February pickups
 

Will kick this one off pretty small-time but with a big shout-out to ebay seller buck1007 (aka Big Buck's Blowouts). I had ordered a 72T Munson but he sent me 72T Bench by mistake.

Given the low values of the cards involved, I wasn't anxious for either of us to rack up postage charges to correct the issue. In a classy (but still rare) act of great customer service, Big Buck told me to keep the Bench and that he'd send the Munson right away.

So two great catchers of the 70s for the price of one.

Attachment 219935

Jason it is always good to hear stories like this. All too often we hear about the bad sellers. Kudos to buck1007 for a very classy move. A nice looking JB card for sure. Congrats.

And since many of you collect into the 1970s, I'll add that this seller seems to have a terrific selection of early-mid 1970s Topps at really low prices. I saw a really nice looking 1970 Hank Aaron go for something like $5.

(And no, it's not me or a friend of mine...just someone I stumbled on in my search for a cheap but nice looking Munson.)

Nice Jason. I will have to look up his eBay store.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...5cada2d290.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...363f606d16.jpg




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Wow, it's a close race, but I'm gonna go ahead and concede "Best of the Month So Far" to cincyreds24. What a great pair of cards!

Thanks a lot. Probably my two favorite cards. Let's hope this is only the beginning of a great month.


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Great cards! Congrats!

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Nice cards Cincy!

Nice additions .

Here are two more for my Top 100 Display. 84 down, 16 to go.

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Another McCovey
 

:)

http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3flx3b4l.jpg

My 1st addition of 2016: (although its pre-war) Now you can see i been wanting one of these. Stunning Carl Homer image:

Jason,

How did you decide which players and which year you wanted for your top 100? For example : The 65 McCovey, why not a 68 McCovey?

Nice McCovey Jason.

The '65 Twins and Giants cards were some of the finest of the entire set. Love the colors for those cards.

That's a tough question, but here's the basic approach--

1. If I already have a $20+ (don't laugh!) card of the player, that's the one I use. For instance, since I have a '53 Bowman Stan Musial, I definitely don't want to buy a different one.
2. I always avoid landscape orientation, which sadly rules out '71 Munson. :-(
3. I avoid multi-player rookie cards (e.g., '65 Morgan)
4. For the more modern players, I shoot for the RC or the earliest solo card, which is how I chose '66 Morgan.

So that explains Morgan, but the logic above would probably suggest '61T McCovey rather than 1965. However, the cards will be arranged in chronological order, and another fundamental rule for me is to not have my display break in the middle of a year.

For instance, I have a full row of 1957, a full row of 1963-1964, and a full row of 1969 (mostly because I like these three sets the most). This means I either need to have 0 cards in between these years or 10 cards between these years. Based on a handful of other factors I won't dissect here, I went with no cards from 1958-1962 and ten cards from 1965-1968.

From that, I chose the 1965 since it was the earliest McCovey I had room for and also because I liked the purple. Not totally scientific, I admit, and I'll even acknowledge the McCovey as a casualty of my system--it's a good card but not his best. Meanwhile, the system worked on that Morgan...even if I had no rules at all, it's the Morgan I'd choose.

#2 pickup of 2016 just popped.

Great cards Chris. Congrats.

February Pickups
 

I've always had a soft spot for '71 Topps and this Alston was the key for me in a nice lot I just picked up.

Attachment 220222

And, just for fun, here's a picture of me and "Smokey" on the Dodger Stadium infield; around '70 or '71 if my memory serves me right.

Attachment 220223

First a Honus Wagner, then a Babe Ruth!! What's next, a Shoeless Joe?!?!? Unbelievable!

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Got these from my daughter for my birthday. Needless to say, I was pretty jacked she found them.

Bobc, that is a super cool photo of you and Alston. Thanks for sharing that!

Bob D...
 

....give your daughter a big hug :)

My first Cobb T206...Red w/Polar Bear back.

http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/...sxnvlrkpv.jpeg

We are on quite a run of Pre-War! Please, someone, bring us back with a Mantle or (birthday boy) Hank Aaron!

But in the meantime, here's my latest. Just for the fun of it, will see if you can guess the player. Lest you worry he's too obscure, my hint to you is that he's in the HOF.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...9e3de63926.jpg

Arky Vaughan, 1939 Play Ball

Exactly right!

Right click pic, "search Google for image"

https://knoji.com/ten-valuable-arky-...l-collectibles

The Dude abides...

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Mattyc great looking mantles!

Quite the Mantle Trifecta there. :cool:

Ironically, just delivered. Not as nice at MattyC's but is a lot nicer in person than the image provided.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...psbgs2udft.jpg

Ummmmmmmmm..............

How does one even begin? Centering on all three is in league with your famous 1952 Topps.

Serious cardboard. Matt, that 53T is absolutely gorgeous. I love when you upgrade because then I get to post in the pick up thread too! Here are a few recent additions

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^^^VERY nice, especially that 56...

