Identity of the Titus Hoarder Revealed!

[spacktrack]

Well, not really, but kind of. We received a package the other day that we knew just had to be shared with Net54. A woman cleaning out her family's attic in Pennsylvania stumbled upon a small box of tobacco cards and contacted us to see if they might have any value. She said they were almost all of the same player - Titus, Philadelphia. We asked for pictures and couldn't help but laugh when we got them. The collection consisted of 56 John Titus cards, including 13 T206s. She packed them up and sent them to us, and the entire lot will be sold in our spring auction. Before the bidding opens, I thought you guys would get a kick out of seeing the pictures. The backs are all pretty standard, with one T206 Old Mill and one T205 American Beauty. It turns out that Titus was from the same area as the family (Schuylkill County, PA), which likely explained why someone made a conscious effort to collect his cards and amass what very well might be the second largest collection of T206 Titus cards out there.

Brian Dwyer
Robert Edward Auctions

[ullmandds]

That's hilarious!

[vintagehofrookies]

thats awesome, I love the stache!

[gregr2]

That's awesome!

[Michael Peich]

I love card sleuthing! Great post, Brian.

Cheers,
Mike

[wolf441]

So, if there are/were two Titus collectors out there....

would that mean we've got double Titii hoarders??

I'll be here all week, be sure to try the veal and don't forget to tip your waitress.

[mybuddyinc]

Better start selling your Tulip bulbs to get some return, before the entire bubble pops !!!!!!!!!

[scooter729]

Oops, tried to post pics directly here, but that didn't work so well....

[barrysloate]

Well I guess the still unknown Titus hoarder will have to go after this whole grouping, otherwise someone else may end up with more Tituses than him. You can't make this stuff up.

[OldEnglishD]

Too bad they didn't live near H. Wagner....

[freakhappy]

Awesome!

Titus was double printed

It's crazy that the prices of this random common has skyrocketed. I can see double the price just for popularity sake, but it's gotten kinda stupid imo

[rocarroll]

One of my dreams. Going into an attic and finding a box with tobacco cards in it. I wonder how many more are hidden out there.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by rocarroll

One of my dreams. Going into an attic and finding a box with tobacco cards in it. I wonder how many more are hidden out there.

I think this is something we all dream about...although in this case...if I found this...I'd be disappointed!!!!!

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by rocarroll

One of my dreams. Going into an attic and finding a box with tobacco cards in it. I wonder how many more are hidden out there.

When we all die, I am sure those left behind will be bumfazzled by the collections we have in every nook and cranny. Speaking personally, I have collectibles EVERYWHERE.

[Piratedogcardshows]

There is a collection at a Richmond Museum donated by a local collector decades ago that has quite a group of T206 Revelle's in it. I counted 18 in his binders with multiples of all other Virginia League T206's.

Thanks for sharing Brian I always like to hear about prewar finds no matter the value/player/issue.

[mettoy66]

I will assume if they came out of st. Clair, PA they belonged to my cousin who passed away last year. He was related to Titus as am I. I wondered what happened to the cards. Know it seems I have an answer.

[HOF Auto Rookies]

Omg so awesome!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

Well I guess the still unknown Titus hoarder will have to go after this whole grouping, otherwise someone else may end up with more Tituses than him. You can't make this stuff up.

That's what I was thinking. You could have 'the Titus hoarder' competing with guys who want to win the lot and sell it to him piece by piece. Could be very interesting.

[HOF Auto Rookies]

Originally Posted by Runscott

That's what I was thinking. You could have 'the Titus hoarder' competing with guys who want to win the lot and sell it to him piece by piece. Could be very interesting.

+1 exactly my thoughts


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bbsports]

It may be hoarding because there are so many Titus cards in general. However, 13 T206 ungraded Titus cards, I wouldn't consider hoarding. In the T206 set, there are many individual players that collectors have 40-50 of that particular player. It may be because there's a relative in the family of that particular player or it may be that person's favorite player. In the hobby today this is getting to be pretty common.

[thisisradioclash]

That's really cool!

Anyone else think John Titus looks like Nicolas Cage in those cards...

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by thisisradioclash

That's really cool!

Anyone else think John Titus looks like Nicolas Cage in those cards...

Oh yes.

From the Tobacco celebrity look alike thread last summer..

