M101 collectors– please show yourselves

[nolemmings]

I know that there must be some collectors of m101-5 and m101-4 on this board, but the sets don’t get a whole lot of play other than the occasional rare back posting and the Ruth/Jackson/Cobb guys. Are there others besides me who follow and collect those sets here on net54? Please chime in.

I am completely perplexed by the pricing that is going on with these. In the other thread on GMorris cards, I pointed out how he recently sold several dozen m1014s the past few days. I use him as an example here because he is a reputable seller and because there was such a large grouping there was a little something for everyone. Now most of the cards were in the vg-ex range despite his conservative descriptions, and looked about the same in terms of condition. Of these, many sold between $20 something to $40 something. But others were very to extremely expensive when compared to their pricing history. Sherwood Magee, in typical shape for cards in the auction, went for $406.00!! https://www.ebay.com/itm/38465728879...p2047675.l2557
Davidbvintage sold an SGC 50 example that looked better for $89 just three months ago, and no Magee card even with a rare back has sold for 60% of that $406 price. Just an anomoly? Well there were three bidders at plus $200.

And it’s not just Magee. I get that Red Sox and Yankee fans tend to pay more, but still, these blank backs-- in modest condition and the most commonly found backs, are staggering to me vs. past sales. Del Gainer sold for $380.00; Duffy Lewis $355; Wally Pipp $321.50; Jack Barry $305;Ernie Shore $257, Peckinpaugh $255, Clarence Walker $203, Bob Shawkey $248.
Also Al Betzel of St. Louis for $381 and Erskine Mayer, who at least is sought for his Jewish heritage, sold for $421.00. If you follow these, you will know that such prices are off the charts. Are there new set collectors of m101s, and if so, do they know they will need the Ruth rookie to complete it? (On the other hand, if they can afford the Ruth the rest is just chump change, but to my knowledge few if any owners of a Ruth rookie are trying to complete the set).

Finally, I should point out that this is not just a gregmorris thing– sales prices on on m101-4s have been spiking the past couple of months but are widely inconsistent. Is this kind of weird pricing going on in the sets you collect?

[nolemmings]

Since every thread needs a card, here's one I don't recall showing before:

[RCMcKenzie]

I don't collect this set. I have a handful as types, mostly for the backs. I don't think I have any blank backs. I know from collecting T213, that a card like the Murray in my profile pic, can go for a high number, and then a collection pops up with 4 of them sold in succession, and they sell for peanuts. It only takes another collector or 2 to drive the market.

It looks like most of the cards sold for under $100, unless they were big stars or high grade. I don't know the set well enough to think that an Al Betzel is a $381 card. eBay gets high prices in situations where two people put in top all bids, not really wanting to pay as much as they bid.

Also, someone who buys an Al Betzel for $381 could be the kind of guy who has the money to buy the Ruth.

[Brian Van Horn]

Hello.

[oldjudge]

I think it is a great set and perhaps a few people have woken up to that fact. While I don’t collect the sets I do know that some non-HOFers are pretty scarce, especially in the M101-5 set. What really interests me are the backs and some of these are genuine rarities; think Mall Theatre as compared to T206 brown Lenox.

[KMayUSA6060]

Very underrated set, and features some of the earliest cards for several HoFers. Love the B&W real images, too.

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by Brian Van Horn

Hello.

Brian, your two H-to-H cards are super nice - it's hard to find these without paper loss on the backs.

Your WaJo, not so nice - badly OC - you should get rid of it and get a nice Altoona Tribune card like this one:

[nolemmings]

Thanks for the input guys, and the kind words Connor. It seems pretty clear that the m101s have now come to the attention of set collectors, whereas before the focus was on specific players and rare backs for type. I am fortunate enough to own all of the known backs, and the tougher ones still draw money, but nothing much has changed in their prices of late.

I’m glad somebody else noted the strange pricing this past week. I wonder if the prohibitive cost of grading prewar commons means we should look for a noticeable rise in the pricing of raw examples, especially from reputable and established dealers.

It’s pretty clear that Yankee and Red Sox team collectors are hitting it rather hard on these m101s, as the prices I cited mostly affected players from those teams. The Magee remains a flat out mystery, as again there was a price difference of 450% in the past three months on a card that was not in high grade and is not all that difficult to find (although not part of m101-5).

Nice cards everyone, and congrats Joe on your davidbvintage winnings. Baker and Hooper are two of my faves. Frank, thanks for the info on Betzel, whose card has always fetched a higher than average price–now I know why. Anyway, here a few more of mine: