Babe Ruth Investment?

[oldjudge]

Theo-Others have made some excellent suggestions as to what would be a good card for you. I just wanted to add that regardless of the card you decide upon, the price you pay for the card is very important. You and a parent should compare prices amongst dealers and consider whether it might make sense to bid in a reputable auction. Although some of the cards are scarcer that others, none are rarities. Don’t jump at the first one; make sure you buy intelligently. Negotiate price! If you don’t feel comfortable doing this have a parent do it for you. I am in Pasadena and would be willing to meet with you and your parent if you feel additional input from an experienced collector would be useful. Otherwise, good luck!

Jay Miller

[yanksfan09]

Agree on the 32/33 US Caramel as a nice pick. Also like 1921 or 26-29 exhibit pose. Or even a rare exhibit like the 1925 Champions one if you can find one.

Other than those maybe some other early issues. There's several poses in the 1922 E121-120 series that work. The 1921 E121-80 would be too pricey.

The 1922 W575-2 auto on shoulder series is another nice tough one. The National Caramel E220 is another great early one but would be out of range past a low grade 1 or authentic copy I'm afraid.

Good luck. I think rarer nice cards may be best bet for investment purposes but another idea may be a signed Ruth check.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by yanksfan09

Agree on the 32/33 US Caramel as a nice pick. Also like 1921 or 26-29 exhibit pose. Or even a rare exhibit like the 1925 Champions one if you can find one.

Other than those maybe some other early issues. There's several poses in the 1922 E121-120 series that work. The 1921 E121-80 would be too pricey.

The 1922 W575-2 auto on shoulder series is another nice tough one. The National Caramel E220 is another great early one but would be out of range past a low grade 1 or authentic copy I'm afraid.

Good luck. I think rarer nice cards may be best bet for investment purposes but another idea may be a signed Ruth check.

Yes yes yes!!!!! The rarities I love the rarities and also I have grown to love the exhibits!! Great suggestions in the 21 and 25 champions exhibit both incredible cards the 25 pretty tough!!

[terjung]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Theo-Others have made some excellent suggestions as to what would be a good card for you. I just wanted to add that regardless of the card you decide upon, the price you pay for the card is very important. You and a parent should compare prices amongst dealers and consider whether it might make sense to bid in a reputable auction. Although some of the cards are scarcer that others, none are rarities. Don’t jump at the first one; make sure you buy intelligently. Negotiate price! If you don’t feel comfortable doing this have a parent do it for you. I am in Pasadena and would be willing to meet with you and your parent if you feel additional input from an experienced collector would be useful. Otherwise, good luck!

Jay Miller

Theo,

This is great advice and an amazing offer from an extremely knowledgeable, wise gentleman. If you are even considering taking him up on his offer, I would encourage you to DO IT! Jay is extremely well respected and can be trusted, in my opinion. He will not steer you wrong.

Good luck with whatever you decide. Welcome!

Brian

[KCRfan1]

Given your age, what does your parent or parents think about this potential decision?

[buymycards]

$5 to spend at age 14? Good for you!

When I was 14, all I had was my paper route money. Much of that went to beer and cigarettes.

[TUM301]

Originally Posted by buymycards

$5 to spend at age 14? Good for you!

When I was 14, all I had was my paper route money. Much of that went to beer and cigarettes.

Then I wasted the REST !

[Madi$on18joshua]

That is very thoughtful of you Jay!

[chalupacollects]

You can also go for less expensive and more quantities of Ruth... 1952 Look N See, 54 Scoops, the 61 Babe Ruth Topps subset, 73 and 74 Topps inserts of Ruth, 48 Leaf...All less expensive and available in higher grade for the money...

[Goudey77]

Go big or go home kid...if you have the cash to pull off a 1933 Goudey in that price range it means your parents are involved in making the deal. Safe to assume there is plenty more from where that came from so enjoy your big purchase and let your parents worry about your “diversified” portfolio.

Too young to worry about investments. Just collect. Don’t let the old tight asses sway you away from cards.

[Goudey77]

Plus don’t go for these quirky unpopular cards of Ruth. Go for the Goudey. This is not the time to be conservative. Your parents are letting you spend $5,000. Take it and run. Enjoy the popular card. You’ll remember this for the rest of your life.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by chalupacollects

You can also go for less expensive and more quantities of Ruth... 1952 Look N See, 54 Scoops, the 61 Babe Ruth Topps subset, 73 and 74 Topps inserts of Ruth, 48 Leaf...All less expensive and available in higher grade for the money...

NONONONONONONO! Period Ruth or GO HOME!!!!

[Republicaninmass]

I'd say definitely NOT a photograph. Prices are high now, and there is a reason every auction is stacked with them. You could barely give these away for years. Maybe the hobby is maturing, I dont buy it, or them.


