Great Finds Thread
 

After seeing the hounds great upside down t206 find yesterday and thinking back to the old mill brown back that went for $51. I was wondering what other great finds any of you have had that you would like to share? Me personally the closest I've came is a T206 Snodgrass missing the S for $25. However when received I was disappointed someone had just removed the S but you couldn't tell from the scan.

Found this in a lot of PBs for $25

http://i.imgur.com/7sFBmS5.jpg

Great topic......
The green E221 (with Weaver) was found on ebay many years ago and the purple one (still the only one of these known in the hobby, as far as I am aware) was found a few years before that one, on ebay too.

this is an awesome thread!

On June 24, 2012, I found Net 54. :)

Sweet card, Chris!

Last weekend. Ebay BIN for $150. Was willing to pay $800 when it was part of a lot in REA a few weeks earlier. Sometimes living on the East Coast and waking up first works to my advantage. ;)

Don't ever play cards with asoriano.

He beat my Murr'y & Dopner with a pair of Murr'ys! :)


Jantz

I bought this one for $30 on ebay. The seller didn't know about the Factory 42, and I didn't notice it until the card arrived. :D


Attachment 168053

Attachment 168054

Post War, but...
 

I won a lot of 1960 cards for $80...which included card #350 (Mantle)...credit to the seller who 'forgot' the card was in there but followed through on the sale!

This is a great thread.....
 

I will think about my finds over the years......but I know I will enjoy this thread!

:)

Jerry calling mr T.;)...

I bought a Butler printer's scrap back in the day(12 years ago maybe) for $150.00.....was a steal.... inmho...has a split back sov side to side, hand cut, off set wet stacked sov back, color shifts on front...:)...I will look for scans...

my "hunter" votes go to Jerry T., Jantz, Turner, Erick, Chris....

omg...so many more...

back in the good 'ole ebay days, it was like a treasure hunt:)


I really miss those days...



:(

Recently found this D381 for $5 on an odds-and-ends show table. Interesting that the buyer took care to "re-tag" it after cutting off the redemption. Next step is probably an AUTH holder.

Found a group of 1890 Mayo Cut Plug Boxing and the 1895 football and baseball issues and will always remember the Old Judge Connie Mack

jimmy

That's an awesome find for $5!

I found a raw V100 1923 Willards Grover Alexnader on ebay that was listed just as Grover Alexander card or something for $10 opening bid, no one else bid. It's now in an SGC40 holder.....

This is my best - $100 ebay purchase

My best find
 

Johnny as you requested.

I picked up this Brown Old Mill on eBay for about $50.

Attachment 168147

Attachment 168148


By far my best find.

Jerry

why this only went for $80 on ebay is beyond me but i'll take it :)

Attachment 168149
Attachment 168150


Picked this one up raw in about 2006 for $80
Attachment 168151

Here's my best one - $1.29 on eBay

Alright, Greg. You win!

Wow, amazing piece, Keeler looks so young.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...7a69be3c70.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...2c6f21444e.jpg

$100 off craigslist. Bought it raw. Guy wanted his money he spent on the storage locker so I went for it. Said he took it in to the local shop in Wichita and the dealer wouldn't give him the time of day. Happened within the first 6 months of getting back into collecting. Still chasing that high.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Jerry...
 

#1 find................all great finds here:)

A few from an old collection that was really unappreciated. Stored along with a bigger collection in a tiny paper bag that it had been in for a long time. Unsorted, and a mix of stuff.
SC 350-460 F25
http://www.net54baseball.com/picture...pictureid=9887

Just a nice card.

http://www.net54baseball.com/picture...ictureid=13911

What ended up being a complete set of these. Probably the only one as 4 of the 20 were uncataloged until this set turned up.
http://www.net54baseball.com/picture...ictureid=16701http://www.net54baseball.com/picture...ictureid=16702

And a couple non-card pickups
O11S foreign entry. Catalogs around 2250, Ebay BIN as the regular O11s ---$18 Only about 75 issued
http://www.net54baseball.com/picture...ictureid=16703

O49, usually a cheap stamp, but this one is the only provable example from plate 40 which was a plate for an experimental steam press. Stampwants.com BIN for ...........Less than a lunch at McDonalds.
http://www.net54baseball.com/picture...ictureid=16704

Steve B

Picked this one up at a local card show 2 years ago for $90. Ended up grading at a SGC 30.

