Isbell T206 sale on Ebay

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by Fred

For clarification - is the Sov 150 ranked #25 on back scarcity?

I believe they're saying that the specific card (Isbell) is a short print among the Sovereigns, not the overall ranking of Sovereigns is off. Some printed sheets had multiple of the same card, leading to some cards being short-printed.

[Luke]

Congrats Paul, great card!

YOu guys posting that you got an Isbell Sov150 for less than $100 got a great deal. I've owned two or three over the last 10 years and sold them all for $300+

Like Jay said, people are starting to pay up for the toughest combos and the poses that are toughest to find with a mid-tier back.

[HobokenJon]

The PSA pop report shows a total of two Sovereign 150 Frank Isbell cards. The SGC pop report shows a total of five. There are other known copies, both raw and slabbed, including this PSA 2.5 that I bought two years ago from David Hall's collection at Heritage: https://bit.ly/34ZeCeh But suffice it to say, the card is extremely rare. It's likely the rarest of all Sovereign 150 backs, and one of the rarest of all Sovereign backs. The published back-scarcity rankings don't matter much when it comes to this card.

[Ronnie73]

So I'm assuming there are other Sovereign 150's that fall into a similar category. Because PSA and SGC pop total for Isbell is 7 cards, and there are other cards that fall into similar pop totals. But nobody really knows how many raw cards are out there. But an Old Mill Isbell has a total pop of only 5 cards. Can't imagine where prices would land on that one. I guess if you have the money to spend, then there really is no problem with that final bid. Congrats on getting a card you really wanted.

[Paulcurlee1]

There’s no problem with any bid as long as you can pay it.

[HobokenJon]

To your point, Ron, see this Leifield (throwing) with an Old Mill back here: https://bid.robertedwardauctions.com...e?itemid=93451

Total PSA pop is one. Total SGC pop is 2.

There was a Leifield among the Sovereign 150 batch that sold last night. It's one of the scarcest Sovereign 150 cards after Isbell, but the Old Mill version is much scarcer.

[t206kid]

Some other Sov150 gems

[brianp-beme]

I don't have the Sovereign 150, but I do have the Sovereign 350 of Leifield. Being that 350 is a much higher number than 150, I figure my Leifield is likely worth 2.33 times as much as the Sovereign 150.

Brian (basic math was a strong point for me in school)

[tedzan]

Frank Isbell retired from MLB Oct 3, 1909. So, that explains why his pop report numbers are low. American Lithograph most likely stopped issuing his
cards earlier than the other 150 Series guys.

Lefty Leifield pitched for Pittsburgh till May 1912, so I have no explanation for why his SOVEREIGN 150 cards are tougher to find.

Whatever, if these extravagant prices continue for T206 SOVEREIGN cards, I may be tempted to sell my entire SOVEREIGN complete set of 408 cards.

It would be one of the best investments that I have ever made in Sportscards.





TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[Ronnie73]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Whatever, if these extravagant prices continue for T206 SOVEREIGN cards, I may be tempted to sell my entire SOVEREIGN complete set of 408 cards.

It would be one of the best investments that I have ever made in Sportscards.

TED Z

T206 Reference
.

Hi Ted, I play around with the idea of selling all my T206's at times. I have plenty of interest for many of my cards, and since 95 percent of them are non Piedmont/Sweet Caporal cards, there would be a buyer for every card. Honestly, the biggest issue is how to price them lately. If it's an auction, then it finds it's current value on it's own. But if you wanted to list a few a week with buy it now prices on Net54 or Tobacco Row on Facebook, the market is so unpredictable, and you'd want to try and get top dollar for the cards you would be selling. Auction houses would not be the greatest idea, just because of the fee's related. Plus I wouldn't want all my cards listed at once. I'd get more money selling gradually over time and I have the free time needed to scan, list, email, and send out the cards. But after thinking about it each time, I just keep adding to the set. I don't really need the money. It would buy some really nice things, but it wouldn't increase my happiness.

If I had your 408 card Sovereign group, I'd probably work on filling in the spaces, like the 350 Subject cards your missing, that you currently have the 150 Subjects of. Same thing for 460's you have and the 350's of the same card that you don't have. Excluding the Super Six, because if I remember correctly, you have the 350's and the 460's of those.

[z28jd]

Isbell didn't retire then, that was just his last MLB game. He bought full stake in a minor league team from Wichita in mid-December of 1909 and then asked for his release from Chicago, which happened a week later. To maximize his profits, he managed and played first base for the team too.

Originally Posted by tedzan

Frank Isbell retired from MLB Oct 3, 1909. So, that explains why his pop report numbers are low. American Lithograph most likely stopped issuing his
cards earlier than the other 150 Series guys.

Lefty Leifield pitched for Pittsburgh till May 1912, so I have no explanation for why his SOVEREIGN 150 cards are tougher to find.

Whatever, if these extravagant prices continue for T206 SOVEREIGN cards, I may be tempted to sell my entire SOVEREIGN complete set of 408 cards.

It would be one of the best investments that I have ever made in Sportscards.





TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[HobokenJon]

Also, FWIW, since you mentioned Isbell with an Old Mill back, the last known sale I'm aware of was in December 2018 on eBay. A PSA 3 copy sold for $800. The original BIN asking price was $1,200. (The seller was toppsaholic.) It would be fun to see what folks on the board think it would go for now. But I also can state with confidence that it isn't for sale.

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by HobokenJon

Also, FWIW, since you mentioned Isbell with an Old Mill back, the last known sale I'm aware of was in December 2018 on eBay. A PSA 3 copy sold for $800. The original BIN asking price was $1,200. (The seller was toppsaholic.) It would be fun to see what folks on the board think it would go for now. But I also can state with confidence that it isn't for sale.

Wow. Higher prices than I would have thought but some nice cards with some rarity and eye appeal

[Ronnie73]

Originally Posted by HobokenJon

Also, FWIW, since you mentioned Isbell with an Old Mill back, the last known sale I'm aware of was in December 2018 on eBay. A PSA 3 copy sold for $800. The original BIN asking price was $1,200. (The seller was toppsaholic.) It would be fun to see what folks on the board think it would go for now. But I also can state with confidence that it isn't for sale.

It's interesting that you brought up toppsaholic. Many people don't like them for certain reasons but I personally never had an issue with them. Sometimes they's reach out for advice on some pricing and other times they would contact me with new T206 purchases of theirs before listing them on ebay. I've actually bought some really nice very low population cards from them at fair prices. Especially Tolstoi's and Print Group One Old Mill's.

[Fred]

Originally Posted by swarmee

I believe they're saying that the specific card (Isbell) is a short print among the Sovereigns, not the overall ranking of Sovereigns is off. Some printed sheets had multiple of the same card, leading to some cards being short-printed.

John, thank you for the explanation. It makes sense. I should probably try to read the T206 thread Ted started. It seems fairly comprehensive. I've collected T206s for years but most have been traded/sold, but I still have some and enjoy them.

[bb206]

This is a fascinating thread, quite the educational read on Sov 150’s.

I did notice that the Hobe Ferris (combined Pop 8) and Fielder Jones Hands on Hips (combined Pop 7) both sold for considerably less money in the same selling frenzy. Curious if that points to specific demand for the Isbell/Leifield, or those other cards sold closer to market value. Or perhaps, many ungraded copies of the others are known to exist?