Cuban Baseball Auctions

[Al C.risafulli]

For the last three weeks I've been on a cross-country road trip where I got to meet with collectors and friends in a bunch of different cities. During my stop in Denver I was fortunate enough to spend some time with Ryan Christoff, who was putting the finishing touches on his latest auction.

Not only was it cool to watch another auction owner in action, but it was a lot of fun to look at the material in his current auction. Ryan was kind enough to let me root through a lot of the stuff he's got in his collection as well as in this auction, and the rarity of a lot of it is just mind-boggling to me.

Thought I'd point it out here, partially as a plug for a friend who runs an honest auction and partially because it's so cool to see so many things in one place that you just don't see every day.

Link here.

-Al

[caramelcard]

Good reminder Al.

Just popped in a couple of bids.

Rob

[slidekellyslide]

Didn't know he had an auction going, just signed up and placed a bid.

[dstudeba]

Ryan has incredible stuff, and loves to educate about Cuban cards. Always enjoy seeing to him at the National.

[MVSNYC]

Very cool stuff! Thanks Al.

Good luck, Ryan!

[h2oya311]

Al - it was nice meeting you and your wife during your cross-country road trip! Best of luck with your upcoming (LOTG) auction! And you too, Ryan! Definitely two of the "good guys" in the hobby.

I hope you guys had a chance to discuss the different 1945-46 Caramelo Deportivo backs!

[Al C.risafulli]

Hi Derek:

It was great meeting you, too! We had a great time in your neck of the woods.

I'm just getting unpacked and moved into a new office space, so I have yet to show Ryan a copy of the back. We discussed it briefly while I was in Denver, however, and he's aware of the variation.

Best,
-Al

[ElCabron]

Just seeing this thread. Thanks for the post, Al.

Derek, which back variation are you talking about there are numerous ones in that set, some of them specific to each individual card. Can you send me a scan? I'd love to see it, especially if it's one I don't know about.

Thanks,

-Ryan

[h2oya311]

Originally Posted by ElCabron

Just seeing this thread. Thanks for the post, Al.

Derek, which back variation are you talking about there are numerous ones in that set, some of them specific to each individual card. Can you send me a scan? I'd love to see it, especially if it's one I don't know about.

Thanks,

-Ryan

Per your request, please see the thread below:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...light=caramelo

The back differences are related to an individual card (Minoso). Is one back rarer than the other and what players have different backs? Do you suspect that these were issued in different years?

Sorry to hijack the thread. To get back on topic, I love cubanbaseballauctions.com!

[jerseygary]

I can say from first hand experience that Ryan Christoff is one of the good guys in the hobby. When I was working on my book last year Ryan shared some extremely rare items with me to help me make a story more complete. Unfortunately many researchers in the hobby are very secretive and are unwilling to share - Ryan was the exact opposite.

If he's reading this thread again - Hi Ryan, I hope you saw your name mentioned in the acknowledgements chapter of my book!

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by jerseygary

Unfortunately many researchers in the hobby are very secretive and are unwilling to share - Ryan was the exact opposite.

This is the reason I quit SABR back in the late 90s...or maybe early 2000s. I was trying to research the Nebraska Indians before there was much of anything available on the internet...I reached out to many people listed in the directory and not one of them ever contacted me back. They were unwilling to share or they didn't have any information for me, but one thing is certain, not one single one had the courtesy to contact me either way.

[buymycards]

I love the Cuban cards. Cool auction!

[jerseygary]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

This is the reason I quit SABR back in the late 90s...or maybe early 2000s. I was trying to research the Nebraska Indians before there was much of anything available on the internet...I reached out to many people listed in the directory and not one of them ever contacted me back. They were unwilling to share or they didn't have any information for me, but one thing is certain, not one single one had the courtesy to contact me either way.

You ain't kidding Dan. However I was fortunate to meet more friendlier SABR members than not-friendly and am still a member today. Maybe I was just lucky. I remember years ago when I was doing a story on Chief Johnson you were more than generous with your knowledge of the Nebraska Indians, even putting up with my obscure questions regarding their uniforms. For what it's worth, I put you in the rarified category of "good guys"!

[ElCabron]

Originally Posted by h2oya311

Per your request, please see the thread below:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...light=caramelo

The back differences are related to an individual card (Minoso). Is one back rarer than the other and what players have different backs? Do you suspect that these were issued in different years?

Hi Derek,

I didn't see that thread. I'll post in greater detail with some scans in that thread when I get a chance. In the future, if you make a post or see a post about Cuban cards here, it might not be a bad idea to send me a link or point me to it. I don't check the board every day and sometimes miss threads like that. There's a good chance I know the answer or can get the answer.

