Zeenuts?

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Posted By: Joe D.

Any zeenut nuts out there?

I like the way they look, and I am thinking of jumping in and starting a collection of these. I am thinking the first year set... A crazy endevour? or a somewhat attainable set to start? Or is a different year Zeenut a nicer looking set? (any opinions posted are appreciated)

I may be spreading myself too thin... but the PayPal account is temporarily up - and the wife doesn't know about it so maybe....

priority -

1. T200s
2. Zeenuts?

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Hey there...

Have you considered trying for a Zeenut from each year of issue first? That way you can see/hold the progression... and you could then decide which year to work on if you like one set far and beyond the others.

Jim Horne published a plastic holder book about Zeenuts that would be of interest to you. I'd suggest trying to buy one of the old books, or at least trying to get a photocopy of it. Jim should get compensation for that, if he's still around.

Once you start looking at Zeenuts you'll want to get a book or two about the Pacific Coast League. There are several good ones. A doctor friend loaned me a books on tape version of one, and it was fantastic for me, bored my kids to tears once, though... I can't recall the name of it. Dennis Snelling's book, The Pacific Coast League, A Statistical History, 1903-1957 is nice. And there are others.

But be careful, the rascals are a bit addictive, and there are a zillion of them. Most of the Zeenuts that survived look well worn. Rough corners, folds, torn backs... some card collectors look at the drab cards of minor leaguers, cards in horrible shape, and they turn away. Collecting them is like discovering an extra room in an old house... "never knew about this, how could I have overlooked this??"

Good luck chasing them!

Frank.

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Posted By: Judge Dred (Fred)

Franks got a good point there. A card from each year is a pretty good start. I like your idea of collecting the first year set because you wouldn't have to worry about finding the cards with the coupons. I think most hard core Zeenut collectors will take them any way they can get them. There's a Lefty O'Doul Zeenut nut on board that will tell you exactly that.

Does anyone want to chime in and give their opinion on the most expensive Zeenut (not trying to hijack the thread, just adding to it). My guess is the Claxton card. I'm sure others might say a DeMaggio (with coupon).

Good luck with the Zeenuts!!!

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Posted By: Zach Rice

I started collecting zeenuts the way Frank mentioned, one from each year, and I think it is a great way to collect them. It gives you the chance to have a single card from over 20 different issues, many being completely different from the prior year. Most of the earlier issues are great looking, not saying the issues from the late 20s and 30s aren't, but they just don't have the same flare the others do. My personal favorite is the 1918 set.



I guess i'm a sucker for a card with red borders.

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Posted By: peter ullman

As a type collector...i'm going for 1 from each year. they have proven to be addictive, difficult and can lead to other things!

pete in mn

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Posted By: Andrew

I guess some of us have similar collecting styles, mine is one Portland player from 1911-1938. What's the consensus on the toughest year, I've heard 1918 is right up there. Any idea if Portland is represented in every year? Lastly, the last two years are often indicated as 1937-1938, was there overlap, anyway to distinguish between the two years?

“A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.” - English Proverb

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Posted By: edacra

Zeenuts are great looking cards. Especially when they're beat up.

There's a card shop in San Francisco that had some really nice Zeenuts, probably on consignment (and I hate to mention the name, because the guy ripped me off through most of my childhood, but he is on Ebay, and one of the few with a lot of PCL stuff).

Zeenuts were those cards you had to ask for, because even in the Bay Area, few dealers would bother putting them out. Or if they did, it would be because they had one stray, and they looked old and cool due to their sepia tint. In terms of making a set - my experience with most PCL stuff is you either see that single card, or a huge lot - with little in between.

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Posted By: fkw

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Posted By: Joe D.

I am going to start picking these up!

The red border one is pretty cool looking... and is that really Joe DiMaggio?

I think I will start with trying to get one from each year... then I can decide which year I want to concentrate on after that.

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Posted By: jackgoodman

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but if you'll allow a brief side-road: A dealer friend of mine picked up a DeMaggio with coupon at the 1987 National from an elderly gentleman he had been dealing with over the years. When he received it, Mr. Mint, who was set up a couple of tables over, demanded that he sell it to him. When my friend told Mr. Mint what he could do with his demand, Mr. Mint became completely "unglued" and cussed and threatened my friend. Not a pretty sight but I did like seeing Mr. Mint turn beet red. It was a good color for him.....

Now back to our main thread. Thanks for the indulgence.

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Hey there Jack Goodman,

Please convey my gratitude to your friend who denied Mr. Mint. A sincere thank you.

Frank.

And Joe D, you really have to be careful on getting a Home Run Kisses card, or a red border Zeenut. They are even more addictive than the "normal" Zeenuts.

I like the idea of focusing on a card a year for a particular team... That makes sense. However then logical progression from that you have you collecting all cards of that team... and then you're hooked.

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Posted By: Zach Rice

Here are a few more of my favorites that I own. A creaseless 1925 Penner and a 1913 Hoffman. The 1913 set maybe one of my favorite years, great sepia photos and a nicely toned background.

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Posted By: leon

I am going for one of each year with coupon (of those that have them), at a nice leisurely pace. Note the cool writing on the back of Weaver, which came straight from the Trucker Boy find.......

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Posted By: warshawlaw

That would be me. I chase HOFers and popular players in Zeenuts; commons and sets never held any interest for me. You can see some of my Zeenuts here:

http://imageevent.com/exhibitman/frankleftyodoulcard

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Posted By: Paul

I don't want to start a thread on PSA bashing, but it's pretty funny that PSA went out of its way to describe Peter Ullman's 1912 Baker as a "vertical pose." Yeah, I guess if you rotate the card sideways so that PSA's label is sideways, Baker is standing vertically.

