Goldin Winnings/Losings
 

I don’t know what the final numbers are but seems that total dollars bid in this auction was staggering. If you divide the total by the number of lots, I would surmise that this is the highest per lot auction, maybe ever. Or at least since Goldin was selling all of the basketball and Patrick Mahomes RPA’s in 2021. If it appears that those numbers were severely overinflated in 2021 compared to today, that’s probably because they were, and then some. When we look back at this one five years from now, will things be any different? I read the T206 thread and wonder how many other lots really did not sell and just portend to drive up the market prices on lots of this high-end stuff. It’s a game that I can’t participate in financially but some can.

It seems that today’s post-COVID collector has no reservations about spending their money wildly, at least to me seems financially irresponsible. That’s why back in the pre-COVID days, card values inched up incrementally and all seemed well with the hobby. Now it’s more like the Dow Jones.

BTW my main target was the M101-1 Wagner which sat at $30K until extended bidding, then nearly doubled after I was the high bidder at 10pm but couldn’t afford to go another bid increment. (Actually couldn’t even afford that but would have found a way to come up with the money somehow). The majority of the high-end lots seemed to move very little during extended bidding, except for my second option, the 1915 Ruth Type 1 photo w/pitching staff. That one more than doubled. Boy, I really know how to pick’em huh?

You had the right lot, Phil, the M101-1 is a great piece and one of the few underappreciated Wagner rookie pieces. Looking at what the shiny new cards go for (astonishing to me), and other Wagner portraits of which there are fewer of the M101-1, it’s still a relative bargain. Hope you get one someday.it followed most auction cadences, a little different than a lot like the T206 in terms of timing of bidding I think.

Was able to pick this up for much less than I thought it would go for. I know it’s a bit OC but the color and registration (especially tough with this card) are outstanding. Attachment 664772

As a Comsignor for me Very good day but a bit mixed results

Two of my Jackson’s my 1917 Boston Store and 1914 CJ Joe Jackson very very strong results and exceeded my expectations
Two cards my 1914 E&S Jackson and my 1924 Real photo pst card with Ruth did not do so well.
And my 1922 w575-1 was a neutral(but disappointing) result

But very happy with the overall result and 3 of the items did not get any bids in extended time.

And on the bidding side I had no plans to bid but decided to get a couple of tickets for The years Babe Ruth played that matches a couple of my cards (posted in the June pickup post)

Jeff, I’d say you came out miles ahead. The BS and CJ Jacksons ended shockingly high.

You are Spot on
I just wanted to give a play by play for the details in case anyone was interested or not:D

Especially in the case of Goldin, but likely similar for Heritage, the high profile sets (Cracker Jack, Goudey, Boston Store, T206, etc.) combined with the most iconic players (Ruth, Cobb, Jackson, Wagner) bring limitless prices for those who travel in that space. The rest of us are left with everything else, i.e. - E & S, W575-1, one-off RPPC’s and all of these can be very up and down despite rarity and other factors in their favor. Today, nothing trumps the biggest cards of the biggest names and the collectors with the deepest pockets. Everyone else can expect their cards to surge sometimes and decline many other times. To me, that doesn’t make the overall hobby strong or weak, every item is pretty much on a case by case basis. In my opinion, the less money you have to spend, the more times you have to settle for what you can afford and that’s the stuff that has not excelled over the past 3-4 years since COVID. Yet that probably represents 95% of the hobbyists out there. In the old days, I believe a much higher percentage of hobbyists out there could afford the “big” cards. Of course, “big” is a relative term.

Great auction last night. I won 14 cracker jacks. 9 hall of famers. Lower end hof’s, the best being Lajoie. I tried for Jackson and Cobb. Just couldn’t keep up. I did win the massive Tom Seaver lot. I feel a good price at 40k with juice. All psa cards. Don

Phil, that M101-1 was mine. It had no reserve; except for my t206 Wagner, none of my cards had a reserve. I think you stole it- i bought it for $80k, so i took a bath. Great buy, congrats.

This was my sole win

I didn’t win anything, the most I could afford to spend on Wagner was the $30K where it was at going into extended bidding. I’ve had 3 of them over the years including that 2.5. I sold the last one for $13K in REA, I believe, around 2014.

