N173 Find

[Matthew H]

Barry, the Broughton has what appears to be a break in the photo and possibly the mount on the right side at his cap level.

Both appear to have some exposure affect from being in a frame at some point. It's more noticeable on the Maines with the half circle shaded area a the top of the photo and a straight line toward the bottom.

[Leon]

I am with Barry on this one. For peace of mind I would get them graded. You never know when something has an alteration that can't be seen by us mere mortals. I have stories of grading saving my arse but I will save them for another time.

[Yankeefan51]

Nice find

It has been our experience that any cards that grade above 5 (especially rare pre 1919 issues) warrant grading. Not only do graded cards command a higher price, but a buyer is far less likely to return the cards.

Wondering if there was anything else of interest in the album, and how it came to your attention? Rather than auction, you may want to post on the Buy Sell section and set a firm price- that way you will get immediate cash, save yourself the auction fees (and save the buyer 20%) All and all that could add as much as $500 for you, rather than for an auction house.

If the cards are graded, and priced fairly, I am confident that they will sell. Your only cost would be grading. I have several N173 cards- all SGC 80 and above- have not had PSA grade an N173

Good luck and Merry Christmas

[barrysloate]

I agree with Rhys that it shouldn't matter whether or not they are graded, but I won't be the one bidding on them. Even if they do have some condition issues and get lower grades, you won't get less money for them if they're slabbed, and there are certainly more than a few collectors who will only bid on TPG cards. I could care less either way, but there are plenty of collectors who disagree with me.

[Bunker]

Originally Posted by Leon

I am with Barry on this one. For peace of mind I would get them graded. You never know when something has an alteration that can't be seen by us mere mortals. I have stories of grading saving my arse but I will save them for another time.

I agree, grading is the way to go. I always bid more on cards that are already graded vs buying raw. It is easy to miss something from a scan, like Leon said, there could be an alteration that can't be seen and gets missed.

[mrvster]

welcome aboard......i love these and if my focus weren't t206...... ojs, n173 , kalamazoo,would be some of the others id focus on,they have always interested me....

question:

are these family pieces??? if they are, id suggest grading them, enjoying them, keeping them, and start collecting them


true history.....if your not selling to feed wifey n kids, then keep 'em

i'm sorry, i love our hobby

[Exhibitman]

They are nice cards so negotiate hard with the auctioneer. You should be able to get them to offer a zero commission.

[Wino]

Thanks for all the comments! Whether to grade or not was the big question. I don’t mind spending some money to make sure they are protected and I know what I have. And I guess these are not technically mine. They really belong to the extended family so we will see what happens. We are in no rush to get rid of them, but no one expressed interest in keeping them.

mrvster – It certainly occurred to me to try and build a St. Paul set since I was born there, but I already collect too many things and that would not be cheap!

As Matthew H noted, there is some browning on the edges where they were sitting in the album. No breaks, however. The Broughton has a small abrasion(?) to the right but it is just an area that is not glossy like the rest of the photo. No edge wear that I can see and the backs are very clean.

The album also has two boxing cabinet cards from the 1890s, a James Corbett and a John Sullivan. See photo below.

[barrysloate]

The boxing cards definitely have value too. Very nice find!