T205 Matty - why relatively high pop

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Posted By: steve

I am contemplating the purchase of a T205 Mathewson PSA 5.

Upon looking at PSA pop's, I notice that this Matty is by far and away the most abundant T205 (at least in PSA 5, 6 grades). Nearly double the quantity of other HOF'ers such as Speaker, Young, W.Johnson and Cobb.

Question: Why? Perhaps is the Matty a double print? Also, do you forsee the T205's always valued more than comparable T206's ?

Thanks, Steve.

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Posted By: J Levine

Hmm...first question, in my research, the Matty is as abundant as any other HOFer that appears in all backs (McGraw, Speaker, Cobb, etc.). Matty seems to get graded more because the card is just stunning. Sort of like the '53 Bowman Reese which tends to get graded more for the pic.

Your second question is sort of misleading. T205s are often valued less than their t206 counterparts. Certain HOFers can be found for less. Cobbs in vg and below in T205 are less than Cobbs in similar t206s. Same with Walter Johnson and McGraw and Clarke and Chance and Bender. Yet with some HOFers like Speaker, Matty, Collins, and Evers the prices in T205s are more than their t206 counterparts. The price guides are off on most t205s lately.

I recently bought a g-vg T205 Bender for $45. A bargain to be sure but a similar Bender for T206 would have certainly been more.

Another example is the Evers. I paid $125 for a vg Evers from the T205 set. I paid $100 for a T206 Evers (most common pose).

These two sets just seem to be strange that way. I do anticipate t205s to eventually overtake t206 in price for good but let's hope that does not happen for a long long time.

Joshua

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Posted By: T206Collector

"I do anticipate t205s to eventually overtake t206 in price for good but let's hope that does not happen for a long long time."

You'll never have to worry about me showing an interest in T205. While some people think they're beautiful -- indeed, some people think they are perhaps the most beautiful of the pre-war issues -- there is a large segment of the collecting public (myself included) that finds them ugly as all get out.

T206's are safe because people either love them or like them or are indifferent. T205's are less safe because people either love them or hate them.

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Posted By: steve

Thanks for the input. I did not examine PSA pop's in 1-4 grades. You may be right in these lower grades. However, the higher the grade, the better the chance of more that exist have already been sent to PSA.

Here are the PSA pop's for combined PSA 5 and 6 grades:

Cobb 57
W.Johnson 32
Mathewson 75
Speaker 39
Young 36

Everybody that has a nice Cobb has probably sent it in - but look at the big difference between the other 3 major HOF'ers and the Mathewson card.

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Posted By: Dylan

I am one of those who agree that these are ugly cards, relative to most sets. I do like the Minor League issue and have collected them, because I think they present well. But the portraits in the main set are too close up for my taste. I like the chest up portraits that you see with all the other sets from the era. As for pricing for a long time, as i understand, T205 commons held a slight premium over T206. I'd imagine for the common card the'll stay relatively priced around the same.

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Posted By: peter chao

Dylan,

Do you have any idea of how the portraits were drawn. Was it done by an artist or a photographer or...

Peter