1887 Old Judge survival rates???

[insidethewrapper]

My dad is still alive and collected Goudey's in the 1930's and was always looking for # 106. I asked him about tobacco cards and he stated "he never knew they existed in the 1930's". I guess he didn't have any relatives that smoked. Also very poor in the 1930's.

It is really surprising how that many cards survived with all the paper shortages and paper drives of WWI and WWII, since most would be destroyed over the years. Hard to believe any could be graded high after all these years. I don't believe the cards from the top collectors back then received many high grades. Correct me if I'm wrong. Remember they didn't have supplies to protect the cards back then. How did the high grades survive ?

[Zone91]

Thanks guys it makes one even appreciate them even more knowing this information!!!

As for my Keefe it will stay a very long time in my collection most likely till I pass away and I am only 32 years old so hopefully I can enjoy it for a long time and add some more cards to my collection every year. I have no need to sell any cards I will be buying especially ones from the 1800's that ''can't'' be replaced....money is not always everything in these situations.

[paul]

Keep looking and you may even find Hall of Famers in decent condition for less than your Keefe. It won't happen too often, but here is one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251245263732...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

[Leon]

Personally, and this is going to sound wild, but I think there are more than 100,000 T206s still to be uncovered from inherited hoards. I just now got off the phone with a lady that has 120'ish T206s she got from her mom who passed away not too long ago. Add those to the 500'ish we just had in our auction and there is 600 right there...and my auction and this board is a tiny splinter of what is out there, imo. I would also guess there are many thousands of N172s still to be found. Just my opinion.....

[Zone91]

Leon

I hope you are right simply because I have almost no money invested in these cards yet and would not mind if they where cheaper because of more finds that way I could collect them and still have fun but for less money.

I know some have invested a LOT of money in these cards so it would be a bad blow to them.

I would love to see more Old Judges found that way more collectors could get those cards that are at the moment impossible to find.

I am NOT collecting for profit just for simple pleasure so more cards exists the more fun I could have.

[ullmandds]

It'd be quite foolish to put a whole lot of credence into pop reports...or to assume what cards u/we see...is all there are. Aside from the fact they are not accurate...there are a ton of ungraded cards out there.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

It'd be quite foolish to put a whole lot of credence into pop reports...or to assume what cards u/we see...is all there are. Aside from the fact they are not accurate...there are a ton of ungraded cards out there.

I cringe at pop reports on pre-war cards. And I think my estimates above are quite realistic, if not low. I also don't think the values or prices will come down, even with new finds, unless there are great hoards (Black Swamp etc...) of a certain type card found. A hundred thousand T206s would be eaten up quickly..... I also think there are more collectors than we think there are....

[cyseymour]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

It'd be quite foolish to put a whole lot of credence into pop reports...or to assume what cards u/we see...is all there are. Aside from the fact they are not accurate...there are a ton of ungraded cards out there.

Certainly, but although pop reports may not be accurate, they can give someone a general sense of a card's rarity. For instance, if you see that a certain number of Amos Rusie's are graded, while three times as many Monte Ward's are graded, that can give you a general sense that Rusie might be about three times as rare as Ward.

I understand that there are lot of problems with crossovers and crack and re-submits, etc. But no one will no for sure exactly how many of a card are circulating in the hobby (unless it's very rare, perhaps). But for the general purpose of the beginning collector, I think that pop reports can be a good resource as a general guide, even if the only thing that is certain is that they are inaccurate.

[Craig M]

Mike,

You asked how the high graded cards survived...they were put in books in between the pages to keep them protected. If you ever get an opportunity to come across some old books, turn the books upside down; fan the pages and watch the stuff fall out of the books.

Undiscovered T206's are still in old books!

Craig