Not a card, but this might be my best find ever - it was at an antique shop, labelled as a 'fencing jersey'. I paid the 'fencing jersey' price :)

I'd say my 05 graham cubs qualifies

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1911-T205-Ge...item2ed9825df3

This was sold as a cdv of John Heenan with a crappy camera phone picture, and went for under $100. The archaic copyright notice at the bottom caught my eye. I won it, did some research, and was able to determine it is one of the first commercially issued boxing cards. Issued pre-1870 by Charles DeForest Fredricks as part of his commercially produced "Specialite" series of famous people and sold through his gallery in New York City. His work is featured in a number of museum collections, including the Smithsonian.

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...enan%20CDV.jpg

This was a 'find': showed up at a local show:

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

I don't know that I'd call this a 'find' because it wasn't cheap but the Exhibit coupon on the back of the card together with the "Not to be used in exhibit machines" legend answered a significant question many Exhibit collectors had regarding the postcard backed cards from the 1920s:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...y%20Kansas.jpg

Just won this at auction for $90 plus hammer. Notice the Ganley back. Now I'm down to only needing the EPDG to complete my run. If anyone has that card, I am interested.

What am I missing on the Ganley? And why was it such a great deal? I think the scan is too small.

http://www.sterlingsportsauctions.co...entoryid=17237

Ganley with a P350 back is tough. The P350 back isn't that hard for most subjects, it is actually rather common, but on some it is very difficult.

Great thread. My greatest find came in 1979 when I walked in our collectible's store and the guy tells me he has a box of old postcards and pins for me for $400. That was quite a bit of money for a young sportswriter back then, but I did a quick look and agreed to make the purchase. I got 53 Rose Company postcards, with 51 different. Also had 3 A.C. Dietsche postcards sets - 2 Tigers and 1 Cubs. Several different old Wolverine Tigers postcards, some University of Michigan football postcards. 17 Buster Brown Detroit Tigers pins, including 2 Cobbs and 47 P-3 pins in nice shape. I'd love to make that kind of find today.

I purchased this signed Grover Alexander baseball for $80 and later sold it to a board member:


http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m...LAlexander.jpg

After seeing what the brown old mill just sold for $20,000 bought for $51 on ebay. I was hoping to revive this thread there has to be more great find stories out there

Mine is nothing in comparison to other stories but here goes. My best find was 2 T210 Orange Border cards listed as faded Reds for 55.00 apiece. So the seller overpriced and underpriced all in the same listing:D

THose look like the 2002 Topps 206 cards which were placed into special holders and then randomly inserted into those packs

Rich

I don't know if this really counts as a "find", but the two Lenox T206s in my collection were among the first five T206s I got back around 1979-81. I think I got one of them from a neighborhood kid in a trade for something or other, and the other might have been among my brother's collection (including lots of other cards from the 1950s to 70s) that I bought from him in 1981 for $80 so he could buy an Atari video game system. He might have gotten his Lenox from the same neighborhood kid. We had no idea that Lenox backs were rare; to us, they were just T206s, which we considered exotic enough by themselves. Only when I got back into collecting more than a decade later did I realize what I had, and put them into plastic sleeves.

Probably the best finds where I knew what I was getting came in the late 90s at the National Trade Card Convention in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. There were a lot of ephemera dealers, mostly selling trade cards, some with non-sport tobacco cards and similar stuff, including a few with a handful of baseball tobacco cards. One year there was a guy going around with a couple of Old Judges in pretty good condition that he was trying to sell, but none of the dealers were interested. I asked him what he wanted for them, and he said $50 for the pair. That was a fantastic deal even then, so I pulled out my wallet and gave him $50 on the spot. Another time, maybe the same year, there was a table that had some T206s in a box for $15 apiece, in about VG condition. They were mostly commons, but among them were a Griffith portrait and an Evers with Cubs on shirt, which I snapped up. I think they were my first T206 Hall of Famers.

Brown Old Mill
 

Cain,

The Brown Old Mill in REA was not the example I won on eBay. It is a second example of a Smith Brown Old Mill. You will notice the one in REA has a very distinctive spot/stain on the back.

I was more than surprised when I saw the 24K ending price.

Thanks,

Jerry

I'm pretty sure I owned this, or one like it, 10-12 years ago before I traded it. I don't even recall what I received, but I wish I had this again.

