T206 HOF tiers

[Throttlesteer]

Over the past few years, we've seen some surges in several T206 hall of famers. I know this discussion has been brought up in the past, but I think some things have changed since then. What would you consider the "tiers" of T206 HOFers if you had to group them by perceived demand. Let's look at it from the standpoint of players (not poses/variations) and exclude the super rarities (e.g. Wagner, Plank, etc..). My initial thought is:

Tier 1 - Ty Cobb
Tier 2 - Walter Johnson, Cy Young
Tier 3 - Mathewson, Speaker
Tier 4 - Lajoie, E. Collins
Tier 5 - M. Brown, E. Walsh, A. Joss, W. Keeler, Z. Wheat, J. Chesbro
Tier 6 - S. Crawford, C. Bender, J. Tinker, J. Evers, F. Chance
Tier 7 - Everyone else

I realize the portraits skew everything a bit. A portrait Lajoie could be considered Tier 3 or a Mathewson portrait in Tier 2. But, if we're just looking at the players and the current conditions, where am I off?

[mrvster]

what you have compiled....pretty close

[sterlingfox]

I'd get rid of Tier 4 and push Eddie Collins down / LaJoie up.

[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by sterlingfox

I'd get rid of Tier 4 and push Eddie Collins down / LaJoie up.

I agree with this and I would merge Tiers 5&6 and just make them all a single Tier 4 and add Bender & Baker (i.e., HOFers that matter). After these guys, you have the Jennings, Wallace, Beckley, J Collins, etc who are HOFers but are (in my opinion) glorified commons.

[Baseball Rarities]

Personally, I would group Mathewson with Johnson and Young.

[trdcrdkid]

I agree that there's no way Eddie Collins belongs in a tier with Lajoie. He's treated as a mid-tier HOFer by the market, despite his great stats. Below are the current SMR prices for a PSA 5 of each T206 card of these players, grouped by the OP's suggested tiers. Clearly Cobb is in a class of his own, followed by Young and WaJo. Matty could arguably go in that second tier as well, and Speaker is not far behind. After that comes Lajoie, then Tinker-Evers-Chance, then (arguably) one tier containing the rest of these players, including Collins. Some other players would also belong in that tier, like Home Run Baker ($450 for a PSA 5, higher than Collins). Of course, SMR prices don't necessarily correspond directly to the market (you could probably double most of them), but they seem to be a reasonably accurate measure of relative value.

Cobb green: 15,000
Cobb red: 5,750
Cobb bat on: 5,750
Cobb bat off: 5,500

Young portrait: 3,500
Young bare hand: 1,950
Young glove: 1,750
WaJo portrait: 3,000
WaJo hands at chest: 1,650

Matty portrait: 3,000
Matty white cap: 1,750
Matty dark cap: 1,350
Speaker: 1,350

Lajoie portrait: 750
Lajoie bat: 625
Lajoie throwing: 550
E. Collins: 425

M. Brown Cubs: 485
M. Brown portrait: 475
M. Brown Chicago: 425
Walsh: 525
Joss portrait: 500
Joss hands at chest: 425
Keeler portrait: 650
Keeler bat: 550
Wheat: 500
Chesbro: 450

Crawford throwing 400
Crawford bat: 375
Bender portrait: 450
Bender trees: 400
Bender no trees: 375
Tinker portrait: 700
Tinker knees: 600
Tinker bat off: 495
Tinker bat on: 495
Evers portrait: 575
Evers Cubs: 515
Evers Chicago: 490
Chance yellow: 575
Chance red: 550
Chance batting: 450

[Throttlesteer]

Some good insight and research. Maybe my inclusion of Collins is wishful thinking. I don't understand why he's not more sought after, given his performance and the lone, beautiful red portrait in the T206 set.

I did forget Baker, who seems to garner more attention than players with similar output. Admittedly, his mid-grade examples don't seem to come up as often and they always have big price tags.

