True Mint by Rosen

[ocjack]

Taos is beautiful. Great restaurants, art galleries, locals. But anticipate a 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive from Albuquerque and drink plenty of water on the drive.

[Exhibitman]

The main problem with Rosen is that he modeled behavior for a generation of card dealers. Loud, arrogant, obnoxious, Aloha shirt, Rolex-and-pinkie-ring, wannabe wise-guy style assholes. Any concepts of being cordial to people and not behaving publicly in a way that would shame their mothers went right out the window because of Rosen.

I had one such experience with a wanna-be Rosen at an Anaheim show in the early 1990s where I'd set up to deal. A guy standing between our two tables asked me if I had a card for sale, I did, and he bought it. I think it was all of three bucks. My neighbor got apoplectic over the sale because I answered the guy's question but he was looking over his right shoulder at the other guy's case when he asked it. This Rosen clone (let's call him pig-man in a mumu) ran over to tell me that I had stolen his customer, then threatened to "break me" and shook his fist at me. Well, pig-man was maybe 5'10" on a good day and twenty years older than my mid-twenties 6'4" 220# (at that time) self, so when I stood up to 'discuss' his position he quickly scurried back behind his table and shut up for the rest of the afternoon.

The only other encounter I ever had like that was in a casino at 7:30 in the morning (I like to play craps early; my morning craps, if you will). I was leaving the casino walking past the bar area wearing my favorite Yankees shirt. Some middle-aged, terribly drunk moron weaved out of the bar holding a metal bottle of Lite and drawled "Don't come in here with that crap on" and tapped his bottle against the logo on my chest. He then looked up and realized he was a welterweight picking a fight with a heavyweight, and said "even if you are about 6'9" and 300 pounds. Uh, sorry about that." For the record, I was 6'4" 275# at the time.

[dbrown]

I posted this in a t206 thread a while ago but relevant here, too --

Back in the early 1980s, I was a 12 or 13 year old and obsessed with cards. My dad got into the hunt, and he would place wanted ads in the local (Bay Area) penny savers. Had a number of really good finds, and of course things were cheap. Those were the days.

One night we went to visit an older teenager in Atherton or Palo Alto - fancy neighborhood, fancy house. He told us that his dad was Alan Rosen, and he would give him cards when he saw him. (Divorced, and we can read whatever we want to into that transactional father/son relationship.)

The kid had a sense of the value of things but was still selling at reasonable prices. What I remember buying - this was a very long time ago - was a 1969 Super Reggie Jackson (still a favorite card, it’s so pure) and all four T206 Cobbs, in a nice 4-window screw-down. (99% sure they were common backs.) We paid him $225 for the four. The green one was a bit rough, some creasing in it, the other 3 were what we would have called excellent back then, or vg-ex+. This was around 1983 or 1984. Give or take.

I should have kept the Cobbs. I did the local shows and priced them at $700 and they just sat there. It took a couple years to sell them, at $700.

David

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by dbrown

I posted this in a t206 thread a while ago but relevant here, too --

Back in the early 1980s, I was a 12 or 13 year old and obsessed with cards. My dad got into the hunt, and he would place wanted ads in the local (Bay Area) penny savers. Had a number of really good finds, and of course things were cheap. Those were the days.

One night we went to visit an older teenager in Atherton or Palo Alto - fancy neighborhood, fancy house. He told us that his dad was Alan Rosen, and he would give him cards when he saw him. (Divorced, and we can read whatever we want to into that transactional father/son relationship.)

The kid had a sense of the value of things but was still selling at reasonable prices. What I remember buying - this was a very long time ago - was a 1969 Super Reggie Jackson (still a favorite card, it’s so pure) and all four T206 Cobbs, in a nice 4-window screw-down. (99% sure they were common backs.) We paid him $225 for the four. The green one was a bit rough, some creasing in it, the other 3 were what we would have called excellent back then, or vg-ex+. This was around 1983 or 1984. Give or take.

I should have kept the Cobbs. I did the local shows and priced them at $700 and they just sat there. It took a couple years to sell them, at $700.

David

I think we all had cards we wished we would have back. If I could pick just 5, I would be retired in a mansion somewhere in Belize.

[nineunder71]

Yes, Taos is very nice, however Ruidoso is far better, but still about 2 1/2 hours from the airport in Abq. Someday, the rest of the US will discover this gem of a state: great weather, awesome golf, awesome food, job expansion through the roof right now, and extremely low cost of living and RE prices....

Actually, not sure what I’m thinking w this post, please stay away and I’ll keep getting while the getting is good.

Originally Posted by ocjack

Taos is beautiful. Great restaurants, art galleries, locals. But anticipate a 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive from Albuquerque and drink plenty of water on the drive.

[nickedson]

I knew Al Rosen for many years. I think he treated me well because I was a longtime monthly columnist for Baseball Hobby News. He once told me he considered baseball cards to be like loaves of bread - he sold them as quickly as he got them.
At one national show I watched him yell at a few of my friends. So I decided to play to his ego. He wanted to buy 8 vintage Topps “sub-sets” I had. I told him that one of the dealers he yelled at had already agreed to buy the sets for $1,500. So Al whipped opened his briefcase and counted out 18 of his $100 bills. I pretended to hem and haw for a few seconds, then agreed to the deal. After he left, I gave both of my dealer friends a $100 Rosen bill for letting me use their names in “playing” Rosen for his bad behavior. I wasn’t the only one who “played” Rosen because of how he mis-treated my fellow collectors and dealers.

[sfmays24]

Back in the day at a SF show, he handed me one of his business cards (the size and style of 1952 Topps) as I walked by his table. I later heard he got really upset when his request to grade one of these cards by PSA was turned down.

The next year, I approached him and asked him what he could offer for this Gem Mint card? It was his business card in a PSA 10 Gem Mint holder (from a holder I carefully opened with homemade flip). He was genuinely ecstatic, shaking my hand and thanking me for taking the time to do such a kind thing.

He then offered me 2 different books, which I asked him to sign and he added a nice note as well. I was aware of all the stories about him as well as his SCD ads and auctions, but each of my in person experiences were both positive.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by sfmays24

Back in the day at a SF show, he handed me one of his business cards (the size and style of 1952 Topps) as I walked by his table. I later heard he got really upset when his request to grade one of these cards by PSA was turned down.

The next year, I approached him and asked him what he could offer for this Gem Mint card? It was his business card in a PSA 10 Gem Mint holder (from a holder I carefully opened with homemade flip). He was genuinely ecstatic, shaking my hand and thanking me for taking the time to do such a kind thing.

He then offered me 2 different books, which I asked him to sign and he added a nice note as well. I was aware of all the stories about him as well as his SCD ads and auctions, but each of my in person experiences were both positive.

That's honestly a really cool gesture on your part.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by sfmays24

Back in the day at a SF show, he handed me one of his business cards (the size and style of 1952 Topps) as I walked by his table. I later heard he got really upset when his request to grade one of these cards by PSA was turned down.

The next year, I approached him and asked him what he could offer for this Gem Mint card? It was his business card in a PSA 10 Gem Mint holder (from a holder I carefully opened with homemade flip). He was genuinely ecstatic, shaking my hand and thanking me for taking the time to do such a kind thing.

He then offered me 2 different books, which I asked him to sign and he added a nice note as well. I was aware of all the stories about him as well as his SCD ads and auctions, but each of my in person experiences were both positive.

Of course your experiences were positive! You made it all about him.

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by BillyCox3

Of course your experiences were positive! You made it all about him.

Ummm...nailed it.