Won 2 T-206 Drums on eBay when I was only trying to win one, again about 10-12 years ago.

Sorry, I thought it was the same one just sent to SGC for labeling.

1901 Cincinnati Reds Silver Season Press Pass on Craigslist for $2,000. Sold for ~$9000 at REA in 2012.

I'm sure this is way too modern for this group but what the heck. A couple of years ago I found six and a half unopened boxes of 1976-77 Topps basketball cards. I paid $20 a box and sold them for $600+ per box. I then enjoyed a great shopping spree in which I added many items on my want list to my collection. I did add a few pre war photos to my collection so that may appease members on this side of the board. I felt rich for a day:D

Wasn't me but
 

I recall a story of some guy finding a pretty nice Boston Garter Joe Jackson at a flea market or something and picked it up for $20.

These are great no matter how small if it meant something to you let us know. I love hearing these stories. I went out yard selling this morning unfortunately no great finds but my dog is happy with all his new toys I bought for $2.

1955 Esskay Hot Dogs complete box---purchased for $100
Sold a year later for $15,000 in H&S before I started working there.


We were uninsured at the time so the proceeds helped pay for the birth of our first child.

Great Find Gone To Pot
 

About 1967 or so, before I had a driver's license, there was a shop that had just opened up that sold these sort of 50's pseudo-deco items. However, in the back the were tons of baseball cards from '49-'62 . I can only now believe the owner was selling her son's collection. Me and a few friends used to ride our bikes over there and pick up stuff for nickels, dimes and sometimes maybe a quarter. So, one day I go over there, and propped atop the slotted table where the cards were kept is a 1921 Exhibit Display - 16 cards, 4x4. It cost $5. I go home, grab a fiver out of my Chinese Puzzle Box, go back and buy it and go back home with it tucked under my right arms. My Dad says, "You should really frame that" (mind you, my Dad was 7 years old in '21!). But did I listen.......?

The item used to be quite pristine. However, after several cross-country trips and a ground floor washing machine flooding into the basement, I'm left with... One day I swear I will get it restored. Here are a few of the scans of the bits and pieces:

two good uns
 

297 different T206s in VGish shape for $1000. Included 25 HOFers and 25 Southern leaguers, and a bunch of scarcer variations like Elberfeld.

At my first National in Cleveland c. 2004

________________________

And this M101-5 Beals Becker (akin in scarcity to the Bobby Wallace that just sold in REA for $8K) for $40 at Ft. Washington, c. 2005.



Those were the days...

Got this at Lambertville NJ Flea Market for $7.00

Catch & Release Version:
 

This occurred in 1993:

To my dying day, I will believe that I once held an authentic T206 Wagner in my hands, but couldn't come up with enough cash for the deal (and you're right, I wasn't really close).

The last time I saw the owner's daughter, she said it was still in his safety deposit box and he was not taking offers on it.

Great finds in Canada
 

Was fortunate enough to find 3 exhibit cards, Sisler, Cobb, and Lou Gehrig's 1925 Exhibit card(sold in REA 2014) from one seller up here in Canada, beautiful piece(regret selling it). Later that same week was also fortunate enough to find a 1928 Game 4 World Series ticket stub in beautiful condition.

All of these piece were picked up for less than $900.

Gehrig RC for under $900, that's a $5K+ card, WOW!

E125
 

Wagner $300 about 10 months ago in an antique store.

The Trucker Boy Find...
 

Around 10 yrs ago I saw this card on ebay (ungraded of course). No one bid on it and I ended up winning it on the second listing. The seller had around 750 more cards I ended up getting too. Some were uniquely known in the hobby and they were collected by the guys grandfather in Northern California....

http://luckeycards.com/pe902wagner.jpg

Yikes! I been looking for one of these Gehrig RCs for a while (in a lower grade)
I even saw where Leon had a photo or sorts of it back in 2012.

I have one!

Jealous of that Merkle in general. I love that card and I've never found it anywhere close to $30.

That's probably my fault. I've been hogging them. ;)

It was mentioned in several articles in the 70's but but my father discovered his first Wagner (of three) in 1972 when someone responded to a want ad he put in the paper for T206's.

A woman one town over from him responded to the ad and said she had a large collection of tobacco cards both non sports and T206's. My father picked through the good T206's and pulled what he needed to complete his set. Before he left he decided to take a look at all the ones that were in bad shape too and there he found a Wagner with three borders missing. He paid twenty cents for this card :eek: . He sold it in 1974 when he discovered his 3rd Wagner in Vermont.