Anyway, as far as the 1945-46 Caramelo Deportivo backs go:

That is indeed a back variation. There are 18 different cards with that variation. The biggest ones are Miñoso, Tiant, and Maglie. All three of those can be found in roughly equal numbers with each back, so while it is definitely a rare back variation, it is not particularly rare for those individual cards. I have an example of the Maglie with this back in my current auction. For a few of the 18 that have this back, some are actually much easier to find with this back than the normal back. For a few, only a few examples exist with this back. They were not issued in different years, but I believe the ones with that back were from earlier print runs. Usually, when an album has any with that back, it has several of them.

In addition to the 18 cards that have that variation (text beginning with "Obsequio at top, instead of number at top) there are 30 different cards in the set that have tiny variations within the text that are impossible to explain and are specific to each individual card. Some of those variations are significantly more scarce that the regular versions. These are tiny variations, mostly in the spacing and setting of the text (not the text itself), and I will post some scans and explain further in the other thread. But the numbers on those look more like 2 examples out of 18 I compared, or 1 out of 8, or 3 out of 11. They are not 50/50 like many of the 18 that have the other variation.

Anyway, hope that helps some for now.

-Ryan

[bobbvc]

Bummed out I couldn't bid despite signing up two days ago.

[ElCabron]

Originally Posted by bobbvc

Bummed out I couldn't bid despite signing up two days ago.

What???

[bobbvc]

Got this but never cleared to bid-
(bobbvc,

Thank you. You have completed your registration at
Ryan Christoff - Cuban Baseball Auctions.

Please note, even though your registration is complete,
you will not be able to bid until we approve your
registration. Notification of your credit approval
will be made by email in as timely a manner as possible.
Feel free to contact us if it takes longer than 72 hours.)

Not 72 but did register 60 hours ago.

[packs]

Great stuff in this auction. I was happy to win the Toleteros Cepeda.

[richardcards]

emailed no response
pm
los fosforos la auroa sungo

[BeanTown]

Ryan has always been a top notch guy. Plus, he is willing to share knowledge and give you an unbias opinion which makes him real. I was missing emails from him and the reason was I did not change my old email address to my new one. Once, I got ahold of him it was fixed ASAP!

[h2oya311]

Thanks Ryan - looking forward to your back variation response to my prior thread. But your info in this one completely answers my specific question so THaNK You!

I got shut out in this past auction, but primarily because I am now a west coaster and didn't think the auction would end before 10 my time. Oops!

[Leon]

cool card!! Ryan has also helped me quite a bit on Cuban issues. One of the best.

Originally Posted by packs

Great stuff in this auction. I was happy to win the Toleteros Cepeda.

[triwak]

Was kinda bummed I lost out on the Buck O'Neil, but love these auctions. Always very informative write-ups.

[autocentral]

Great auction. Won three lots. Regretting not bidding more aggressively on other lots I wanted. But really happy with adding some nice stuff to my collection.









-Nick

[BeanTown]

Nice three lots Nick... This was 1 of my 3 winning lots. Thurman looks like a cross between Chapman the Reds closer and Dwight Howard!!

[ElCabron]

Originally Posted by bobbvc

Got this but never cleared to bid-
(bobbvc,

Thank you. You have completed your registration at
Ryan Christoff - Cuban Baseball Auctions.

Please note, even though your registration is complete,
you will not be able to bid until we approve your
registration. Notification of your credit approval
will be made by email in as timely a manner as possible.
Feel free to contact us if it takes longer than 72 hours.)

Not 72 but did register 60 hours ago.

Man, I can't believe I missed this. So sorry, Bob. I approve most people within a few minutes. Hours at the most. I just completely missed it and didn't see that you'd registered. There were 5 people that registered after you that got approved. That probably sucks to hear, though. I wish you'd sent me an email, or even posted in this thread BEFORE the auction ended. Anyway, I have no clue when my next auction will be, but you have a $50 auction credit if you choose to bid in it. Just remind me. My bad.

-Ryan

[bobbvc]

Thanks Ryan. Not a huge Cuban collector but would have knocked one lot up at least a few bids higher. Not always around the computer and just kind of assumed I'd be able to bid. Live and learn... Had a nice chat with you at your booth at the last National on the West Coast in Anaheim a few years back so I assumed it wasn't personal. Will take you up on that $50 credit though. Thanks for responding. And if the National ever comes back West, hope to see you there.

[richardcards]

pm sent