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Posted By: Andrew

So what's the toughest Zeenut's year?

“A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.” - English Proverb

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Posted By: Andy Cook

I believe 1918 is the toughest year because I think production was suspended midyear because of America's entrance into WWI. There are no known complete 1918 sets.

Andy

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Posted By: Tom Boblitt

type set in the last Robert Edward Auctions......minus the 1930 type which I subsequently found tucked away. I've also sold off about 400-500 of them recently in 3-4 big lots of 1926,1928 and 1929 lots of 60-80 each and then a lot individually. From what I found and what I've heard, the 1918's are very tough. When you search on ebay, you rarely see a 1918 out there.

The 1937-38's do overlap and for the most part the only way I know to determine the year would be if they still have the coupon attached. The hardest thing with collecting full years is like someone said earlier. You either find 1's or 100's of them. There's 2-3 people on the board with VERY advanced collections of them and Mark Macrae is THE subject on them.

As far as collecting 'sets' I think those late 1920's are the easiest (not a good word for Zeenuts) to complete. Be prepared to collect them in any condition because, for the most part, they just don't exist out there in EXMT to NRMT condition in big quantities.

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Posted By: jay behrens

It's hard to say what the most valuable Zeenut is. The obvious choices are DiMAggio, Thorpe and Claxton, but there are numerous one of a kind examples and if they ever hit the market, would go for huge sums of money. There are numerous collectors working on complete sets and these cards would draw very active bidding. Don't ask me what players/cards these are. I know a few, but like rare OJs, only the die hard collectors know the true rarities and gaurd the secret.

Jay

Growing old is not optional, growing up is.

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Posted By: Mark Macrae

Nice thread....... Joe- Frank's advice is a great summary. I'd recommend the Carlos Bauer PCL Encyclopedia over Snelling's book as it is more comprehensive. Caution about the facts, there are errors in both books.....Fred - Most expensive Zeenut does not mean most valuable Zeenut...Think about it...It will take most collectors 5-10 years to understand that statement.....Andrew - The 1933-36 and 1937-38 sets are lumped together as they feature an identical design. Once the coupon has been removed, with very few exceptions, there is no way of distinguishing them apart. 1938's did not have coupons, although a good percentage of surviving '37's have a clean seperation on the bottom edge........ Paul - While I'll agree with you most of the time regarding "Vertical / Horinzontal" designation, in this case there are two different Baker cards in the 1912 set, so such a designation is actually helpful.... Andy - While you are correct on 1918 being one of the toughest years, there are two complete sets documented in the hobby. That is, until a new variation or pose turns up.. ...Tom - 1928, 1931 and 1933 Sepia would probably be the easiest sets to collect, although as you correctly point out, "easiest" is not the right word....

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Posted By: Mark Macrae

Paul......I owe you an apology. A board member emailed me after my post & pointed out that PSA had indeed screwed up and identified the wrong card. While it USUALLY is helpful to designate such a variation (when appropriate), it would be nice if it was the correct pose to begin with...... Kudos to you for recognizing it & fire / humiliate the guy that slabbed it. 1911, 1912 & 1938 are the ONLY years of Zeenuts that should ever be considered for grading, unless the tab is intact... Most Zeenut collectors will promptly unslab any of those that enter their circle...

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Posted By: jP

im looking for any Frank Arrelanes zeenut cards he has some from the sets 1911-1917. if any one has any for sale or trade let me know, i have a few zeenuts from the 1926 season.

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Posted By: leon

Mark M.- as always thanks for your knowledgable reply. While I am reading your well thought out response I am thinking to myself (Has Mark breathed at least once while he wrote this whole thing? ) Evelyn Woodhead has nothing on you.

Jp- requests for cards really need to go in the BST pages....

thanks
moderator dude (leon)

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Posted By: Steve M.

it is obvious that there are a number of ways to collect Zeenuts. For those players whose PCL careers span several years I think one card from each year for a particular player is an interesting way to collect. For example I collect Harl Maggert (a/k/a Maggart) and have one for six of the seven years he appears in Zeenuts. (anyone got a 1915?). I have been picking up some 1911's of late but with the likes of Weaver in the set it makes set collection very difficult. Maybe I'll try the 1918's

Edited to say "Sorry Boss about the plug"

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Posted By: fkw

Does anyone know the story behind the 1911 Bohen card?

I remember seeing one offered a couple years back that was heavily trimmed and it still brought big $$. Was this just a short print card? Any ideal on how many are known?


Frank

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Posted By: Andrew

Mark,

What's the reasoning why only 1911, 1912, and 1938 should be considered for grading. Do SGC/PSA more scrutinize other years, do only those three look good in holders (subjective), or are higher grade examples only usually found from these three?

“A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.” - English Proverb

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Posted By: fkw

I would think its because those are the only 3 years there were no coupons on the cards.

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Posted By: jP

sure thing Leon. got too excited, zeenuts will make you go nuts!

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Posted By: Matthew

Hey Frank
Lipset had one several years ago trimmed down to the image. I can't remember the final amount but do remember that it was a LOT!

Leon, that Weaver looks like it came from the same source as some of mine.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/153652/thread/1149307405/last-1149375935/Gilliam+Squires+%26amp%3B+other+owners

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Posted By: Rhett Yeakley

I remember a while back we had a poll for stupidest picture on a card, and the T210 driving the invisible motorcycle won, anyways, if we ever have a round 2 I would like to make an early entry... 1913 Zeenut William Leard. Honestly, what exactly is this guy doing?

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

That is the postion a player takes at the plate for switch bunting. With that stance you can bunt from both sides of the plate.