Here is an article from 1973 that briefly mentions the find:

https://news.google.com/newspapers?n...,2860504&hl=en

http://t206resource.com/Images/Wagner/15a.jpg

.

I actually got mine for $25

Anthony, you should post it. :)

I didn't know this story thank you for sharing. I love to hear about the good old days of T206's.

Here One of MiNe...
 

A lil over 10 years ago... I bought this one of a kind Jordan SL'er Proof fir around $1500.

Ohhh, He Also came wit a MaTTY T206 ~ w/ only the Yellow ink!

As Johnny has stated, "Those were the Days"

That Jordan proof is a super card!!!

OBCers remember this one...

OBC, the online trading group, used to host a get together every year in Vegas in May. I used to go every year. There were all sorts of events including a BBQ, trading session, half-rubber (like stickball), a luncheon, a gambling night, a card shop visit, and a golf session. I don't golf so I would scout out baseball card shops (would check out certain shops back then to see which had the best selection of vintage stuff), shows, or even garage sales during the golf portion and would meet everyone for a late lunch afterwards. This was about 17-18 years ago now...My girlfriend at the time wanted to go shopping and there was a small card show at a local mall. She wandered off shopping and I went to the show that was populated with a lot of shiny stuff and slabbed stuff and generally nothing much of interest for me. I was going though a notebook of bell brand dodgers that were WAY overpriced when an older man walked up to the table and tried to get the dealers attention. When the dealer finally looked at him, the older gentleman asked if the dealer was buying old cards. The dealer said sure, opened the plastic bag and looked at two small binders. The first binder contained a bunch of Nolan Ryan cards from 1993ish if I recall and the dealer immediately closed the book and said that he was not interested and literally turned his back on the man who had started to say he had some much older cards and programs. He walked away and I followed. I asked him if I could look. We found a bench in the mall, introduced ourselves (his name was Eugene), sat down and he pulled out the second notebook. I immediately noticed some programs from the late '50s and early '60s. I said "wow" and he showed me some of them. I asked if he was from Pittsburgh and if he "got them at Forbes himself." He said yes, was impressed that I knew about Forbes and we chatted for about a half hour. He then brought out an old autograph book that he said he was keeping and showed me some autographs from the '40s through the '60s incl. Wagner, Clemente, Maz, etc. It was wonderful!! He asked if I wanted to see the older cards. I said sure thinking it would be stuff from the '50s but he showed me some 9 pocket sheets with 1941 Playballs...the first sheet included Hubbel and Ott and the next one included Foxx and Williams (there were several sheets). He said he collected them when he was just 14 or 15 (he was in his mid-80s at this point) and then showed me an article from his cub scout newsletter about how he turned in bottles for nickels and bought cards. I was floored to see an original collection. We talked for nearly an hour about our collections and habits and childhood. At the end, I asked why he was selling. He just said that he wanted them to go to someone who would collect them like he did. He asked how much money I had on me...I said I had just spent most of my money but could get to an ATM and take out $300 but "these are worth more." He said he was just glad to sit with a fan, talk for a few hours and I could have the cards for $300. I said sure immediately. We walked to the ATM and traded my money for his cards...We chatted another 15 minutes and I offered to drive him home but he said he was going to take the bus and run some errands. I got his number and we chatted a few times after that but I never saw him again. Gene passed away about ten years later at 95 or 96 years old. When I sat back down at the mall and waited for my girlfriend to come back, I went through the pages...it was only then that I realized I had just purchased a complete 1941 Playball set in vg-ex condition incl. the Williams in vg and the Dimaggio was ex+...I really wanted to walk over to the rude dealer but my girlfriend showed up first. She was excited about her shoes on sale...I was more excited. We met the OBC guys for lunch and passed around the set to look at...that was probably one of my best buys and most satisfying because I felt that I earned it through my fandom, kindness, and willingness to listen...

And yes, I still own that set!

Joshua

Joshua - What a cool story! Thanks for sharing!

Joshua, awesome story!!

Very touching Story. Thank you for sharing

s74 with paper backing
 

Well just picked this up a couple of days ago off of ebay's buy it now.
If you collect Silks with paper backs you will know how tough these are.
I guess even this longtime dealer didn't realize what he had.