

Everyone, scans of the new slab on the E93 Cobb (unaltered is mentioned on slab) and each card of the 1921 Orioles Tip Top find will be available on our website shortly. Thanks :)

James

See Dan, if it were me I would gladly share the checklist...but that's me. I understand you feel differently.

I do see your side Barry, but I have been paying extra money for years for stuff cause I get beat up with "its uncataloged". This is a long going debate and I know I am in the minority on this board but I have several long time collectors that agree with me that are not on this board.

Remember, I am sharing the ad piece with the board, Lyman for Oldcardboard and Huggins and Scott. I could keep that hush hush as well but it does bring validity to the issue.

If I found an uncatalogued set of cards I would write an article about them and share it with the hobby. I don't see how publicizing them hurts their value. If nobody has them but you they are going to be worth a fortune.

What could hurt their value, however, is another find, which is the case here.

I understand why Dan does this. If he's still in the market to buy these going forward, publicizing their existence may run the prices up.

If he were in the market to sell, it would be understandable to handle it differently.

I have no problem with a collector handling it either way.

Thank you Jim.

Gettin' more and more curious as to what these cards actually look like...

I have a scan of the ad

I will scan a few cards

then if someone can post them for me as I can't figure out this new board

that would be great

I do not own Lefty Grove, sorry.

Dan
 

If you can put something on ebay this board is way easier...really. All you do to add a scan is go to the little box of words at the bottom of a post that say "manage attachments"...click on it....it will pull up a little box automatically and from there you can see where it says "browse"...that is where you browse for the scan you want to post..whether it's in your "my documents" folder, "my pictures" folder or elsewhere..when you see the one you want just click on it, it goes into the the little box and upload it......it's just that easy. It takes about 10 seconds.....or you can just send them to me at leonl@flash.net and I will do it for you :D.

ok cool, I have been trying to add a picture to come up next to my name on posts and it always says invalid file or some crap like that.

I will try this, I didn't see the manage attachements below, sorry.

I am stressed and bummed cause I won't be able to win these cards in Huggins. I have offered my ad information and have told the auction house what they are.

I think I have helped the hobby a little.

I have also wrote articles in the past for VCBC, I liked that magazine better even though delivery was sporatic.

The size articles I write go into Lyman's news letters like the US Caramel wrapper where VCBC would have done a page for me.

I wrote an article on the 4 variations of the 1938 Goudey Lombardi low number. That was sharing.

I really am not as bad as Barry makes me out to be.

Dan

Dan, I understand where you are coming from
 

But as they said at the end of Easy Rider (You Blew it). You have just discovered the down side of keeping hobby information secret. Now, sometimes doing that work, such as when Larry Fritsch gathered a couple of the Doyle errors but in 95 percent of the cases, publicity for an item is the winner for the seller.

I have discussed this on several occassions with several notable collectors/dealers during my Beckett days. There is no right or wrong answer to this. Instead, you took a reasonable risk and someone else now knows about those cards and they are not unique anymore. If you had the Grove; then perhaps I would have gotten the word out, but especially now that you have a major auction house in town, I'd make sure that anything you own is known by other hobbyists.

Regards
Rich

scan attached?

Oh I still have plenty of secrets Rich. And I will keep them until I sell, you can bet on it.

Rich, I am not sure how I blew anything, I picked one of these off of ebay a few years ago for $10 when no one knew what it was. I have no intention of selling anytime soon so I don't see how I blew it to be honest.

But thanks for your thoughts

Dan

Here's the Grove...
 

Here's a scan of the Grove... However, I do not own this card...

http://www.bandkgreen.net/lefty_grov..._top_bread.jpg

That card belongs to a local collector here, he had posted it on Brad's Lefty Grove thread on the old board and I ripped the collector's head off for posting it. Too funny.

Dan- I do see Jim V.B.'s point that if you are looking to acquire more, it might be best to keep things quiet. But even that could work both ways. Somebody who may want to sell some to you may feel he has unique and unknown cards, and might ask more than they merit.