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by bbsports

It may be hoarding because there are so many Titus cards in general. However, 13 T206 ungraded Titus cards, I wouldn't consider hoarding. In the T206 set, there are many individual players that collectors have 40-50 of that particular player. It may be because there's a relative in the family of that particular player or it may be that person's favorite player. In the hobby today this is getting to be pretty common.

Obviously he wasn't serious as the first thing he said in the message was "Well, not really", but the bold comment made me wonder just how many T206 cards of the same common player do you need for it to be called hoarding?

[iwantitiwinit]

Originally Posted by bbsports

It may be hoarding because there are so many Titus cards in general. However, 13 T206 ungraded Titus cards, I wouldn't consider hoarding. In the T206 set, there are many individual players that collectors have 40-50 of that particular player. It may be because there's a relative in the family of that particular player or it may be that person's favorite player. In the hobby today this is getting to be pretty common.

I totally agree, 13 cards of a single t206 seems rather minimal to me. Think about all those collectors making back runs. Many runs will consist of more than 13 cards.

If I make the assumption that 1,000,000 T206's are held either in private collections and say 25% of those are for sale in one way or another, thats approximately 500 cards of each player. Holding 13 of a potential 500 that could be sold is only 2.6%, and I think many of us would agree my estimates for the population of cards is low.

The fact that one individual is currently purchasing virtually every Titus card at whatever price is required to be the top bidder obviously does impact the market greatly.

In my opinion hoarding a certain player(s) is a relative smart practice if you are looking to push up values and have the patience to mete out the cards later on at a slow pace. The practicality of hoarding a single player(s) from a financial standpoint makes sense only if available cards come to market slowly or in a single lot.

[biggsdaddycool]

That just goes to show people that there are far more unknown cards out there than anyone realizes. The popular consensus, in the past couple years anyhow, has been that 95% of all cards are known. I disagree. Just like most people errantly believe all Wagners have been found. I am sure there are still items out there being stashed in attics, safe deposit boxes and any number of other places.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by biggsdaddycool

That just goes to show people that there are far more unknown cards out there than anyone realizes. The popular consensus, in the past couple years anyhow, has been that 95% of all cards are known. I disagree. Just like most people errantly believe all Wagners have been found. I am sure there are still items out there being stashed in attics, safe deposit boxes and any number of other places.

Totally agree!

[biggsdaddycool]

I actually have had this disagreement with major vintage collectors, and then another batch of things show up at an auction house. I would even go so far as to say 60+%, OR MORE, is unknown to the community at large.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by biggsdaddycool

I actually have had this disagreement with major vintage collectors, and then another batch of things show up at an auction house. I would even go so far as to say 60+%, OR MORE, is unknown to the community at large.

You may be pushin' it!

[trdcrdkid]

If by "known" you mean "known to the grading services and/or auction houses", then I definitely agree. I'm certainly not the only one with a raw collection that I've had for many years, as the "T and E cards in binders" thread demonstrates.

[biggsdaddycool]

Well, yes, to the graders, and as far as raw cards know to the community at large. I know many collectors who have never made their collections known outside of a few close confidant.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by mettoy66

I will assume if they came out of st. Clair, PA they belonged to my cousin who passed away last year. He was related to Titus as am I. I wondered what happened to the cards. Know it seems I have an answer.

Seems to have gone somewhat unnoticed ...(except for Brent, who didn't quote ) ...and I might add it's kind of cool knowing provenance. I offer my sympathy for your cousin passing if these are in fact those cards? A lot of times that is the way the cards come out, unfortunately.

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by z28jd

Obviously he wasn't serious as the first thing he said in the message was "Well, not really", but the bold comment made me wonder just how many T206 cards of the same common player do you need for it to be called hoarding?

The first statement just shows how quickly some people automatically think of t206 even when it wasn't mentioned that way. The thread title just states "Identity of the Titus Hoarder Revealed!", then follows up with "Well, not really, but kind of." Meaning it isn't the hoarder you would be thinking of on this board, which would be a Titus t206 hoarder, but this is a hoarder of just Titus in general.

As far as how many constitutes a hoard to me is based off of what is in a common non specific collection and the proportion to the rest of the collection. Most people wouldn't have more than 3-5 of a common subject if they don't have at least a few other duplicates of other subjects. So if you have 5 duplicates or more of any given subject without a single duplicates of any other card I think you have started a small hoard. Of course this just becomes subjective.

