Negro League Baseball Collectibles Update

[bcbgcbrcb]

I agree, Kenny. My only question is, with that core group of collectors that you mention, won't you think that the group would provide spirited bidding on those very infrequent occasions that a top-notch item comes up for sale/auction? Since they are so few and far between, you would think these items would be "must haves" for those collectors who might only have a couple of opportunities over the course of an entire year, no?

[Kenny Cole]

Phil,

I did receive a response from the seller of the Royal Poinciana photo after he pulled it down the first time. I don't want to put words in his mouth, but my belief at the time was that he'd been made an offer for it off-line and was considering whether or not to sell it. I told him that I had set a pretty healthy snipe and he relisted it soon after, even before responding to me.

In any event, I guess I'll have a better idea whether its the real deal or not in fairly short order since I won it and its on the way.

Kenny

[bcbgcbrcb]

Glad you got it, Kenny. I don't think you will have any issue with it being real or not, I'm quite sure it is. My concern was the circumstances surrounding the sale, not the item itself.

[Scocs]

I agree with Kenny. 2012-2013 saw a lot of the Merkin Collection sell at very strong prices in Hake's Auctions.

I am sure many of the recent acquisitions since then have been the result of private sales...which won't get any public attention.

Still, the fact remains that a 1924-1925 Aguilitas Biz Mackey SGC 30 card sells for over $15,000 (within the past five years) and the stupid price guide still lists it in Excellent condition at $3750.....which is the same price dating back to what, 1925?!

[bcbgcbrcb]

Definitely lots of private transactions in this segment of the hobby and no way to track those, of course.

But for those public auction items, as previously mentioned, prices spiked during the selling of the key items of the Merkin collection by Hake's a few years back. However, very strong prices on Negro League items were also realized at the same time by REA, Huggins & Scott, Heritage and others so we can't just attribute everything to the Merkin collection.

It is my opinion that collecting Negro League material suddenly became the "en vogue" thing when all of the Merkin stuff plus others hit the market over a relatively short period of time. When things started to dry up, those collectors maybe got out of the market and moved on to other things.

Do you think I am on the right track towards explaining things here? Could it be simply one or two individuals that made all the difference in market fluctuations?

[Scocs]

Phil,

I think demand is still strong for:

a) HOFers and near-HOFers
b) High-end condition, which for most of these Cuban issues is anything over VG-EX

I have had the pleasure to interact with many Negro/Cuban League collectors I have met on this Forum over the past three years. I know it's a tight-knit community but I don't think the same two or three items are merely changing hands between just two or three collectors.

-- Scott

[bcbgcbrcb]

Good points, Scott. Your expertise appears to be very strong on the cards side, i.e.-Aguilitas, Tomas Gutierrez, Nacionales, etc.

My collecting focus has been much more on the postcards and photos side, particularly team images. That is where I am coming from with most of my comments and related discussion.

[Scocs]

Phil,

As much as I rail against the Vintage BBC price guide -- at least there is a price guide that catalogs most if not all of the Negro/Cuban cards. You are not so lucky when it comes to photos and postcards. To be honest, that aspect kind of scared me off from collecting that type of material. There seems to be no kind of objective gauge by which to measure "value" and "worth".

And yes, my interest is in the cards, but some of the original photos and real pcs are breathtaking and truly museum-quality pieces.