True Mint by Rosen

[samosa4u]

Originally Posted by vtgmsc

Your line:
"It was always sell, sell, sell! This hurt him really bad in the long-run."

Certainly a true sentiment value wise. Yes he was hurt financially BUT he obviously thrived and it was in his blood so I really feel he was not hurt by all the selling quickly. He made money most likely on 90% of his deals (estimate) because he literally flipped everything he had quickly!

Could his family had millions of dollars of cards if he had held on to some things? Yes! But it was not his style and I'm sure his family did fine in the long run.

Just my 2 cents.

Thanks for the great "Cliffs Notes" version! Enjoyed it!

Peace, Mike

He did mention in his book that he made about six million back in 1990. I'm not sure if this was six mill in sales or in profits, but yeah, this was crazy money either way. However, I think he had like fifty near mint high number sets from his find. He should have saved a few!

Originally Posted by bigtrain

Alan was in the hobby as a business. While he enjoyed holding on to some things for a short time, he often said that the only
thing he collected was $100 bills.

Haha!!

Originally Posted by jcmtiger

When he setup at Plymouth Mi show I was setting up at same show. He always paid extra for his table to be right at entrance to the show. That’s how he was able to buy walk ins 1st. Very arrogent, did not keep things very long. I, myself don’t credit him for “making the hobby for what it is today” Many other true collectors & dealers did that.

Like who?

Originally Posted by marzoumanian

I'm the old timer who recommended you read "True Mint," Mr. Samosa4U. I'm glad you enjoyed reading it. Lots of great stories. As others have said in this thread, understand that Rosen cared about cards BUT only if they were as close to GEM MINT as possible. Because he knew that he could then make easy money selling them. So in that sense he was all about the Benjamins. But there's no denying that the SI piece from 1988 on him was a huge boost for the hobby.
On May 22, 2016 I interviewed Rosen for a book I'm working on about Mastro Auctions. I just pulled out the transcript. Here's what he said about money:
"Money means a lot to me. But money doesn't mean you have to be a pig. My thing was hogs eat, pigs go to slaughter. And I never was dishonest to anyone, anyone. And I preach that to my children, honesty is the best policy." Rosen died in January 2017.
I once asked him at one of the old Chicago Sun-Times shows in Rosemont, Ill., when he would be writing his next book. He told me that a publisher wanted him to write a book about his dealings with MLB players and celebs. But he had no interest. He then told me some off-the-record stories about how some of the players he dealt with could be pretty nasty to the public and how it shocked him. Yes, Rosen was a character, as others have already made clear.

lol! Yes, it was you! Hello! I did read a few articles on your website, especially the one on Rosen, and they were awesome! Let me know once your book is done cause' I wanna' buy it.

Originally Posted by mightyq

you know they say if you have nothing nice to say keep mouth shut!! i will do that.......got me on the wrong day wrong time on one of his phone calls yelling and screaming.....that was the last time i ever spoke with the man, mind you i would spend 5 figures in each auction of the last 6 of his auctions, this was 2001, when i and he cut ties. i am sure you have no interest in the story. so like i said, i will zip it...

I do have interest in the story. Tell me what happened.

By the way, I do find it interesting how a lot of you on this forum once got screamed at by him. It doesn't sound normal to me. I'm no doctor, but it sounds like he could have been suffering from some kind of mental disorder. Bipolar?

Originally Posted by Yoda

IMO Alan was a wholesaler and lived by the code: flip or die.

But I believe his Mass find of '52 Topps high numbers may have been the greatest find ever. And the Tenn one wasn't too shabby either.....except for the silverfish.

Yeah, that story was horrible! Freaking silverfish!

[arcadekrazy]

Silverfish? Do tell. Was the find infested with them?

[Misunderestimated]

In my mind the "Hobby" and the "business" of card collecting are not same thing -- they're adjacent. While I find it clear that Rosen was good for the business. I'm not so certain about the hobby.

[Rich Klein]

Personally, Al never screamed or was anything less than professional to me. So on that level I don't have those memories. On those rare occasions we had to do something it was always fine and he was always a pleasure to work with. I actually drove him home one year when we flew back from whatever NSCC it was when his driver did not arrive. I was younger and what's 20 minutes to do someone who may be stuck at the airport at 1 AM a favor.

But, and this shows how important of a presence he is, the biggest discussions that pop up on my FB page and frankly the most likes I've ever received from a Klein's Korner column involved discussions of Al Rosen. To me, that shows his amazing influence on the hobby.

[glynparson]

In my opinion he was an Awful grader., Terrible at determining alterations,and a huckster of the highest order. I think he was an asshole and did not make the hobby despite him constantly telling people he did. He was a dinosaur in the business as early as 1990. He made money sire but a lot of the guys he flipped the cards to made more than he did. His business acumen and card knowledge are both greatly exaggerated. If you caught him on the right day he could be charming but more often than not he was just a conceited jerk. I hope he found peace because he seemed to always be in the eye of the storm here on earth usually by situations he himself created. Frankly I don’t think it's a coincidence the hobby grew even larger financially after he basically left it.