T206 "Magie" Error Prices

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by Sean

I don't understand this thread. Magee is not a popular player, and yet the Magie card is a big card one hundred ten years after it was printed. If we haven't lost interest in the card in 110 years, what is going to be different in the next 20 years?

Winner!

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Winner!

For the same reason that Elvis Presley and Bob Hope memorabilia holds no appeal to anyone today under the age of 50.

And damm, that market for Louie Prima and Ernie Kovacs memorabilia is off the charts.

Times change; tastes change.

Amazing to me how little demand I see at auction for bands from the 1960s except a handful of them (Stones, Beatles, Who, Pink Floyd.)

(And please spare my the obligatory retort about how your 9 year old son or nephew can't collect enough Elvis memorabilia. Seriously.)

[RCMcKenzie]

Steve, not sure what series you collect, but a T206 Magie, is not a Rocco Colavito Topps card. It's why I referenced Rafer Alston, Luis Gonzalez, and Steve Finley. They are about my age and played well for my hometown teams. They are not hofers or part of important sets, so as the years go by, I expect their value to remain stagnant.

Steve Finley is like Corey Hart (apologies to our Canadian neighbors). T206 Magie is like a first release Scott Joplin record. Baseball will have to go away from our culture before baseball cards become worthless, especially cards from the T206 series.

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by RCMcKenzie

Steve, not sure what series you collect, but a T206 Magie, is not a Rocco Colavito Topps card. It's why I referenced Rafer Alston, Luis Gonzalez, and Steve Finley. They are about my age and played well for my hometown teams. They are not hofers or part of important sets, so as the years go by, I expect their value to remain stagnant.

Steve Finley is like Corey Hart (apologies to our Canadian neighbors). T206 Magie is like a first release Scott Joplin record. Baseball will have to go away from our culture before baseball cards become worthless, especially cards from the T206 series.

I never argued that the card was going to zero, just only that I question if its a great investment at this point. The huge run up in the market the last couple of years, as far as I can tell, has been fueled by new blood (and wealthy new blood) trying to get culturally significant stuff that has broad appeal. Babe Ruth first and foremost. Jackie. Jordan. Mantle. Jeter. Clemente. Icons like that. Yes, the rising tide has lifted almost all boats. I just question if there is going to be steadily increasing demand for cards of people that, well, maybe 99.6% of true die hard baseball fans (who don't collect) have never heard of. I seriously doubt it, but time will tell. An error card is an anomaly. I get the appeal. I used to collect stamps. Error issues are huge. They are indisputably cool. I just think the interest level in things like the Magie error card is limited to a much smaller circle of collectors than you'd imagine from reading this board.

Obviously just my opinion and I'm wrong as much as the next guy. I thought Amazon at $35 was overpriced.

[sportscardpete]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

I never argued that the card was going to zero, just only that I question if its a great investment at this point. The huge run up in the market the last couple of years, as far as I can tell, has been fueled by new blood (and wealthy new blood) trying to get culturally significant stuff that has broad appeal. Babe Ruth first and foremost. Jackie. Jordan. Mantle. Jeter. Clemente. Icons like that. Yes, the rising tide has lifted almost all boats. I just question if there is going to be steadily increasing demand for cards of people that, well, maybe 99.6% of true die hard baseball fans (who don't collect) have never heard of. I seriously doubt it, but time will tell. An error card is an anomaly. I get the appeal. I used to collect stamps. Error issues are huge. I just think the interest level in things like the Magie error card is limited to a much smaller circle of people than you'd imagine from reading this board.

For sure- once all the people who grew up watching him play die off I think the card will lose a ton of cultural relevance.

[Casey2296]

I would love to add a Magie to my Piedmont portrait run, there's only 250 of them, that makes the hunt fun. What do I care what it's worth when I die, that's my kids problem.

[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by sportscardpete

for sure- once all the people who grew up watching him play die off i think the card will lose a ton of cultural relevance.

+1000.

[vthobby]

Originally Posted by sportscardpete

For sure- once all the people who grew up watching him play die off I think the card will lose a ton of cultural relevance.

Pete,

I still remember that 1910 season where he won the batting title. My dad got so mad after buying me that season's pass when I promptly skipped all of 11th grade to see the games! To be fair I looked older than I was so I did not stand out.

Lived at 2601 North Broad Street, Philadelphia PA so the park was a stone's throw away. Still get mail forwarded from that address inexplicably?

Weird!

I hope I'm not the only one left? Sherry toast to Mr. Magee......or is it Magie?

Damn!

[steve B]

To sort of address the question more seriously.

I've been into a bunch more hobbies, and have seen things work different ways.

In most hobbies, there has been time when it had some degree of popularity.
And "high prices" to go along with that popularity.
For most hobbies, as the popularity fades, so do the prices. And along with that the availability of the better items also vanishes.

I suspect there's a price level after which a hobby becomes a bit more stable.
Portions of the hobby will see popularity surges and retreats, but the overall hobby will remain.
Another big part of that is how easily people can cross over from one area of the hobby to another.
Also, how old the hobby is.

Glass telephone/telegraph insulators were "big" in the early 70's. The common stuff was sellable even in rough condition, and the good stuff just kept getting better.
Now? The cheap common stuff is at 1970's pricing, but only if it's in great condition. The price is basically the nuisance cost of dragging a boxful to a place where someone might buy them.
But the good ones have done pretty well, just nowhere near as well as cards.

In bikes, at one time it was mostly about the 30's -50's balloon tire bikes. Schwinn Phantom, Bowden spacelander, and Evinrude. All became pretty expensive, but as the people who wanted them got theirs and some older collectors died out, there was less demand. Those bikes are still pricy, but not as crazy as they were (except maybe evinrude, I haven't even seen one in years)
But early high end BMX stuff? That's been going crazy for a few years now. Same for the stuff I collect, or did until they became too expensive.

But in a few years, both those areas will fade a bit. The crossover in both interest and knowledge is difficult.

That's not really true for cards. Crossing over between modern/postwar/prewar is fairly easy. And the sport while it has changed is essentially the same sport.

And there's a lot more money in the hobby, which surprisingly keeps things relatively stable.

I think the Magie will be a "good" card for quite some time into the future.

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by sportscardpete

For sure- once all the people who grew up watching him play die off I think the card will lose a ton of cultural relevance.

Babe Ruth died when I was 11 months old. I’m not feeling well today. Time to sell your Ruth cards before the market plummets.

[puckpaul]

Considering Goldin sold a 2013 Spiderman for $132k and a Serena Willliams for $55k, i think Magie is considerably cheap! Are those prices even real?