My national find--M116 Bates (Cincinnati)

[4815162342]

Originally Posted by unamuzd1

"Hey Bert - what's that sound?"



"Ernie, my friend, that's the sound of 320 people simultaneously setting an alert for 'Bates Cincinnati M116' on eBay."



"Oh. Thanks, Bert!"

Now that's funny.

[T206Collector]

Congrats! Great find and great story!

So.... What's it worth?

[HercDriver]

Based on the last sale? Maybe $15.

That is a great story!!

[Wite3]

Mac,
Really nice find...congrats.

Joshua

[Michael Peich]

Mac--Sorry to be so late to the party, but as someone who used to collect M116s, you have made a sensational find. Congratulations!

Cheers,
Mike

[tbob]

Mac- congrats, couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

For those who are wondering about variation rarities, for many, many years McConnell and McQuillan were the only two different team variations and I paid a pretty penny for each to complete my set. Since then the Bates Cinn. has surfaced and I believe Brian Parker discovered an F. Smith Boston (as opposed to the common F. Smith Chicago). Both are extremely rare and I think The F. Smith is a one of a kind. Brian bought a lot of off-condition M116s and stumbled on it. There is also a Seymour variation as I recall which surfaced a few years ago and may also be a 1 of 1.
These are the 5 toughies. Much rarer than anything in the T206 set unless you count the handful of never released proofs Keith Olberman bought a while back.

[frohme]

FWIW, Old Cardboard has an M116 reference checklist that includes rarity. It looks to have been updated to include the F. Smith (Bos) which ranks an 8 on their rarity scale. Bates (Cinn) and Seymour (Balt) the other two of the 3 cards at that level.

Surprisingly, there are also 3 cards at a 9: Beck and Lobert (Phillies) and H. Lord (WhiteSox). Not sure how those rates are determined.

Regardless, great find, Mac!!

--
Mike