[Yoda]

Originally Posted by trdcrdkid

I agree that there's no way Eddie Collins belongs in a tier with Lajoie. He's treated as a mid-tier HOFer by the market, despite his great stats. Below are the current SMR prices for a PSA 5 of each T206 card of these players, grouped by the OP's suggested tiers. Clearly Cobb is in a class of his own, followed by Young and WaJo. Matty could arguably go in that second tier as well, and Speaker is not far behind. After that comes Lajoie, then Tinker-Evers-Chance, then (arguably) one tier containing the rest of these players, including Collins. Some other players would also belong in that tier, like Home Run Baker ($450 for a PSA 5, higher than Collins). Of course, SMR prices don't necessarily correspond directly to the market (you could probably double most of them), but they seem to be a reasonably accurate measure of relative value.

Cobb green: 15,000
Cobb red: 5,750
Cobb bat on: 5,750
Cobb bat off: 5,500

Young portrait: 3,500
Young bare hand: 1,950
Young glove: 1,750
WaJo portrait: 3,000
WaJo hands at chest: 1,650

Matty portrait: 3,000
Matty white cap: 1,750
Matty dark cap: 1,350
Speaker: 1,350

Lajoie portrait: 750
Lajoie bat: 625
Lajoie throwing: 550
E. Collins: 425

M. Brown Cubs: 485
M. Brown portrait: 475
M. Brown Chicago: 425
Walsh: 525
Joss portrait: 500
Joss hands at chest: 425
Keeler portrait: 650
Keeler bat: 550
Wheat: 500
Chesbro: 450

Crawford throwing 400
Crawford bat: 375
Bender portrait: 450
Bender trees: 400
Bender no trees: 375
Tinker portrait: 700
Tinker knees: 600
Tinker bat off: 495
Tinker bat on: 495
Evers portrait: 575
Evers Cubs: 515
Evers Chicago: 490
Chance yellow: 575
Chance red: 550
Chance batting: 450

I have to wonder what the SMR prices for these same players will look like a year from now. My own gut tells me flat or declined.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Baseball Rarities

Personally, I would group Mathewson with Johnson and Young.

This.

[CMIZ5290]

Originally Posted by Throttlesteer

Over the past few years, we've seen some surges in several T206 hall of famers. I know this discussion has been brought up in the past, but I think some things have changed since then. What would you consider the "tiers" of T206 HOFers if you had to group them by perceived demand. Let's look at it from the standpoint of players (not poses/variations) and exclude the super rarities (e.g. Wagner, Plank, etc..). My initial thought is:

Tier 1 - Ty Cobb
Tier 2 - Walter Johnson, Cy Young
Tier 3 - Mathewson, Speaker
Tier 4 - Lajoie, E. Collins
Tier 5 - M. Brown, E. Walsh, A. Joss, W. Keeler, Z. Wheat, J. Chesbro
Tier 6 - S. Crawford, C. Bender, J. Tinker, J. Evers, F. Chance
Tier 7 - Everyone else

I realize the portraits skew everything a bit. A portrait Lajoie could be considered Tier 3 or a Mathewson portrait in Tier 2. But, if we're just looking at the players and the current conditions, where am I off?

Where is John McGraw? He has 4 cards in the set second only to Hal Chase....

[Throttlesteer]

McGraw gets little love when it comes to demand. His cards seem to fall on the lowest tier on average.

[CMIZ5290]

delete.....

[Throttlesteer]

Originally Posted by CMIZ5290

You might want to tell that to PSA SMR price guide.....Also, Joe Tinker Tier 6, really? Tinker portraits are beyond ridiculous price wise.. Don't even get started on the hands on knees pose.....Evers as well (Port)....They are ridiculous price wise....
Where are you getting your data?? Also, Frank Chance portrait cards in PSA 6 (Red)recently sold for $1825, and yellow portrait in $1600....These cards blow Zach Wheat out of the water.. Lajoie should definitely be higher than Eddie Collins.....Finally, Mathewson needs to be higher in your so called tiers.....HOW long have you been following T206s????

I will reference the original post again " Let's look at it from the standpoint of players (not poses/variations)"

[CMIZ5290]

Originally Posted by Throttlesteer

I will reference the original post again " Let's look at it from the standpoint of players (not poses/variations)"

Anson,
How do you look at it from just the standpoint of players (no poses or variations)with T206s? Poses and variations are a huge part of T206s....If you eliminate these, then what is the criteria exactly?