Jeff-I think the postcard realizations were generally weak. I would have thought that the 1915 Boston card would have gone for a lot more. Same for yours with Ruth in the straw hat, especially considering how high that goofy ice cream one recently went.

Some poor guy has to pay for that 1915 Red Sox PC!

Speaking of 15 Ruth’s, shocked at how high that pitching staff photo went. Wasn’t that far behind the team postcard. Given the fact that it’s a team on the postcard, I really believe that this is one of the most overpriced cards of the last decade, this didn’t just happen during COVID. These were selling for six figures a decade ago. Team rookie items never bring close to what individual rookies bring. I think we see this one start to drop in value at some point.

Jeff-Did you win the 1915 Boston card--it's a beauty and has always been one of my favorites.

Yes :) And thank you.

Congrats

Great pickup

Always loved that postcard

1914 Cracker Jack Joe Jackson
 

Maybe it’s just me, but it almost feels like the train is leaving the station on the 1914 cracker jack Joe Jackson. Or maybe it’s just a temporary situation but I got a feeling this card continues onward and upward in the years ahead.

I missed the T206 SOV backed Waddell Port. I had a couple more bids in me, but got tied up just as OT kicked in. However it’s for the best, as I have a target card for an upgrade to the backs line, that’s going to take some serious saving and selling for a while.

Congratulations to all the winners and consigners!
Bob

I agree

I don't think this is a temp spike... I think the moment keeps up for years to come

Speaking as an Aaron fan and collector:

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...abulous%20.gif

I won the c1924 Ruth RPPC with the straw hat. I think the card went low because image was a bit blurry, but obviously I'm happy with the win because it's a very cool postcard.

I agree that the postcards went a bit low. I think the 1921 Exhibits Ruth went low too. I did not win that card and was really tempted there as it would have been a very nice upgrade for me. I'll probably regret it down the road.

Ruth exhibits have been weak for a while. Great time to pick them up--I think they are very undervalued.

The 1915 PSA 2 went for over $60k with the juice.

Says the guy with 50 of them! LOL....j/k Jay...

LOL, from your lips to God's ears

Are we comparing the same items? The pitching staff photo sold for $92,720, exactly 50% of the postcard.

Those two items were two of my favorite pieces in the auction and went for about what I was expecting. There are not too many Ruth items that pre-date his M101-5/4 rookie card, whether they picture him with his team/teammates or not. Congratulations to the winners.

GREAT Ticket!

Congrats!!!!

The Sox postcard exploded during extended as well. Was just over $100K prior to 10pm. Now even more overvalued to me. We’ll see what the future brings…..

Remember, a spring training ‘15 Ruth individual postcard only went for $152K in a MH auction a year ago. To me, that individual postcard should bring multiple times what the team postcard brings. Photos do not typically bring what cards/postcards bring.

For what it is worth. I like the 1915 postcard from last night's auction more than the one that Goldin sold for $207K in their last auction.

https://goldin.co/item/1915-boston-r...JkSW5kZXgiOjl9

Also, a 1915 team photo just sold for $140K in Love of the Game, so if you think that postcards sell for more than photos then there is that comparison as well.

https://bid.loveofthegameauctions.co...e?itemid=40067

Personally, I would love to have any 1915 Babe Ruth item, but they are now outside of my budget.

I do think the M101-1 is truly a victim of its own scarcity. Very few people know what it is, and excitement seeing something different can tend to take a backseat compared to an item on a want list for years/decades.

I was watching this closely for obvious reasons, and while I was disappointed with how low it went, I am thankful it bumped significantly from where it sat for a while!

IIRC, there is like an $800 discrepancy from what the last 1915 CJ Shoeless Joe Jackson PSA 2 went for a few years back, and the one that sold last night. ($63k vs 62,200.) I think it is a strong price, but not unprecedented, and I think it continues to do well, given the potential HOF implications.

That 1915 Ruth individual postcard has never been proven to be from 1915, could have easily been 1916. My research actually shows 1916 to be more likely as a number of similar photos of different players appeared in a 1916 newspaper reporting on Spring Training.

I also don't think the 15 team postcard is ever going to drop in value, too rare and too desirable. Wish I still had one.

I used to own the straw hat RPPC as well, thin market for something like that, price wasn't too low in my opinion.

Ruth Postcard
 

Phil - Incorrect. Going into 10:00 extended bidding, the bid was $132K which is $161K with the BP. It got 2 additional bids in OT.