Really sharp 6. The 62 ain't shabby either.

cheese n crackers, fellas!

very nice start for each and every one of you!!!

This card went on quite an odyssey before getting to me. I bought it on eBay and the replacement mailman we had during the holidays delivered a bunch of my mail [and the mail from the rest of our office building] to various addresses all over Burbank. The universe being what it is, the five dollar cards made it to me but this one was shown as delivered when it wasn't. I figured it went elsewhere and was stolen so I posted theft notices on the chat boards and asked local dealers (there are still a few) to be on the lookout for it. I was really ticked off, not so much about the money as the fact that I really wanted this card in my collection and they aren't all that easy to find in the price range where I wanted to be with it. Thankfully, the person who received it was honest enough to put it back into the mail and it finally made it to my collection:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...stolen%201.jpg

The Friday GIF is hysterical. Thx. I am pretty pumped on that little 57T with the crazy rare centering, too. Greg, in your new 53T in 5 and that 65T in 7 "hand-me-downs," you got two of my favorites I have had. You do not see those two centered like that too often. The 65 Mick is sneaky HARD, and almost always tilted. I pursued that new 8 hard on eBay and had to pay a record to reel it in. May take a swing on the PWCC 8 just to have another well-centered copy.

JMB, the PSA 4 53 Mick looks much, much better than the assigned grade-- lots of red on that famous corner, and great side centering. I bet against a black background it will looks even better.

Glad to hear that Bazooka Aaron-- with its serene photo of him against all that green grass-- made it to its owner, and that moreso it is now a symbol of honey in people. And also patience, LOL.

And Greg, that 56 Mick is amazing, hence why I told you to go big on your snipe. The centering is top .000001%, and the color bold, his face and complexion perfectly rendered. I've seen 8s and 9s with imperfections in his face, which is really the star of that whole card.

But the 63 in 4.5 you posted is really something special. I own that card in 8.5., and yours has superior centering. Heck, I don't think I have ever seen the 63 better centered than your 4.5. How many out of a thousand copies of that card are centered like that? Then factor in how clean and PD-free both the green and blue bottom areas are! Just honest corner wear on that card. I have seen 8s and 9s of the 63 that received their grades on sharp corners, but they had heinous tilt and measles all in the green and blue. The eye appeal on the card is easily 5.5 worthy all day.

Your 62, as was noted, is also top tier. The white top border bar is focused, the centering A+, and the edges CLEAN. Again, honest corner wear. My dream is that EXACT specimen with 8 corners.

Lastly, gotta shout out a WHITE LETTER 69 in what's a high grade for that card. And the top bottom is real nice. The 69 is IMO a "Tier One" difficulty Mick to find well centered, due to the insane tilt on the 69s.

This stuff is just sick...ALL of it! Wow, guys. And less than a week gone by. What's next?

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Yeah, this might be the craziest month ever, since we saw a Wagner, Ruth, and Cobb all at the start. Have to add it was a 144 Ruth that had a focused image, too. Rare sightings in these parts.

Then we also have the feel-good narratives of the Bench that came for free and the Bazooka Aaron that someone honestly sent along to its owner. And the vintage picture with the Dodger from back in the day. Taken in sum it's exactly what the online component of the hobby could and should be at its best.

Where's the MK? Great card. That makes four 1953 Topps Micks in the thread so far! Classic.

I posted this on the pre-war board, but since I'm more of a post-war collector and he did play in the post-war era as well, I thought I'd share this one here. Very excited about it!

The heat on this thread is insane. That card is awesome.

WTF!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

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The mark is just under the number. The card has such great colors and centering, I couldn't pass it up for the price.

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Wow, that's it? On the BACK? What a score. Not many examples of that card look that nice on the front. Great score.

53 topps mantle seems to be on fire around here. I recently picked up two myself. snagged this mid janurary. other one should be here shortly:

http://caimages.collectors.com/psaim.../53mantle1.jpg

Saw that '1' on eBay when it popped; has to be the best looking front on a 1 that exists. His price was very reasonable, too. I urged my cousin to buy that card. Great value for the eye appeal.

yeah, some paper loss on the back but it was the price he was asking that made it irresistible. for a crease free, non altered card w/ the eye appeal the front displays, it was really a no brainer...

Nothing major, but working this beautiful set slowly on the side. Picked these up over the past few weeks.

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Great pick ups Steve! Have fun with that 56 set!!!!!

here's that other 53...

(sorry for attempting to share an "unearthly" card)







V

Will bring it back down to Earth...here is the aforementioned Munson.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...f9e4cfef65.jpg

J, nice Thurman. Funny how both those catcher cards are so nicely centered!

72 is such a pleasing Munson card, IMO; just always liked that yellow design they did for the Yanks that year, plus the background and pose. His 71 is a classic of course and the 73 is also a beautiful, kind of autumnal picture.

