Cool-looking Cuban lot in Sloate auction

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Posted By: runscott 

I don't know much about Cuban cards, but lot #87 in Barry Sloate's auction seems like a good way to get started. Anyone know anything about these cards, or their value?

Also, to look for rare Cuban cards on ebay, I search for the following: cabanas,punch,billiken,"tomas gutierrez",nacionales,aguilitas. Am I headed in the right direction? Thanks!

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Posted By: Kenny Cole

That is a nice lot with the Cabanas being the cream of the crop. Players from Habana (Red) are the scarcest, Almendares (blue) are next, and Tigers (yellow) are the most common. I've never seen the Habana Mesa card that's in this lot before. My guess is that its worth $500 or so, maybe a little more. The Habana cards are really hard to find. There is a Habana card of Pete Hill, and it is just AWESOME!!! I only know of one copy though.

I paid about $300 for an Amendares Garcia in much worse shape than the one in the auction a couple of years ago. Detroit players, including O'Laughlin, usually go for around $150-$200. I paid about that for a real nice O'Laughlin back in 1999. My best guess is that the Aguilitas Artistica Miguel Angel card is worth around $200. I would value the T.G. Petty at around $250-$300. I don't know about the Decatur because I don't collect the pitcher set.

When I search on ebay, I generally use "Cuba* baseball." That seems to pick most cards up. Sometimes I'll run the other searches you mentioned, but they don't pick anything additional up very often.

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Posted By: Ryan Christoff

I'd essentially agree with Kenny's assessment of this lot. Here are a few notes:

* He's exactly right about the Habana (red) Cabanas cards being tougher. Out of the 15 Habana cards in set, there are only 2 or 3 that have multiple copies known. The rest are 1 of each. At least that I've seen.

* The Mamelo Garcia card (blue) should be the most valuable card in the lot even though the Mesa is much scarcer. He was a catcher who led the league in batting 4 years in a row (1904 to 1907) playing for 3 different teams. No one else ever won 4 consecutive batting titles.

* The Tigers Cabanas cards are grey, not yellow. Kenny's prices are accurate.

* $200 for the 1926-27 Aguilitas Gonzalez might be a tad high at the moment but certainly worth it if card is clean and the image is sharp as it is a photographic card.

* The 1923-24 Tomas Gutierrez Petty card SHOULD be worth $200 to $250 as stated, but I think that's more than the current market would bring. That's a very tough issue and one of my favorites, but I just don't think there's a large market for rare Cuban type cards...YET. As more people become aware that these cards exist it's possible that this market (rare types) will emerge.

* The Diaz card of Decatur is difficult because it's not an issue I track as religiously. The set is primarily Major League pitchers (a few never played in the Majors) and there are no Cuban or Negro Leaguers. I'm offered these occasionally, but individually and in lots, but never buy them as that's not the focus of my collection. I'd be interested to hear the level of interest that board members have in these. I was recently offered a group of about 50 which included Walter Johnson and Grover Cleveland Alexander but the price was crazy. At least I thought so.

Not sure if any of this helps. I was hoping to steal this lot if it snuck by everyone but I guess that's not going to happen now so I probably won't bid.

No, wait...is that collusion???

-Ryan

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Posted By: runscott

As you predicted, I haven't found much of anything over the last year using the search I described.

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Posted By: Kenny Cole

Ryan,

Maybe we could could collude together on this lot. It is so much easier than colluding separately. I only want the Mesa though. LMK.

Kenny

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Posted By: Elliot

Is everybody thinking the same thing that I'm thinking?