Steer clear of exhibits and postcards. Also, never paid much attention too until the last few years. They were never looked at as being as desirable as a gum or candy card. Prices have really taken off. Full size photos, I get it, but the old man in me wont bend to these new trends.

Strip cards, yuck.

Go with the nicest Goudey or maybe even a Sports King Ruth you can afford, and enjoy it.

[PhillyFan1883]

Good luck on your quest! I too started collecting vintage even younger than you. You have a head start on everyone and the cards are a great investment moving forward. I like the suggestions of the Goudey’s, but if you do that I think the Yellow batting pose will have the most upside since it was printed slightly less than the others. Supply and demand. Listen to Jay Miller he gave great advice as far as not jumping on the first one and everything else he said. Another trend in our hobby is eye appeal over technical grade. Make sure whatever copy you get has nice eye appeal more than the grade.

[Exhibitman]

One more important thing: buy a card you really like. If it is just money then buy stocks. One of the great things about cards or art is that they can be pleasing to own and valuable.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Republicaninmass

I'd say definitely NOT a photograph. Prices are high now, and there is a reason every auction is stacked with them. You could barely give these away for years. Maybe the hobby is maturing, I dont buy it, or them.

Steer clear of exhibits and postcards. Also, never paid much attention too until the last few years. They were never looked at as being as desirable as a gum or candy card. Prices have really taken off. Full size photos, I get it, but the old man in me wont bend to these new trends.

Strip cards, yuck.

Go with the nicest Goudey or maybe even a Sports King Ruth you can afford, and enjoy it.

Yes, steer clear of postcards. They are a less collected item. And are not going to go up in value. (* I am being very sarcastic, btw).
Postcards and Exhibit cards should definitely be something you want to look at. The Exhibits are a little more plentiful and I don't see their long term valuation skyrocketing. (at least in the next 20 yrs or so). But they can be great and a less expensive alternative to a Goudey. And postcards are very cool to a lot of us collectors. This was bought on this forum for a little over 1500 dollars, less than 2 yrs ago. I think it will be worth more if I ever want to sell it. But I bought it because I like the photo and card. As others have said, if you buy wisely pricewise AND you like the card, you should be fine.

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by Leon

Yes, steer clear of postcards. They are a less collected item. And are not going to go up in value. (* I am being very sarcastic, btw).
Postcards and Exhibit cards should definitely be something you want to look at. The Exhibits are a little more plentiful and I don't see their long term valuation skyrocketing. (at least in the next 20 yrs or so). But they can be great and a less expensive alternative to a Goudey. And postcards are very cool to a lot of us collectors. This was bought on this forum for a little over 1500 dollars, less than 2 yrs ago. I think it will be worth more if I ever want to sell it. But I bought it because I like the photo and card. As others have said, if you buy wisely pricewise AND you like the card, you should be fine.

Exactly. And whatever you do... don’t buy photos! I have done horribly. ��
They were literally giving these away... not in packs of tobacco or gum... some other time. But... not sure when or who. I had to buy all of mine.
Anyway... goudey is prob the safest.. you will not lose money. That said, imo.. the upside isn’t huge at that dollar as you are looking at a 3-3.5. There are many of them. The 1921 exhibit would prob be my card if choice at that price point if i was doing cards. Like others said.. buy a pretty one of whatever you decide.. not just in grade.
For upside... i like photos(i put money where mouth is). That said, like everything else... you need to buy the right photo. I would start small and educate yourself first. However, if you can get into a type 1 photo used for a card or a Poignant piece of memorabilia of Ruth, that would be a safe bet. Make sure it is a good image either way. I would probably always be here to bail you out if needed if you bought something like this right
Good luck and welcome to the sickness young man!

I do love cards.. just sayin’

https://twitter.com/weingartensvint/...498190337?s=21

[theotobel]

Thank you so much Jay! I will definitely talk to my parents and be in touch sometime soon.

[theotobel]

Thank you so much everyone for your input! As a matter of fact, I've worked as a little league umpire for the past few years and have saved up some money. I wanted to invest in something that interests me (baseball cards) instead of stocks or another form of investment.

Have a great Thanksgiving,
Theo

[Leon]

Originally Posted by theotobel

Thank you so much everyone for your input! As a matter of fact, I've worked as a little league umpire for the past few years and have saved up some money. I wanted to invest in something that interests me (baseball cards) instead of stocks or another form of investment.

Have a great Thanksgiving,
Theo

Good luck Theo. Keep us updated with what you do. Happy holidays to you and yours too.

[nebboy]

My pick for that amount would be e212 Ruth montage
-not my card-