Mayo John Dunlop Auction

[TanksAndSpartans]

Hi Jeff, I just saw that too - it shows 4 bids, so someone probably met that minimum bid, but it also shows a starting bid of 1$ and it isn't displaying how high the bidding got which is strange. Interestingly about 18 of them sold - that's the most I've ever noticed in a single auction - that's about half the set done and the toughest card out of the way had someone gone after all of them.

Finally, I was reading the inside cover of the new GG yesterday and it mentions there are only 4 known examples.... Does that sound about right? I had no idea the card was that rare.

[jefferyepayne]

Originally Posted by DezHood

Hi Jeff, I just saw that too - it shows 4 bids, so someone probably met that minimum bid, but it also shows a starting bid of 1$ and it isn't displaying how high the bidding got which is strange. Interestingly about 18 of them sold - that's the most I've ever noticed in a single auction - that's about half the set done and the toughest card out of the way had someone gone after all of them.

Finally, I was reading the inside cover of the new GG yesterday and it mentions there are only 4 known examples.... Does that sound about right? I had no idea the card was that rare.

When I looked at that Dunlop yesterday (or the day before?) before the bidding ended, it was up over $10K and had not yet reached its reserve. I don't believe another bid was place on it but could be wrong.

The card is rare, but not POP 4 rare. Maybe someone meant there were 4 at a certain grade? Old articles (70s-80s) place the total POP of the Dunlop at under 10. More recently I've seen numbers that say its more like 20+ that are known to exist. Once the card started getting exposure and the player on it was identified, copies started coming out of the woodwork.

It's still one of my all-time favorite cards but the real star of the Mayo set is the Frank Hinkey card. He was THE MAN and hope someone snagged the one that was in that auction. If it was SGC I probably would have taken a run at it. Grading of Mayos is soooo inconsistent that I don't even try to cross them.

jeff

[TanksAndSpartans]

Thanks Jeff - I just googled to find what you said about Hinkey in the pre-war thread. I noticed your Mayos were SGC. I understand the risk about paying a lot for a card and then not having it cross. I think the eye appeal is pretty strong on this one though. I looked at a few online including an SGC 1.5 and liked this one better. The BVG holder is unexpected though. Its outside my collecting interest, but I was wondering about the speculation aspect. I called today and they said they were taking offers on it. Even with the rarity, I don't see this hitting 80K like that other card, but now that I say that it will probably triple or something . Is it known why this one is rarer than the others? Not because everyone threw it out because it was nameless, is it?

[jefferyepayne]

Originally Posted by DezHood

Thanks Jeff - I just googled to find what you said about Hinkey in the pre-war thread. I noticed your Mayos were SGC. I understand the risk about paying a lot for a card and then not having it cross. I think the eye appeal is pretty strong on this one though. I looked at a few online including an SGC 1.5 and liked this one better. The BVG holder is unexpected though. Its outside my collecting interest, but I was wondering about the speculation aspect. I called today and they said they were taking offers on it. Even with the rarity, I don't see this hitting 80K like that other card, but now that I say that it will probably triple or something . Is it known why this one is rarer than the others? Not because everyone threw it out because it was nameless, is it?

Speculation has always been that the Dunlop was scarce because it was nameless but nobody knows for sure. If you like the Mayo set, you GOTTA get one ;-)

Sorry for the switch in topic. I was talking about not picking up and crossing the Hinkey that was in the auction. I think it was a PSA 3 which is a good grade for that card but at this point I'm seeking SGC50 and wouldn't risk trying to cross it.

jeff

[kevinlenane]

I didn't bid but my impression was that the reserve had been met? I'm kind of 50/5p on whether I missed out on the biggest football card in history. I kind of feel like in 5 years it will be worth 100k IF people still watch football like they do now and aren't disturbed by the obvious damning issue of head injuries. It's actually not clear if it sold since it says there is an asterisk on the next bid will hit the reserve and there is no asterisk. The history is kind of odd though since it only goes up to 5k and it then lists an 11k hammer price with a BP. Kind of seems like this would have done better in a larger AH but nonetheless I have non-buyers remorse.

[TanksAndSpartans]

Thanks Jeff. Another mystery (reason for Dunlop rarity). I thought you stayed away from the it because it wasn't in the holder you collected the rest of the set in.

Kevin, its not over - you can still get it. I talked to the AH yesterday. I'm not 100% sure what happened, but I think the jist of it was, the reserve was hidden at the start of the auction, so it did get bids, then towards the end the reserve was revealed and it wasn't met. I don't think that's typically how it works. A semi-hidden reserve I guess.

I think a 10K offer takes it. One other thing I'd be concerned about on this card beyond any impact the serious health issues of former NFL players may have on the future of the sport is the set itself. It is a college football set of players that won't be found in any HOF. I'm just playing Devil's advocate - from a football history point of view, I think it's significant. But, there's also a Mayo baseball set and I never got the sense it was hugely popular.

[jefferyepayne]

Originally Posted by DezHood

Kevin, its not over - you can still get it. I talked to the AH yesterday. I'm not 100% sure what happened, but I think the jist of it was, the reserve was hidden at the start of the auction, so it did get bids, then towards the end the reserve was revealed and it wasn't met. I don't think that's typically how it works. A semi-hidden reserve I guess.

That's pretty common in auctions that have reserves. At some point near the end they reveal the reserve to try and encourage people to push the price over the goal line. I personally don't like hidden reserve auctions to rarely ever bid on them.