Mickey Mantle 2012 Topps 1/1 Autograph

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by Forever Young

Hey Guys,

I will probably have stones thrown at me for my opinion on this but thought I would voice my opinion anyway as I am a glutton for punishment.

I share the basic thought with most of you in that I hate to see a vintage piece cut down to make a card.
HOWEVER, I don't think it is the end of the world as it "hooks" the next generation of collectors. Whether you want to admit it or not, a large percentage of autograph collectors, at one time, probably started collecting cards or at least did it at the same time(I know I did as a child).
I think that exposure to these autographs of vintage players(retired or dead), keeps the new generations interested in them. They then figure out that instead of paying 2k for this, they can buy a vintage gpc for the same price.. or a baseball...which keeps the autograph hobby strong. Seeing a "newer" mantle cut from a less than stellar photo does not bother me so much when I think of it this way. It is not like Mantle is a tough signature to begin with where it should be on the endangered species list.
Just my thoughts... now JUST REMEMBER...People who live in glass houses should not throw stones..

I totally disagree that this is the case. I cannot believe that kids who get exposed to a $2000 Mantle chase card actually then turn around and want to buy a Mickey Mantle autograph gpc or ball.

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

I totally disagree that this is the case. I cannot believe that kids who get exposed to a $2000 Mantle chase card actually then turn around and want to buy a Mickey Mantle autograph gpc or ball.

Thank you for your Input Richard

[mighty bombjack]

Yeesh, the 2012 Topps one is particulalry terrible (I assume that is the second one shown in this thread, as the images are not showing for me for some reason). These cards should not be made at all if the auto itself must be chopped in order to do so, but there is no telling any manufacturer that. I'm sure they care on some level (I am a former baseball editor at Topps), but the people who design the card are separated from the people that choose photos/edit, who are separated from the people who procure the auto, who are different from the people who cut it and place it in the card frame. It's a remarkably dissipated process to make a baseball card.

Just don't forget that these are baseball cards, and people like baseball cards. I can get a photo of Albert Pujols from 2001 and put some stats and a nice bio on the back, but people prefer the same with a Topps logo on it. Weird, huh? Clearly it's the same for autos. Lots of people dig a manufacturer's logo. And when they are done correctly, with respect for the auto and a nice design aesthetic, I will and have bought these in the past (see my photobucket link for a few examples). These Mantles do not fit that description.

[GrayGhost]

Those cut cards, esp when they literally are "cut" are garbage, at the very least being how they are artificially inflated value wise.

[RichardSimon]

They are cut into garbage. I would not attempt to sell an autograph that looks like that Mantle. It is horrid. My customers would not want it.
And talk about artificially inflated value,,, Ghost, don't even use the word value as that implies it is something that has worth to it. I will always fail to see the worth of these things.
The stupidity of the marketplace for these things never fails to amaze me.

[mighty bombjack]

I have to laugh when you guys call the value for these "artificially inflated," as if any autograph or baseball card has any intrinsic value whatsoever. The value of each and every thing we discuss on these boards is "artificial." If someone will pay 1200 bucks for it, than that's what it's worth, even if you or I won't.

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by mighty bombjack

I have to laugh when you guys call the value for these "artificially inflated," as if any autograph or baseball card has any intrinsic value whatsoever. The value of each and every thing we discuss on these boards is "artificial." If someone will pay 1200 bucks for it, than that's what it's worth, even if you or I won't.

I would have to agree that everything we buy and sell here has no real intrinsic value, however IMO the greater fool theory would apply to these artificially created chase cards, with their so called shortages. The demand for these has been artificially inflated by creating what the card companies like to call shortages.
I do not think the greater fool theory would apply in a case of a vintage item with a limited supply that has not been artificially created by an external force and with a real history of demand.