[Exhibitman]

The question is vague as to time. What is my expected sale time-frame? Over the very long haul I think the Cobb (or any T206, 1933 Goudey, 1949 Leaf, 1952 Topps, or other mainstream marquee set) will beat a non-rookie Exhibit in total returns. Over the shorter term the question is relative price increases already baked into the current prices. The Exhibit Ruth has both more room to run up than the Cobb. The other issue favoring the Ruth is that it is not the mainstream card: pressure from other mainstream Ruth cards that are shooting up (e.g., the M, E and R cards) tends to push collectors to going after Exhibits, W cards, etc. The Cobb is already the mainstream card.

A better comparison would be the potential returns on the Ruth Exhibit versus the Cobb Exhibit. The Cobb has always been about 1/3 of the Ruth price but it is now closer to 1/8 of the Ruth price (a PSA6 sold for $1,860 last summer in Heritage; a few weeks later a 6 Ruth went for $22,200), so it has more room to improve relative to the Ruth. I would not be surprised to see Cobb double or triple over the next year assuming the market doesn't crap the bed. I don't think the equivalent grade Ruth has the same potential. Hence I am sitting on my Cobb Exhibits; though I am not a collector I think there's good money to be made a year from now.