Most Valuable / Desirable Non-Contemporary Cards

[pokerplyr80]

I am also not a fan and was surprised by the price of the Ruth sale. The 1940 Playball set was mentioned and the Joe Jackson card comes to mind as another expensive card that doesn't interest me at all.

[packs]

I like the Ruth card because it's a really nice design and it looks better than a lot of his career contemporary cards. But I still don't think the price is in line for what it is, just like the Joe Jackson Play Ball.

[GasHouseGang]

I agree. If I was going to pay big money for a card, I would want it to be a card issued during his playing career.

[drcy]

The Leaf Ruth is desirable because it's part of the famous and highly collected Leaf set. People are into the entire set as it was one of the first major nationally distributed Post WWII sets. If the T206 contained a Cap Anson card I'm sure it would fetch good prices from people here.

[Mdmtx]

I agree with the op on 2 of his 3 examples. The one outlier to me is the 33/34 lajoie. I would love to have that card. Wanted one since I was a kid. Thought long and hard about trying to play for the album specimen with pencil on the front in the hunt auction, but chickened out. Maybe someday.

[clydepepper]

I also much prefer the contemporary in-career cards. However, the Leaf Ruth and Wagner are my personal exceptions. The Ruth because I believe he is ,to this day, outside normal hobby rules. The Wagner because it shows him pulling a chaw thereby debunking forever the theory that the T206 was rare due to his dislike of tobacco products.

Neither player had enough attractive (or affordable) contemporary in-career cards for me, anyway.

My Babe is a beauty...but, not my only Ruth card

BABE RUTH 1948 Leaf-3 PSA-5.jpg

BABE RUTH 1933 Goudey-144 SGC-70.jpg

BABE RUTH 1926 Sports Copmpany of America PSA-5.jpg

[bobbvc]

[QUOTE=clydepepper; The Wagner because it shows him pulling a chaw thereby debunking forever the theory that the T206 was rare due to his dislike of tobacco products.
[/QUOTE]
That's actually a fact not a theory. There is a letter from Wagner to a sportswriter from 1909 documenting it. Also a "Baseball" magazine article from 1912 documenting it as well. (forgot the month, sorry). Wagner always chewed and drank beer but otherwise was a bit of a heath nut and had a disdain for cigarettes in particular. Either way, did not want to promote smoking to kids via his picture in cigarette packs. There are 4 very good biographies written on Wagner, I think they are all still in print.

And, please excuse the soapbox, but a personal pet peeve of mine (I've been collecting over 40 years) is when people bring up the "fact" that the 1948 card "proves" what Wagner thought or did in 1909.

Back to the topic at hand, 50 years post Major league career and still a great and not inexpensive card.

[Eggoman]

While I would RATHER have a contemporaneous card or Ruth (or whomever), when I bought my Leaf Ruth, I did so at a time when I could NOT afford a '33 Goudey.

Still not sorry that I own one!

Just my 2 cents...

[Pilot172000]

So I stepped outside of my comfort zone and bought a 48 Leaf Ruth card! I'm extremely excited as I have always wanted a Ruth. While I prefer a 33 Goudey, they are so much more expensive and out of what I usually collect. For the record, while Contemporary cards are of course more desirable, one of the great rarities of the hobby is a non-contemporary card in the 33 Larry Lajoie. I don't think anyone here would mind owning one at least for a little while.

Ps. Who is the Ruth Expert here. I have questions about my new card and the Internet has not provided answers.