I agree.

!
 

These prices shocked me:

Jeff:

It’s 1915. I bought it back in 2008 in a Leland’s auction, where it appeared along with several other Red Sox player postcards from the same spring training. As I recall, one or two of them were not with the Red Sox in 1916. I brought the postcard to SGC during my lunch hour at work and provided them with my documentation that it should be dated 1915. I left an hour later with the postcard in an SGC 50 (4) holder.

All of the Ruth and Wagner cards that we are talking about are way out of my price range so no hard feelings on my part that I wasn’t able to pick up any of them. I never had a chance at any. My frustration comes from the fact that, back in the day, only 10-15 years ago, many of us who were not the wealthiest and/or didn’t have the highest paying jobs, could save up and get a big card every once in a while such as a Collins McCarthy Ruth, Cracker Jack Shoeless Joe, Toleteros Gibson or W600 Wagner/Matty. With the insane spending that goes on in today’s hobby, I could save up for the rest of my life and never be able to afford any of the really big cards. That’s what really sticks in my craw.

Ruth Postcards
 

To the best of my knowledge, there is zero documentation definitively supporting either 1915, 1916 or 1917. I have owned 2 of these Ruth’s. Myself & many advanced hobbyists have relentlessly attempted to dig up a definitive date with no success. This included reaching out to the Arkansas Historical Society as well as attempting to match up Ruth’s facial features and uniform to a specific year. Cannot be later than 1917 because one of the postcards is Hick Cady who left Boston early in the 1917 campaign. The EXACT year remains a black hole which is why SGC labeled them “circa” 1915 that typically spans several years.

Phil - If you can remember the player postcards who were not with Boston in 1916, that would truly be the missing piece to this puzzle.

Lucky if I can remember to take all my meds twice a day. No idea at this point. Maybe the old auction catalogue from Leland’s would be a better shot. I know SGC is/was very tough about putting a date on something without definitive proof.

Goldin got a ridiculous bid amount on the Reccius Wagner a year ago and we all know that the 1897-99 dating on the PSA holder is bogus. If PSA/SGC says that it is so, it must be so. BTW I don’t think that Wagner actually sold either.

If you have proof that it's 1915 then someone got a steal, that one sale doesn't mean the team postcard is overpriced though.

The 1915 photo with Ruth and fellow pitchers sold for about what was expected as well. RMY sold another for $78k in 2022 and was slightly more than it sold privately a couple years ago.

I did really well. Hot a tissue Mickey Mantle blew his nose on
Coa from Joe pepitone 🥺

Be Nice.

That goofy Ice Cream Card is mine and it is 1 of 2 known and in prior sales it also has sold for a premium

Besides I like the card for my collection

The e107 Matty final price is incredibly strong

Managed to win a couple pretty rough 14 CJ's to add to the collection. There seems to be no let up on pricing on even the roughest examples.

The SGC 2 Joe Jackson at $136k was strong but not unexpected as the PSA 1.5 that sold for $150k on 3/20/25 at Fanatics set the bar.

Yikes!

I was bidding on the 1922 Pie Tranor.....lost out. Is Goldin's extended bidding a lot shorter than REA, Love of the Game, etc? I put in a bid, was winning shortly before the period for initial bids ran out.....then I stepped away for a few hours, figuring that with extended bidding, it will go on forever....and then I checked back and it was sold. This was my first time bidding with Goldin.

Half hour clock starting at 10 PM EST, lot by lot basis.

1915 Cracker Jack Tesreau
 

I have been looking for a Cracker Jack Tesreau for quite some time now, so when I saw the ‘15 Tesreau in the recent Goldin auction, I put on a max bid and crossed my fingers. To my delight last night , I got it below my max bid, in fact, no one bid on it all day yesterday, including OT bidding.
I know this is a small potatoes card compared to the above discussions, but it was a big deal for me. I’m two cards away from having 50 CJ’s in my collection and recently was able to add the 1915 Cracker Jack Album. Wagner and Jackson probably won’t ever be in my collection, but I’m enjoying moving forward with the ones I can afford. Of all the cards, the Cracker Jacks are my favorite , especially since they include the Federal League as well. Happy Collecting All!

So are we just ignoring the Mike Ditka rookie that sold for $207k?

Insane.

LOL, I knew that would get a reaction.