But of course you are not a bad guy for keeping things secret. I only am suggesting that it may not necessarily be the best strategy.

My two cents.
 

Here is my two cents about uncataloqued cards especially unknown sets. It is best to at least get SOME information out into the public than keep quiet about them. My reasoning is this.

How many times, recently, have we heard about "finds" of Old Judge or T206 cards where an old person has died and a younger relative has found the cards? How many times did the younger person NOT know how valuable the cards were and either had to go to the internet and do research on them or, worse yet, sold them for little or nothing or threw them away (only to have somebody else hear about this and go searching through the garbage to find them again)?

Now imagine this happening with these 1921 Tip Top inserts.

With Old Judge and T206 cards, it is relatively easy to get onto the internet and do research about them. However, since the 1921 Tip Tops were only issued locally in Baltimore with bread, there weren't a lot made to begin with and probably very few remaining now. So, if an old person died and had some of these in a box in the attic or a scrapbook in the closet and a younger person found them and tried to do research on them, what would they find? Little to nothing.

What does that mean? It probably means the younger person thought they had no value and threw them out and NOBODY heard about this and went looking for them.

Now, if one or two of these cards had been talked about and listed in a price guide somewhere, like the Fans Cigarette cards, there would be at least SOME info out there which a person looking could find.

My guess is once these cards are auctioned off, somebody, somewhere will hear or read about it and bring THEIR cards out, like what happened with the Butter Cream Babe Ruth card that was auctioned off a few years ago. A guy read about the price the card sold for and realized he had one in a box at his parents house or something like that.

David

Yes both of you have valid points. Thanks Barry, I knew you didn't hate me. If these bring Butter Cream Ruth money then you are correct, there will be more hitting the auction block immediately - mine.

Dan- you didn't really think I would hate you because you preferred some privacy? Now I would have to be a little nuts to do that (which I am anyway).;)

Continuing my thoughts on uncatalogued cards.

In the mid 1990's, I bought 16 Star Player Candy cards at a paper show for very little money (I missed out on a Ruth and Gehrig because I didn't know what these cards were. The dealer was asking more for those two because they were "big names" and I, as a poor college student, didn't have the money to make a mistake on them if they were fakes or reprints). Anyway, one of the cards was of Buddy Myer.

Up until I found the old board and listed my find, the Buddy Myer card was uncatalogued and the set of 1928 Star Player Candy cards SEEMED complete at 72. Which, when you think about it, IS a nice round number and would be EASY to print sheets of cards for. However, with Buddy Myer making the set total at least 73, it brings into question how many cards there really are for a COMPLETE set.

It also brings into question whether maybe the baseball and football cards were printed together and were considered one set when issued back in 1928.

David

Dan,

I am not saying they will bring Butter Cream Ruth money (though that would be great for you) I am just saying that maybe if 10 or 20 years ago you would have given some info about these cards to a publisher of a price guide then maybe some more would have come out of the woodwork and you could have bought them for little or no money (like you did with the one on eBay).

Now, it seems, if you want to add some to your collection, you are going to have to really pay for them.

Again, just my two cents and not putting you down for keeping them secret for so many years.

David

Any educated guesses on how much the Grove will sell for?

Also, I'm not sure if anyone else mentioned this. But based on Dan's ad, this is not the same Tip Top bread company that issued the D322s.

I appreciate your opinion David, no worries, everything you stated makes good sense.

I think the Groves will bring $10K to $15K

dan

the Grove(s) and the other 13 cards in a single lot in our upcoming auction are available for viewing on our website.

Go to: <a title="Sports Auction selling Baseball Cards, Football Cards, Graded Cards, Signed Autographed Vintage Sports, Boxing Memorabilia and Topps - Buy Online" href="http://www.hugginsandscott.com" target="_blank">www.hugginsandscott.com</a>

In the search by lot # box on the left side, enter "723" or "724" (without the quotation marks). The lot of 13 is lot #723 and the Grove is lot #724.

I hope this helps anyone who was looking for them (and thank you Danny, for all of your help).
Josh Wulkan
Vice President
Huggins and Scott Auctions
<a title="Sports Auction selling Baseball Cards, Football Cards, Graded Cards, Signed Autographed Vintage Sports, Boxing Memorabilia and Topps - Buy Online" href="http://www.hugginsandscott.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://www.hugginsandscott.com/images/Huggins_Scott_Auction_Logo.gif" width="140" height="57"></a>

Pretty neat seeing the 13 in 1 scan

http://www.hugginsandscott.com/n09/1...rioles_sgc.jpg

Here's the Grove that's being offered individually

http://www.hugginsandscott.com/n09/1...oles_grove.jpg

well
 

As an auctioneer I understand why the grouping of them in one lot besides the Grove. As a collector are there about 11 people that would like to go in on the lot? :)

Grove
 

You've got to be kidding me, $9,500 already on the Lefty Grove in less than 24 hours since the auction opened!!!

The group of 13 went from $2000 to $8500 in ten minutes. Are they closing those two lots tonight?

Same thing happened with the '49 Leaf Newhouser Variation. It seems that all newly discovered/disclosed cards that are consigned to Huggins & Scott go crazy on their prices immediately, very interesting...........

Maybe the Just So Buck Ewing should have gone to them............

yikes
 

I guess I will go back to being a minnow :o.

I almost thought about joining your group on the lot of 13...something tells me you guys aren't going to win it.

And my 1000th post:)

Those lots jumped so high so rapidly because someone has left a very high top all bid (Reserve?) on them and another bidder (or whale) wants to find out what it is.

Leon and I discussed this lot at length
 

The other day at the lunch where I barely made it on time (posting instead of driving!) (Hi Leon!)

Anyway; the idea of breaking up this lot or doing it all individually could be done either way. Dan; these are going to go for silly money; so get your together and sell them all individually (since that is the opposite of what H&S has done)

Anyway; the seller (H&S); the consigner and the buyer will all do well with these cards

Regards
Rich

I plead guilty as the fellow who helped decide to sell the group as one. Our consignor is thrilled. It was a "walk in" to a local Baltimore area card shop.

J-

Grove now over $20K with juice.

Guess I'll have to stick with my 1920 Baltimore Team Photo w/Grove pictured. Won't be picking up this Tip Top Rookie Card for sure..........

I need some card TARP money...If some twit from a bailed out bank buys them with his bonus money (e.g., my tax money) I don't want to know...

Keeping secrets bad for the hobby
 

I am going to direct this comment generally, since I think there is a lot of sentiment similar to Dan's, so I will not single him out as a villain.

Ok, why would anyone keep a hobby find "secret?" I can understand if the forum or venue was not matured to the point where people would acknowledge/appreciate a find, but with Net 54 that is simply not the case. I can also understand if someone is just getting around to scanning or documenting a find, since scholarly work and research does take time. But once you are armed with the facts and photos, get the find out in the open and catalog it. As with other finds, let others fill in the blanks with anecdotes, articles, and ancillary items. Baseball card collecting is at times scholarly, and at times a very petty hobby. The only way for Everyone to appreciate the item is to publish and publicise it, and let value fall where it may.

The Lefty Grove is an instant classic. Why did I need to wait my whole collecting life to find out about this when a hand full of people already knew about it?

You just make Bob Lemke's job and everyone else who is trying to document and preserve our hobby that much more difficult.

Dan and others on this board, I respect and greatly appreciate your hobby insights, knowledge, and experience in our great hobby. Please continue to share openly that we may all benefit from your collective wisdom.

Regards,

I spoke to another collector from a tiny town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland who has a Grove.....I know of three in the hobby now. The fellow from the Eastern Shore was admittedly not the most internet savvy.

James

James:

Dan stated earlier in this post that he does not have a Grove in his collection. Is there actually a third one out there somewhere?

If so, this card is not going to have the mystique of the Just So Young or Alpha Photo Orioles. I guess it all depends on the "ceiling bid" of one individual and at least one other "person" who keeps driving the bidding higher and higher but do we really expect the price to continue rising at its current rate when this is certainly not a unique item?

