REA bids - health of the hobby

[Dpeck100]

Looking at the liner notes in the SMR there has to be some collectors that just cringe looking at current prices.

From SMR


Mantle PSA NM-MT 8's sold for $62,338/$56,670 in 2004, $63,693 in 2005, $66,887 and $72,057 in 2006 and $112,800/$98,177 in 2008


Ouch.


I do see they raised the Mantle in a PSA 9 to 1.3 million.

[irv]

Originally Posted by T206Collector

It is hard to ignore the market, but every once in awhile it gives me nausea to consider the irrationality of a market for little pieces of cardboard with baseball players on them that carry little to no value in any other part of the world, and are not directly correlated to any form of universal currency like gold. It's like art, I guess, and I seem to calm down more when I think of it as so. Picasso may be hot today, but maybe in 50 years people will think he is crap - another totally irrational market.

Back 20+ years ago I heard the Japanese were big time collectors of American BB cards.

Not sure if that was true then but with their love for BB as well, I can't help but to think, maybe there was some truth to it?

Not sure today, (if the story was true) if they still are, but if they are not, then what happened?

[bobfreedman]

I have been told that I reported inaccurate numbers, so therefore, I am retracting my last post and I apologize for my inaccuracies

[MVSNYC]

Yeah, sounded a little high to me.

[Republicaninmass]

Makes wags seen like a steal, and it hasn't moved in a while

[ullmandds]

its insanity a mantle rookie sells for more than a wags!

[MetsBaseball1973]

They are both iconic cards, loved by many collectors, but a PSA 10 Mantle 1952 Topps will blow away the price of all but perhaps the best Wagner in the world in 2016 and beyond. Heck, a 50/50 centered PSA 9 of the Mantle might do the trick.

A PSA 10 Mick may even surpass the best Wagner, if offered in the same auction side by side.

Collectors in their 30's with money are jumping into the hobby now, and they are all about Mantle.

[rats60]

A PSA 8 Mantle sells for 500k. The PSA 8 Wagner sold years ago for 2.8 million even though it was known to be trimmed. Who knows what it would sell for today or a true PSA 8,9,10.

A PSA 5 Mantle sell for 5 figures. A PSA 5 Wagner sold for 2.1 million.

Mantles in high grade are bringing big numbers because of condition. An 86 Fleer Johnny Moore PSA 10 sells for about what a low grade Mantle does. When saying card a is worth more than card b, conditions must be equal.