Prices at the National--what's hot?
 

Wonder what folks found...surprises?

Hot Items
 

as far as what i sold a number of (or was asked for many times if i did not have the items):

T206 Rare Backs and higher condition
T5 Pinkertons : Had priced hi still sold a number of them
Cracker Jacks: was asked for many times
Cabinet Cards in General
1952 Mantle's
1955 Clemente
1960s SP hi #'s: 1966 Grant Jackson, Choo Choo Coleman, Cardinals Rookies, Perranoski, 1967: Shellenback/Willis, Belanger, Hegan, Shaw/Sutherland

Hi Grade Hall of fame rookies from both Football ( Especially Starr, Brown, Namath)and Baseball ( especially Seaver, Carew, and Stargell also Rose who is not a hall of famer but certainly is their peer on the field)

Can someone please tell me why the 1914 Cracker Jacks are suddenly so hot? Yes I know they are much tougher than the 1915s because of the method of distribution but it seems like it is akin to what happened with the 1911 Zeenuts about 6-7 years ago when 5 or 6 collectors were determined to pay whatever price necessary to try and accumulate the set and the prices skyrocketed.
I've owned some 14 CJ's I acquired through the years, they are tough, but I am amazed at the set getting so hot. :(

I never understood why cards do this. What's changed? They've been around for 100 years and to change so drastically seemingly overnight out of the blue makes no sense to me. I've always loved Cracker Jack's but I just don't understand this kind of phenomenon.

It makes perfect sense to me... Similar to the phenomenon when Kim Burns came out with the Jack Johnson documentary... All of a sudden anything Jack Johnson increased dramatically in value. The crackerjacks of always been some of the most beautiful cards out there... In addition to them just being crackerjack! I am sure that the recent book stimulated interest as well. Add the handful of aggressive buyers to a thin market and there you have it.

You have several new set collectors starting from square one and that's in addition to another group that's been in the CJ game for years. Its a serious set, very different than the 1915s.

very simple....
 

supply vs. demand.....

as the demand increases, and the supply decreases.....prices increase

I understand the increased demand, a lot of which I believe is based on investment potential, but as the supply stays the same I still question why this set has become so hot. In other words I strongly believe you have the same scenario which took place with the '11 Zeenuts, 5 or 6 buyers who were bidding against each other at all costs which resulted in the prices being driven higher and higher. Now that those 5 or 6 guys (and yes I was one) have completed the set or are one or two cards away, the prices have come back down to earth. EXish commons were going for $250+ each and now are back around $40. Tough cards like Fullerton which were going for close to $1000 in EX are now back to about $300 or so. I don't know if the CJ 14s will experience a similar drop but both sets are extremely tough and unless a few elderly collectors of 11Zs on the West Coast decide to part with their collections, that set will be nearly impossible to put together now.

What goes up . . .
 

They will come down. I recall a couple years ago when a few (including at least 2 board members) were zealously going after the set - the prices rose noticeably. I know of at least two now going after them which has caused a spike, which in turn causes others casually interested to seek them out as well. But in turn, the set builders are ticking players off their lists while at the same exhausting funds, and more sellers are coming out of the woodwork.