Dan is one of the class acts in the hobby and has contributed more than 99+% of collectors. Disclosing unlisted cards is a tough decision. In most cases the card will be worth less if it is in the catalog than if it is "unlisted". The people who don't own the card always want to see the card disclosed--they have nothing to lose and information to gain. The owner of the card always has a tough choice; one that should not be second guessed either way.

Jason, I agree wholeheartedly with your post that new finds should not be kept secret. Your post is right on.

While I agree that there may be valid reasons for some reasonable delay while gathering additional facts about a find, the attitude that "I'm going to take this secret to my grave" is just couterproductive for the collector and definitely not in the interest of the hobby.

I have never understood the rationale that keeping an "uncataloged card" secret will make it worth more in the future. As you suggest, sharing the find with the hobby very well may uncover additional facts that would only stimulate interest (and value) to the find.

As I believe it has been pointed out before, keeping "new discovery" secrets is like asking "if a tree falls in the forest, does it make any noise?" If nobody knows about it or is there to hear it, what difference does it make. I strongly believe that a card's value can only be enhanced when it is revealed and widely discussed.

As editor of Old Cardboard, I have spent the past six years of my "retirement" with the sole purpose of providing new and interesting information to the hobby about vintage baseball cards and memorabilia. From my perspective, I have great admiration for our authors and others who have freely shared information about the card sets in which they have expertise. By doing so, they have contributed very significantly to the hobby. And in the process, I firmly believe, have increased the overall value of the cards they discuss.

Lyman

Lyman--With all due respect I think you are dead wrong on the valuation question. An unlisted Old Judge pose of Jim Tyng sold for approximately $20,000 in the last REA auction. Over the years I have found easily 25 unlisted Old Judge poses, cards probably no more or less scarce than the Tyng pose, and I guarantee you that since they are "listed" they would only sell for a small fraction of the Tyng price.

Jay, with equally due respect to an Old Judge expert:

1) Are you saying that the Jim Tying card being "unlisted" is the sole reason the it sold for that price?

2) Did not the card, in effect, inherently become "listed" the instant that it appeared in the REA catalog--before it sold for that price?

3) What is your opinion of the value of the card today. Since it is now listed, is it worth much less today?

4) Do you think that your same rationale applies in other situations (say for an entirely new set like the 1921 Tip Top Bread issue, rather than a card like the Jim Tying card from an already established iconic set)?

5) Are there any exceptions to your "unlisted has a higher value" rationale or do you think that rule always applies?

6) What is the rationale that explains why an "unlisted" card has more value?

Jay, you know that I luv ya (and Dan Mckee is one of my all-time closest collector friends). We just seem to differ on this issue. Perhaps your answers to the above questions may convince me differently. :)

Lyman

unknown cards
 

While I agree with Jason and Lyman I see Jay's point too. I don't think you can make a blanket statement on ALL unknown cards losing value when they are made known, as well as, or, increasing in value from being known. Some sets are so scarce an unknown card isn't that big of a deal, as there are many that aren't known (N175, Frederick Foto's etc)..... Overall, I do like sharing knowledge but understand both sides of the argument. Personally, I tend to fall on Lyman's side in discussing the rarest issues....And again, that doesn't mean I don't think some cards are less valuable when catalogued. On these Tip Tops I don't think it made a difference in their value....I also think individually they would have done just as well or better....but they aren't doing bad as a lot either....regards

Oh, it will have the mystique. The other fellow who has one doesn't have a computer and isn't active in the cyber world of the hobby. I can confirm two copies and have heard of a third.....all in Maryland.

Lyman--I don't think unlisted equates to more valuable in all cases. I think on something like Old Judge poses very few people know what is truely rare and so they equate unlisted with rarer than listed. As such, unlisted sells for more. On the Just So Young it's value might actually be higher because it is listed and discussed. Everyone knows it is legitimate and rare.
As for the Tyng Old Judge I think that as soon as it became listed it's value probably dropped by 90%. I would be shocked if the next copy sold for more than a few thousand.
My choice has always been to disclose new Old Judge finds, but that is a personal decision. I have no problem with those who choose the other path.

