Why are low grade 52 Pafkos so expensive

[darkhorse9]

First, I've always questioned the theory about the first and last cards in a set being harder to find in high grade due to rubber bands etc. I don't think kids in those days always had the first and last card in their collection and not all of them kept them in numerical order. That being said...

I understand why people pay top dollar for high grade 1952 Andy Pafko cards (accepting the rubber band theory), but low grade Pafkos are no less available than any other low grade common card. So why does that one get such high dollar bids?

The laws of supply and demand seem to go out the window on low grade 52 Pafko's.

[ALR-bishop]

There is at least one prior thread in here somewhere raising this issue. It is similar to the Mantle issue, there seems to be no shortage so why the high prices. The Mathews being the last card is at least a high number and not a DP like the Mantle.

More people collect this set just up to the high numbers, and those who collect the whole set often try to do the first series in both red and black back. Other than that, it seems to be hobby notion that the Pafko is card with a perceived premium value, particularly the black back version

[pawpawdiv9]

Its all about that Bruce Willis movie (He had to sell it for his daughter's wedding)

[toppcat]

I dunno either but it gives me a chance to show mine. I've always liked the background of this shot:

[JollyElm]

I will follow suit and show my black back (which is for trade )

1952Pafko.jpg

[Bestdj777]

While we are at it:

[Brianruns10]

The Pafko benefits from the same aura of value as the Mantle. So while the supply may seem to not reflect the demand, in reality there are a lot more people outside of the hobby who are interested in these particular cards, so the ratio of buyers to available copies is much higher than, say, buyers who want the Johnny Kucab card, which is probably rarer than the Pafko and the Mantle, yet worth just a fraction.

Personally though I do feel the card is overpriced up through the PSA 4 level. PSA 5s are not so bad as far as price go. But PSA 6 and up DEFINITELY reflect their value. The PSA 6 is valued at 2K by PSA, but I've only seen two come up on Ebay in three years. So personally I'd pay that in a heartbeat to get a PSA 6.