True Mint by Rosen

[Mitochondria]

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.

I never met him in person, but I enjoyed listening to his perspective on the hobby during the 1990s. I remember having to walk by his table which was always at the front of the entrance of the Nationals. His eyes scanning all the collectors to see what they were carrying. He most certainly was not a big fan of third party grading. You could tell that he was a gruff individual in public. You could hear his conversations with other hobbyists from afar even during a busy collector's show.

[Foo3112]

He was a true pioneer of baseball cards in a time when people didn't believe in them. This hobby is filled with overzealous individuals who simply don't want to root for individuals who are known (popular) or outspoken (good or bad) but Mr. Mint was good at what he did and you gotta respect the hustle.

[Mitochondria]

Originally Posted by Foo3112

He was a true pioneer of baseball cards in a time when people didn't believe in them. This hobby is filled with overzealous individuals who simply don't want to root for individuals who are known (popular) or outspoken (good or bad) but Mr. Mint was good at what he did and you gotta respect the hustle.

. 280 uncut Sheets of 1957 Topps with 400 Mantles!

[rhettyeakley]

Originally Posted by Mitochondria

. 280 uncut Sheets of 1957 Topps with 400 Mantles!

I have no knowledge of what happened to these sheets but it wouldn't surprise me if they ended up getting chopped, which is a real tragedy if that did happen as sheets from the 1950's are so much rarer than a stack of 400 Mantle cards.

A lot of the finds that Mr Mint and others of his ilk found back in the day would have been better off being found by almost any person other than them... If I remember the story I heard correctly he found a bunch of 1949 Leaf Short-Print boxes and then [ridiculously] opened all the packs looking for Paige's cards! They survived that long only to be opened!!! Can you imagine what those packs would sell for still in their unopened state? I personally feel the hobby would have been better off had he never ventured into the baseball card world.

Here is a single pack that somehow survived Mr Mint opening the packs...
https://bid.robertedwardauctions.com...e?itemid=44356

Just a ridiculously stupid thing to do to open all those sealed packs from 1949!!!

[samosa4u]

Originally Posted by rhettyeakley

A lot of the finds that Mr Mint and others of his ilk found back in the day would have been better off being found by almost any person other than them... If I remember the story I heard correctly he found a bunch of 1949 Leaf Short-Print boxes and then [ridiculously] opened all the packs looking for Paige's cards! They survived that long only to be opened!!! Can you imagine what those packs would sell for still in their unopened state? I personally feel the hobby would have been better off had he never ventured into the baseball card world.

Here is a single pack that somehow survived Mr Mint opening the packs...
https://bid.robertedwardauctions.com...e?itemid=44356

Just a ridiculously stupid thing to do to open all those sealed packs from 1949!!!

According to True Mint, he bought four boxes. He opened two, because he really wanted the Paige card, but he didn't get a single one. He sold the other two boxes to Jim Copeland who opened them and got THREE Paige cards! OUCH!! I would have been so pissed if that had happened to me! Anyhow, Rosen wasn't the only guy who opened these boxes. I think anyone would have opened them. Remember, this was over thirty years ago.

[rhettyeakley]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

I think anyone would have opened them. Remember, this was over thirty years ago.

Not true.

People were collecting unopened material & people were paying large amounts for unopened material even then (not to todays standards by any stretch but still a pretty good premium.) 1949 Leaf unopened packs were impossibly rare even then so it was a huge disservice to the hobby in general to do that and was also very short-sighted.

[Frank A]

Everybody bitches about Al. Al brought the hobby to a new level of interest. He was on radio, on tv, wrote a book and spent a ton of money. Most of all for Al is he made more than a ton of money. People are jealous of what he did. He was a business man. He made huge offers for stuff and he got it. Nothing was handed to him. I for one think he was a pretty smart guy.