I have aprox 10 (I just keep adding to the pile so it could be higher) of a single card, yet it is the only card I have duplicates of so to me that is a small hoard.

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by mettoy66

I will assume if they came out of st. Clair, PA they belonged to my cousin who passed away last year. He was related to Titus as am I. I wondered what happened to the cards. Know it seems I have an answer.

Do you have collection of Titus as well?

[mettoy66]

Originally Posted by bn2cardz

Do you have collection of Titus as well?

A very minor one!!!!

[darwinbulldog]

Originally Posted by the 'stache

Oh yes.

From the Tobacco celebrity look alike thread last summer..

I'm not sure which of you bought these from LOTG last fall, but I like the Walter Johnson with Tobey Maguire photo quite a bit.
http://loveofthegameauctions.com/Ite.../3830a_lg.jpeg

[mettoy66]

Originally Posted by Leon

Seems to have gone somewhat unnoticed ...(except for Brent, who didn't quote ) ...and I might add it's kind of cool knowing provenance. I offer my sympathy for your cousin passing if these are in fact those cards? A lot of times that is the way the cards come out, unfortunately.

Thank you for the kind words. My cousin was not a baseball card collector. He was an accumulator of things that interested him. His Father was the same way. He had a vast interest in all things St. Clair, PA and our cousin Titus fell right into that genre.

I do know he started his Titus "hoard" with the advent of eBay. Buy stuff and never get out of your chair! He also had a lot of local history items and it is a shame as many went off to auction last summer. I was living out of state for several years and was out of the loop on all this.

To be quite honest, I think he would be rather amused at the huge interest in Titus's T206 and his newfound popularity. I know for a fact he did not buy these to corner the market or anything like that. He bought them because they where Titus's.

From what I can gather Titus was a very private man in his retirement. Not much is known of his life after baseball other then he left a widow when he died in 1943. That is the era I am interested in, but all the people that would have the answers have passed. Sadly I was not interested in Titus when they where alive.

[jbsports33]

Thanks for the info Brain! Wow - maybe this will mean the prices will come down a bit for the T206 - unless the real hoarder buys them all

Jimmy

[Joshchisox08]

My dad has a Titus PSA 2 that I'm trying to pry off his hands somehow as he isn't nearly as interested in the t206's as I am.

[yanksfan09]

Originally Posted by jbsports33

Thanks for the info Brain! Wow - maybe this will mean the prices will come down a bit for the T206 - unless the real hoarder buys them all

Jimmy

Not unless he can beat my bid of.....

[clydepepper]

Some day in the far future, someone will discover my 'stash' (sorry for the obvious pun), but I don't think there will be any drastic effect on the SMR.

[Paul S]

Okay, now that Titus is burst, I am waiting for the Pelty family collection.

[mrvster]

[joeadcock]

Originally Posted by mrvster

+1

[j_cook]

The real hoarder is probably like "ugh, 13 more cards I have to buy." Also, I never realized Titus was Nicholas Cage's grandfather.

[Republicaninmass]

Originally Posted by j_cook

Also, I never realized Titus was Nicholas Cage's grandfather.

but he did his break from a family member in the business


Francis Ford Coppola

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by bn2cardz

Do you have collection of Titus as well?

As many titties as I can get.

That's "Titus" Mr. Connery.

Not much for the ladies are you Trebek?

[mybuddyinc]

"Real Hoarder's" Over/Under ---> $200 (~$250 with commission + s/h) per card.

[the 'stache]

I'm going to favorite this thread, just in case we one day learn that it was actually Nicolas Cage hoarding the Titus cards.

[bundy462]

Interesting thread, I grew up a stone's throw from St. Clair and never knew Titus was born and died there.

Every day is a school day! Good stuff.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by biggsdaddycool

That just goes to show people that there are far more unknown cards out there than anyone realizes. The popular consensus, in the past couple years anyhow, has been that 95% of all cards are known. I disagree. Just like most people errantly believe all Wagners have been found. I am sure there are still items out there being stashed in attics, safe deposit boxes and any number of other places.

even more weird are the more modern cards..people buying 1970s cards with 'low pop' but the pop gets added to all the time...heck lots of unopened packs out there was well. for cards in that era....at least in the t206s there aren't 1000s of unopened packs that can have cards that can be added to POP