1914 Baltimore Ruth....Inflation

[MattyC]

Could not agree more on the Exhibit Gehrig RC. It's my favorite pick to explode sometime down the line. The man, his legacy, his performance on the field, the card's rarity, it being his RC... No one knows what the future holds but as a Gehrig fan and constant student of cards, I love that card.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Could not agree more on the Exhibit Gehrig RC. It's my favorite pick to explode sometime down the line. The man, his legacy, his performance on the field, the card's rarity, it being his RC... No one knows what the future holds but as a Gehrig fan and constant student of cards, I love that card.

Perhaps, but on the other hand for the most part it doesn't seem that pre-WW II, people care that much about rookie cards, particularly where the rookie card is a non-mainstream black and white issue as it frequently is.

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Perhaps, but on the other hand for the most part it doesn't seem that pre-WW II, people care that much about rookie cards, particularly where the rookie card is a non-mainstream black and white issue as it frequently is.

I don't mean to ruffle any feathers, but the 1914 Baltimore News Ruth is essentially a black and white card, with blue or red ink added in the printing process. The '25 Exhibit Gehrig sold for $25,000 in graded ExMt 5-8 years ago. My bet is that one might well fetch $50,000+ now. One in SGC "good" was purchased for $500 in 1998 and sold in 2007 for $6,300. The 1907 Wolverine News Cobb rookie (which at this point appears to be truly rare as well as obviously tremendously significant) just sold for $11,000 in Ex. The 1916 M101 Ruth--black and white--was sold within the last year in PSA 7 condition for just under $300,000 by a dealer acquaintance of mine. The T210 Joe Jackson has sold several times for more than $200,000--it is also basically a black and white card. The 1914 Fatima Pete Alexander is also black and white, extremely popular, and has increased in value from well under $1,000 pre-2000 to well over that figure in the last decade. A fellow board member just recently purchased a Musial 1946 postcard--yes, black and white--for $2,700, if memory serves correctly. Need I go into E107's? What would a 1893 Just So Tobacco Cy Young rookie go for? If you had one, I suspect the sky would be the limit! None of these were thought of as "mainstream" 20-25 years ago. If they're considered "mainstream" now, its because their rarity and significance has made that happen. Black and white versus color as a negative factor for increasing prices is, respectfully, old school, a theory espoused back in the early '90's by more than one well-intentioned, but ill-informed author. It hasn't worked out that way. What consistently works in ANY collecting endeavor is rare and significant in the best condition you can find or afford. "Mainstream" in its truest sense also tends to translate to common, and common defeats the supply aspect of the value equation.

Above all, though, may your collecting bring you happiness, Pete.

Larry

[Peter_Spaeth]

M101-2 and National Game/Tom Barker Alexander both precede the Fatima (and 1914 CJ), no? So the popularity of that issue would seem to have nothing to do with rookie card status.

And I am guessing there are lots of examples of cards that have increased in value tremendously despite not being rookie cards (e.g. T206 Wagner, 1952T Mantle).

And there are lots of players whose rookie I couldn't even name despite being reasonably well informed. Lajoie, Collins, Mathewson, Johnson to name a few.

So I'm still not sure that for the average collector rookie card status is as big a deal pre war as it is post war, which was my point (I think LOL).