Fair enough, Jay. Thanks for your clarification. We are probably in closer agreement than it appears. Let me summarize where I think we agree:

1) The "unlisted is more valuable" rule does not always apply.

2) In most cases were it does apply, it is because the buyer (sometimes erroneously) equates "unlisted" with "rarer" and therefore may pay a hugh premium because he doesn't know the difference (or has money to burn and doesn't really care). In either case, the true value of the card is much less.

Hope I got that right.

Cheers,
Lyman

Whilst at Beckett
 

Leon and myself would discuss this endlessly. We agree there are times where it is better off to disclose a new find and probably times where there are not times to disclose such a find. Since I missed where Dan does not have a Grove; then I can understand more why he kept that a secret. But now; more will come out and Dan won't have the secret any more AND he may get less money than if he were the one to break the news of the item and sell them. That's why I think he "Blew it" so to speak. Hey, it was his decision and I hope (*for him*) that if and when he sells these cards; he gets ever more then H&S does.

Regards
Rich

I have been trying for two years now to get the 1953 Weaver's Wafers (potato chips) cards I own listed in the SCD big book so it will hopefully root out some more of them..I don't care about the value, I'd just like to obtain more of them and having them listed may bring some out. As it stands I have the only two I have ever seen. I haven't seen the new SCD yet so I don't know if they got in this year. (they'd be listed in the vintage minor league section.)

Dan they are not in (yet)
 

But now that Bob's back; and with his pronounced interest in minor league cards of that era; if you send him a scan and what you know he can add those cards to the Krause (F&W) data base and hopefully they can be added for 2011

Rich

Thanks Rich, I did send the info to Bob a few months ago...I also sent the info to Don F, but apparently he did not add them.

As far as value goes...My experience has been that most cards I've discovered and publicized via my site/book have gone up in value as people learned about them. Some additional examples then have come out of the woodworks and the prices have taken a bit of a parabolic arc before stabilizing. Case in point is the pre-1870 CDV of John C. Heenan from the Fredricks Specialite series. My research points to it being the first commercially produced and sold boxing card. Before I researched it and published the card was a $200 item on a normal day, like any other CDV of any 19th century fighter whose name isn't Sullivan Corbett, Fitzsimmons or Dempsey. After I published, it went up tenfold and then stabilized around $1,000, when it can be found. If I'd sat on the info I'd have been able to pick off the handful that have come up over the last 5 years; I chose to spill the beans, which is an example of why I'm never gonna be rich. I definitely understand both schools of thought; I just prefer that the knowledge be out there. As Emil Faber said, "Knowledge is good."

When I discovered JL Wilkinson on the Hopkins Bros postcard I decided to publicize that because I feel like that kind of information is vital to the hobby and he was a hall of famer with no known card. That Hopkins card routinely sold for $10-$20 on ebay and after it was publicized sold for $300-$400...it has since come down since I believe most hall of fame rookie collectors were able to pick an example up...I now see it selling in the $40-$50 range, but I don't think many people are aware of its significance. The card is usually sold on ebay with no mention of Wilkinson.

Good News Phil - at the $17K level the buyers premium is only 10% so you can put in one more bid and still be under $20K. :D


Edited to say: Sheeesh it's already at $19K (sans juice).

Look at the current price of these items in Huggins auction, this is why Dan keeps items secret and uncataloged at all costs.

Here is an issue I would like to collect and I no longer can.

Trust me, I will NEVER help nor catalog any of my uncatalog rare stuff until I am ready to sell. FK'M

Collecting in 2009 SUCKS!

well
 

Dan, I understand your frustration, but not your logic, at least here. I would suggest that one of the main reasons these cards are going as high as they are is BECAUSE they are uncatalogued. There is always a mystique associated with uncatalogued cards, at least for some, who gotta have what they believe is super scarce. Personally, I find the cards to be only moderately attractive, and largely no-name players who should be enticing only to type collectors and Baltimore area collectors like yourself. So why do they command such $$$?? Again, I believe it's because of the uncatalogued factor.

If you would have leaked these out a couple years ago, the catalogs would have no or very little pricing info, and they would be far more conservatively listed. Stumbling upon one at a mall show might have set you back a few hundred dollars from some part-time dealer who looked at a price guide. You wouldn't get to steal one from some poor bloke who had absolutely no clue what he had if they were listed, but by the same token, you wouldn't face what you're obviously looking at now---upcoming catalogs showing these to be priced at four figures each. Thus, from a collector-buyer's standpoint, I would think you would want these cards to appear as common (or at least not so scarce as to be uncatalogued) as possible.

Dan: Geez
 

As I said; you've hit the rough edge of keeping hobby items a secret.

Now; most people will know how expensive those cards are AND you won't get the Grove reasonably to finish your set,

But let's be honest as well; aren't you also partially upset at yourself for YOU could have been the one to cash in big time:

http://www.hugginsandscott.com/cgi-b...l?itemid=16722

$30K without juice and counting. Not a bad day and as has been spoken; the consigner is thrilled.

Now go out and sell yours and cash in. You'll feel better and your wife will appreciate the nice holiday gift you give her!

Regards
Rich

P.S. And as for the rest of your secrets, as has been pointed out, better make sure you tell your children for otherwise when that day comes they might not even care about daddy's cards

Todd - I think you've hit the nail on the head.

I personally like to show unlisted unknown cards as much as I can. But I dont report them anymore since the crazy low price listed for the last 7 years on the Holland Ice Cream Peckinpaugh unique example card I found on eBay in the early years. It sold years ago for $3K in G/VG and is STILL listed at $2500 NRMT

If no one comes back showing me more examples, especially on net54, I know I have something fairly unique.

example.... 1959 Esslinger Beer HR Derby Aaron (dont own anymore, another board member has it now), but now know it is most likely unique, since Ive flashed it about 20+ times, and even offered to cut my price at the time in 1/2 if someone shows me a scan of another example.

Couple more...

1933 R340? Sport Kings Ruth Premium (at worst this is a R309-1 prototype)
ca.1941 Kroger Bread
(email for scans if interested)

anyone have any of these???? Still asking :)

Dan; I think you may want to reconsdier and here's why
 

Trust me, I will NEVER help nor catalog any of my uncatalog rare stuff until I am ready to sell. FK'M

Dan:

And I'm taking a step of two off; but when I was at Beckett; if you had told me about these cards and sent a scan here is what would have happenned.

1) You send me the scan and checklist

2) I list them and ask you, since you are the person holding them for an approximate retail value

3) You tell me, let's say $100 each and I say sounds good; put the Grove at $1000 because of when the card was issued relative to his major league debut. I'm assuming you are telling me the truth when you tell me the est price guide value.

4) Beckett lists the cards; they are catalogued with a price guide value (of what turns out to be 10 percent of the value); you get a chance to purchase these cards you need for your set at a reasonable price level and I get to add a fun set to the data base.

5) Get me enough checklists and I would have made sure you had a comp ad (which god knows, I made sure enough of those were given out for help and kept them going for years)

6) And then what Todd said

Not trying to bust your chain; but in this case; the leakage really would have helped you. Now go sell YOURS :)

Regards
Rich

Very insightful post, Todd. The perceived uniqueness of the issue definitely contributes to the bidding. Had they been catalogued already I can see someone going after the Groves [sic] to get a pre-rookie but not the frenzy that is going on over these cards. Now that the price baseline is set the future sellers who emerge (and they always do) will demand extraordinary prices. In a few years when there are no takers the prices will start to drop and at some point will reach a rough equilibrium.

There really may not be all the frenzy the bidding suggests. Isn't it possible it is just two of the usual suspects, otherwise known as whales, bidding against each other? And everyone else is already out.