low value Ewing w mascot (N172)?

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Posted By: julie

I bought a N172 ewing with mascot from Shoebox last week, and it is a lovely card. Jimmy looks kinda scared, and Ewing looks both amused and affectionate--also, the size difference is funny. Also, the chair is very nice. I paid 3K for the GAI 6.5--and then later looked it up in the 2003 guide. $1000...reg. Ewing, $3000! Called Mark Macrae, and he said that was absurd, if anything there should be a premium on the E. w mascot. But I looked back over the past 4 years of Catalogues, and the price gap has been widening between reg. ewing and E. w mascot! 3 years ago, they both cost $500; then $2000 and $1800, then something else--and now my card is supposed to be worth 1/3 of the regular Ewing. Any thougthts on this? Did I get robbed/ I don't FEEL robbed!

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Posted By: jay behrens

any card with a midget should carry a premium :-p

Eddie Gadel cards would be worth a fortune

Jay

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Posted By: Tom L.

Freddie Patek cards, all 5'4" of them.

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Posted By: Bob Lemke

Julie, the new SCBC with its revamped Old Judge section carries both the Ewing N.L. and the Ewing/mascot at $2,100 in NM. My gut feeling is that demand is not as strong for the card with the mascot among those who want a "pure" career-contemporary card of the Hall of Famer. The market will settle the issue as time goes by.

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Posted By: Trevor Hocking

Julie, I'm sure we have all heard this many times before but it really amazes me on how many people forget it, "The price guides are just GUIDES" They're many so called N172 commons out there that will go for well over $1,000 in VG condition, with good photo quality of course. The Ewing/Mascot is one of my favorites. I was lucky enough to pick up a really sharp EX in the early 90's for pennies on the dollar of current market price. I find it really hard to spend over $2,000 on any N172 just because some grading company says is EX-MT. I think that $3,000 is a little excessive for that card but I have been out of the market for 7 mouths now, what do I know. It's hard to wait for a better deal to come around special when it comes with 19th cards that don't come around that often. I guess when it comes to the N172 set I just try to stay in the EX range with the best photo quality I can find. Don't get me wrong, I have most of my 19th century stuff graded, but if any graded over 80's they go on the auction block, unless they had sentimental value or were next to imposable to replace. Sorry that I'm getting a little winded, but now I guess you can tell that I'm a "19th century nut". I would love to see a scan of the card, I'm sure it's a gem. How many different players do you have from the N172 set? Please drop me a line I would love to hear what you have.
Trevor Hocking
trevor@synergystudios.tv

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Posted By: Jay Miller

Julie--The Ewing with Mascot is the most common (and probably the most popular) of the 11 Ewing poses. As to value I would say that, as an interesting pose, it is worth as much as any of the other poses. The catalogs were wrong if they discounted it. As a further note, any pose with a PL designation would carry a substantial premium to any 1887-1889 card. Interestingly enough, there is a PL Ewing with Mascot. Enjoy the card!

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Posted By: julie

.I have an S.F. Hess ewing, a Harper's Woodcut ewing, an A35 Ewing, a N172 crouching Ewing, and now an ewing w. mascot.

If somebody tells me that's a midget, I'll send it in to GAI and get it re-graded, and return it to Shoebox!...

I thought the expression on Ewing's face was very relevant to his career...

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Posted By: julie

Lew Lipset, the Encyclpedia of Baseball crads, volume 1, p.30: "Willie Halm, a young boy, served as Chicago's mascot (see illustrations, preceding page) and Willie Breslin was his counterpart in New York."

AND I also have a E. and R. Williams Ewing. If anyone wants to call the guy at the other end of it a racist bastard, be my guest! That's 6 Ewings (why this should make me an expert on mascots, I'm not sure...)

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Posted By: HalleyGator

I never pay any attention to what they say cards are worth. I always pay about 3 times the guide price to get the cards I want. But then again, I am an idiot and Jay Miller is glad of that fact.

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Posted By: julie

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Posted By: warshawlaw

When it comes to high grade 19th century stuff, throw away the guides. The only fair test is the auction block. want proof? offer a true near mint card at the guide price with a BIN and see how long it lasts.

My feeling is that a really nice 19th century HOFer is only going to go up in value over time, unless everything tanks, in which case we are all in deep doo doo.

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Posted By: runscott

Dealers are cognizant of the fact that there are some "high disposable income" collectors out there, who will pay close to whatever it takes to get a card they want. Next time you get a dealer catalog in the mail, check it out and you will see that there are loads of cards prices well above guide price, AND well above true market value. Does the fact that 2% (or whatever - some small number) of the collecting population is willing to pay these inflated prices mean that they are market value? In my opinion, no. If a card hangs around in a catalog for long enough at the inflated prices (no collectors with too much disposable income want it), and you offer the seller market value or below, you will usually become the new owner.

So let's say that Julie and I both really wanted a particular card, and we were each willing to pay $5K for it - does that make $5K the market value? What if no one else on the planet is willing to pay more than $2K for the same card? Or what if I was the ONLY collector on the planet willing to pay $5K for it and I was totally unaware of price guide prices - is $5K the market value? Or did I simply get ripped off?

Is it stupid for the seller to offer the card at $5K, hoping some "card value challenged" collector like me wanders into his web? Obviously not;however, I think it is morally reprehensible for a seller to repeatedly take advantage of someone like this who trusts them to offer fair prices.