Posted By:
James Verrill
Last year, I had the good fortune to acquire about 2 dozen Mello Mint cards from a gentleman in South Carolina. They were cards he was given by his father, the original "owner".
Six of these were of Cy Young, the others were commons (mostly Jack Knight). You've probably seen alot of these in MastroNet auctions, Lipset auctions, Barry Sloate, etc. Only one of the cards was creased, and it was not a center fold, rather a true crease, off to one side. Of course, a couple of corners were wrinkled on a few. The cards weren't flawless, but, the person that purchased them from me had many of them graded, and they have graded as high as SGC 86 and PSA 7, I believe.
What I was told about the history is that, yes, the cards were folded to be placed in the package and/or container.
Those that are not creased at all - such as those I had and then sold, were acquired directly from the company, and not via purchasing the product itself. What I was told is that, alot of people wrote the company and asked for unfolded examples to keep and collect, and the company was good about accomadating these requests. I was also told that, a number of uncut strips and sheets were provided to retailers as sort of semi-promotional material, and alot of these were cut up. I have never seen an uncut sheet of E105s, so I don't know what to think about that theory. I tend to feel that, based on what I have seen and heard, clean examples of these cards were acquired through the mail, and not from the product itself.
E105s are gorgeous cards when they are truly clean. And, they have taught me alot about "scarcity". Scarcity is a truly relative thing. For years, only creased or completely mangled examples of these cards seemed available anywhere. Retailers didn't have much trouble selling off hammered cards for exorbitant prices, simply because they were so scarce. And, then, like with so many other type cards, alot of uncreased examples surfaced out of nowhere. My find was truly amazing, given the scarcity, but it demonstrates that there are really still cards out there waiting to be found. Most of them are with the families of the original owners, often unknown to them (somewhere in storage). I do not think there are that many ungraded examples in private collections that were acquired before the year 1999 (and even this estimation is relative). I feel that most of those that are "ultra clean" are graded (or were, and then were broken out of slabs after they were purchased), and surfaced within the last few years. I think alot of obscure material has surfaced in the last few years. My personal take is that it is largely due to the internet. People in remote locations have suddenly become educated about the true values of cards. The days of a family inheriting a hoard of rare cards and selling them for $100 is pretty much gone by. Most people go online, research the values, and then, paradoxically, try and sell it for the high value price they see listed for it.
I remember a story I was told about a year ago. Two children, both adults, inherited the estate of their parents, in Long Island, New York. The kids did not live nearby, and they were settled to a point where they simply didn't want to deal with the liquidation of the property and belongings. They called a friend of mine, and he was secured to review the contents and do an inventory. During this process, a box was found, in a false cubby space, behind a drawer, in an old bureau. The contents of the box were T206s, basically untouched. Among the cards were a number of Hall of Famers, and several rare variations. The condition of the cards was so great that, an independent expert had to be brought in to evaluate the cards and verify that they were authentic. Everyone was basically sure they were, but wanted independent review of that assumption, because the cards were so amazingly clean. Anyway, to make a long story even longer (and you know a dramatic ending is approaching), the cards were "real". My friend notified the daughter he had come across some old cards and was having them reviewed. Now the sad part: Apparently the son had a history of trouble with "the law". As fate would have it, he ran in to some very messy people at a bar one night, and he ended up in jail. He had a long history, and a number of previous offenses, so his bail was set pretty high. See where this is going, yet? He called his sister, and she did not have access to the kind of cash he needed. She met with a bondsman and reviewed her assets. During the discussion, she mentioned, completely by coincidence, that there were some old cards in her parents' estate. As the stroy goes, the bondsman smelled a winner, arranged to see the cards, and agreed to post bail in exchange for the lot of cards. The sister agreed, having no idea what the cards may be worth, and figured it was the best solution. My recollection is that the bail was less than $5,000, but I cannot recall. I do remember this - the estimated value of the cards was closer to $125,000. Where the cards went, whatever happened to them - anyone's guess. But, it reminds me that there are still "finds" out there, and that there is always the possibility of a new group of exceptional cards coming in to the market.
Thanks for sticking with me through the whole message!
JV
05-08-2003, 01:48 PM
Sweet E105 Mello Mint Nap Lajoie
Similar Threads
Linear Mode
