Final score: 18-4-3
Final Results: My cards -- 18; Heritage/Rounders cards -- 4; ties -- 3.
This lopsided result, while pleasant for me, is hardly surprising, since I was the owner of "my cards" and also served as evaluator, selection authority, and appellant judge. Still, I thought my cards held up very well despite benefitting from my evaluation biases in favor of large borders and centering.
The jaw dropper, of course, is the difference in auction value. My 25 cards were obtained, the majority in the last couple of years, for an average of $535 (auction hammer plus BP) per card. 57% of the total cost of my 25 cards went for three cards -- the two Johnsons and the Elberfeld Portrait. In contrast, the 25 H/R cards closed recently for an average of $5,259 (including BP) per card. Almost 10 times as much! The two Johnsons and the Elberfeld Portrait were 38% of the total cost of the 25 H/R cards.
(By the way, I am not stressing how inexpensive my cards were. On balance, I think I more than paid full price. My cards were all bought in auctions where there was spirited competition, particularly for attractive cards in any grade. I was not looking for bargains; I was looking for cards. I tended to pay whatever I needed to once I decided it was a chance to "upgrade".)
All right. The comparison is complete. I will leave it at that. I've enjoyed the exercise. Thanks for listening.
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