Prices coming down...

[ullmandds]

WOW! That's a nice example...of a rare strip of a cartoon ruth that looks nothing like him!

Originally Posted by pawpawdiv9

I see prices climbing ^^^^^ on the old school stuff.
Did ya see the 1916-20 Big Head W-UNC Babe Ruth on Probstein?
Wow. Didn't know only 3 graded by PSA. I could of swore a board member had one here.
Wonder if its this other guy on Ebay selling his?
(PROBSTEIN'S)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1916-20-W-UN...vip=true&rt=nc, .
(EBAY SELLER)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-of-3-Scarc...3D371868324127

[Snapolit1]

Person who drew that apparently had no idea who Babe Ruth was. Scary bad. I have zero artistic skill and could do a lot better.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

maybe it's Rube Marquard...

[glchen]

Hey, that's one of my favorite Ruth cards! Can't you see the resemblance?

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

maybe it's Rube Marquard...

haw haw!!!!

[orly57]

It is valuable, in my opinion, because it is probably the only Red Sox era Ruth card that most collectors can afford. The Cobb Big Head, for example, isn't very expensive or coveted. I will never understand what makes one rare card worth more than another. My Orange Border Cobb just sold on pwcc for $730. There are like 9 known specimens! It is an early Cobb, it isn't a cartoon, and it is Ty freaking Cobb!!! Most guys spit on all strip cards, but will drop 6k on this Big Head.
And yes, there is a board member who owns one of these Ruth Big Heads. It isn't me, but he is a friend of mine, and it will be available for sale soon. It is nicer than the one that sold.

[SMPEP]

no message

[Republicaninmass]

Originally Posted by SMPEP

Wait ... you mean people have fake sales?

I thought it was just PURELY coincidental that I was in discussions with someone about a 1952 Topps Reiser grey back and mentioned the last sales price of $7,200 (after commission) for the PSA 8, and all of a sudden after being ignored for 4 days there is a "sale" for $20k of a PSA3 on Ebay that was listed for about 6 minutes (when one hasn't been advertised on Ebay in a decade prior to that). At least that seller still has Magic the Gathering cards for sale though!

"I'm shocked, shocked to find gambling going on in here!"

How was that a fake sale?

[Rhotchkiss]

Seems to me that its much more difficulty to manipulate the prices of pre-war cards (especially very old one like T206 or Allen/Ginters) than post-war, based purely on scarcity; I am not talking bid shilling, that can happen on any auction.

According to the PSA registry, there are 188 (with half grades and qualifiers) PSA 8, 1955 Clementes. Contrast that to the T206 Red Cobb, which has only 24 examples at an 8. There are over 8 times as many Clemente 8's than Red Cobb 8's. It follows that there is less opportunity and motivation to manipulate the Red Cobb than the Clemente, bc there are fewer examples use for manipulation and fewer examples to sell and reap a windfall from.

I am not saying the value of old cards cannot be manipulated. But it seems to me their scarcity alone creates one safe guard against manipulation and may explain why these older cards seem to be retaining their value when all the stud 1950's rookies have come down so much in price.

[egbeachley]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

Seems to me that its much more difficulty to manipulate the prices of pre-war cards (especially very old one like T206 or Allen/Ginters) than post-war, based purely on scarcity; .

Wouldn't it be much easier? You have a T206 red Cobb and you manipulate the market and then profit. With a 1955 Clemente your plan might be ruined if other cards are sold during your manipulation or if other cards come out for sale the same time. The older cards are just fewer in quantity so they might not have them in hand to profit from manipulation.