Thanks. Yes, was happy to find such a nice Munson for so little. And centering for 1972T can be pretty sketchy.

For my display, I was torn between 72T and the 73T you mention. Always loved the blurry fans from the 73T...almost like a painting. In fact, I used just that card as a model for a painting I did in 10th grade art class. Came out wretched though.

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Biggest pickup of my life. Can't believe I finally have this in my collection!


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The back is in amazing shape for a "1"

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Mantle
 

Nice looking card Cincy, congratulations

Cincyreds24, you are having a HOF month! Congratulations on three unbelievable additions.

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Congrats on the '51 Mantle pickup!. Nice image and well-centered. Well done!

Dude, you must be over the moon with that addition. Watched that one. Its combination of centering and registration is nothing short of anomalous for a 51 Bowman Mantle-- and some serendipitously placed "clutch" damage made it a steal price, too! Congrats on another great card.

nice 51 rook, jerry!

i thought this was a place for only earthly cards though?

ha!

Thanks everyone! I never knew I'd feel this good owning a baseball card. Unfortunately I probably won't have any new additions anytime soon for obvious reasons haha


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Nice! :)

I assume this card rates higher than the one you just purchased?
If so, I guess, despite my best efforts, will I ever figure out this grading thing! :confused:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1951-Bowman-...-/121864007870

hopefully this fits in to the earthly realm, jason...

extremely reasonable (this one was less than $50) however they fairly rare....

1956 macboy mickey mantle decal:

http://caimages.collectors.com/psaim...cboy.decal.jpg

cincyreds24, a sweet pickup with the Mantle. I took a quick look and almost pulled trigger on it but decided not to (much to my regret now) as I was stalking some other pickups at the time. Enjoy your ride on cloud 9!!!

MattyC, That 57 Mantle has some serious pop when you look at it. The centering along with the bright borders and color/focus is crazy good for the grade. The eye-appeal tops a lot of other higher graded examples. A keeper for sure.

Greg, That 56 Mantle is incredible looking for the grade. Not sure I have seen any better looking PSA 6. A great Mantle addition congrats.

Jason, I know it was mentioned already but that 72 Munson and Bench card is not easy to find centered and you landed both at the same time that is well-played.

This has been a great February pickup thread so far. Hope to post a pickup soon.

You, sir, are a poet.

Agree with all'o'that.

I will also say were I to build a 50's set it would be 1956. Love that string of 1956 cards earlier.

MattyC, while your 1953 Mantle is obviously and clearly a megastar five-digit card, I must repeat the above sentiment on your "lesser" 1957 (I recall your PSA 8 of the 1957 ;) ) That PSA 5 exemplar is a "phreak."

Cincy, I drool for that Bowman Mantle Rookie. I am priced out of mid-grades now I think. Difficult to find a better "one," hahaha.

Nice cards. That Morgan is a great add!

Awesome. All gorgeous, but tbat '65 is perfection.

I once tried to assemble a 1965 Set, last year. I looked at a few PSA 9's of the number 350 Mantle card..........and that PSA 8 sincerely looks better than all the 9's which I saw. They uniformly exhibited Tower Of Pisa tilt and white spots within the pink. Wonder if they would grade out 9 today if submitted raw. Probably not.

Added.........RESUBMIT THAT BAD BOY. AT LEAST REVIEW.

Yeah, Dave! Glad you reeled that one in, I know you had the cross hairs on it at the auction. There's two great 8s people can in effect cross out of the pop report, LOL!

Thanks! I just got back to this thread and have finally seen your new 53T.
All I can say is WOW!!!!! You will never ever regret paying your record price. I guarantee!!

Thanks, brother. One hard lesson I have learned over the years— and learned the hard way— is that sometimes to grab a dream piece, you have to pony up.

Twice I decided to remain firm at what I thought was a good price to pay; both times I did not get the card, failed to find another as nice, and while seeking, also got a front row seat to watch the price rise beyond what I could have paid then. Basically, a perfect storm of suckage, LOL. Both instances taught me that another as nice does not surface for cheaper later on. And that it's better to have great cards than regrets. So when a centered PSA 7 of the 53 surfaced, I was not haggling or hesitating. And boy am I happy, happiness being what it's all about.

Couldn't agree more with this statement. I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure I paid record prices for these 3 cards in the grades they are. But, I don't feel like I will ever need to upgrade them and they make me happy.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...psntq1bxnv.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...psttasfl80.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...psllnit8yh.jpg

Yes, indeed. In fact I will make you a profit on the yellow Gehrig right now, if it was for sale! (Would do so on the Ruth as well, if I needed that one, but already have a pleasing copy.) Awesome cards.

On that latest topic, just hit the BIN and paid a record for the nicest centered Mantle/Aaron I've seen, that popped on my eBay search. Looked at every 6, 7, and 8 on VCP and saw only 3 as centered. What a tough card.