[ls7plus]

Barry, I agree with you completely with regard to the more commonly traded cards, meaning those that exist in sufficient quantities to be commonly traded. The very quantity of them that exist precludes them from rapid price increases--its like an anchor weight tethered to their ankles. But by the same token, their ready availability and affordability is a big plus to those of us that feel that the card connects us to the player, and takes us back to the time and even the events that were occurring in the sport when the card was issued (I bought a 1922 W573 Sisler, not because it's at least moderately tough, but because it was his .420 season, just before the sinus infection affected his vision. We used to play stratomatic baseball in the early '70's using the all-time hall-of-famer set that the company issued, along with other cards of star players from stratomatic seasons past, and I can tell you that Sisler, with that card, rivaled Gehrig and his 1927 card for #1 firstbaseman status in the drafts we held to pick teams. After several years of playing that game, it became quite apparent just how great a player Sisler was, before his vision declined).

But I also think that there are a lot of rare, somewhat esoteric cards that are undervalued, which will increase pretty dramatically in price. In that respect, my thought is that someone like Leon, with many of the cards he has (with the proof strip including Matty coming immediately to mind), is on the right track. A fellow by the name of John J. Pittman took precisely that approach in collecting esoteric, rare, undervalued coins in the '40's and '50's through the early '90's. Pittman wasn't wealthy, but probably wasn't poor either--he was a chemical engineer at Eastman Kodak. He reportedly spent about a hundred thousand dollars pursuing just such material during that time, focusing on rarity and quality, but not going after the major rarities (he most likely couldn't afford them--I believe both the 1894-S dime and the 1913 Liberty Head nickel, two true trophy coins, were both worth about $3000-$4000 in the forties, which, when factoring in the consumer price index and inflation, would be the equivalent of $25,000-$30,000 in today's dollars). Pittman somehow got his wife to consent to taking out a mortgage on their home so that he could attend and participate in the auction of King Farouk's collection in Egypt after he was deposed around 1954 (one heckuva wife, huh?). Anyway, after Pittman died in the '90's, his collection was auctioned off and brought in excess of $25 million.

My thought is that cards like the 1923-1924 Exhibit Babe Ruth and the 1907 Wolverine News Cobb rookie are the kinds of things Pittman would be seeking out were he alive today, and into cards rather than coins (I recently saw the Cobb offered on e-bay, graded SGC poor due to a crease running across the middle of the card, and right across Cobb's face, offered for $3,000. I thought no way that card in that grade with that crease is going to sell for that, but it did, just before I was about to make the seller a significantly lower offer, which prompted me to jump on the 1907 Dietsche Cobb Fielding Pose Tony Arnold was offering in PSA 5. The latter card has some chips around the edges, and probably not the best eye appeal for a five, but it does have four square corners, no creases, and makes for a very nice matched pair with the batting pose Cobb I acquired from the same set several years ago).

Thanks, Leon, for your comment. It means a lot coming from you, with your collection!

Best wishes to all you guys, and may we all prosper in our collecting endeavors.

Larry