Seaver RC vs Ryan RC

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Generally speaking, there are fewer Seaver rookies available for sale at any one time. As such, the competition for Seaver rookies is a bit more spirited among collectors who simply wish to own one.

Both cards are from the late '60s. Both are multi-player cards that feature HOFers. One (Seaver) may be the best pitcher from the 20th Century. The other (Ryan) may be the most popular pitcher from the 20th Century. In a "tale of the tape" that's otherwise relatively close, Seaver's scarcity matters.

As for the prices at higher grades, Ryan's popularity may be a factor. This popularity applies to both the player and the card. Ryan's rookie has been a chase card for 35-40 years. For those into "competitive collecting" it probably makes sense to spend an extra five grand for a one-grade-bump.

Both cards are great cards to have in your collection. They getting 1 of each in whatever the best grade your budget allowed.
As for the why I think it feels like their are always Ryan’s cards available for purchase or auction.

[ALR-bishop]

What if any is the differential in price between the Topps Ryan and the Topps/MB Ryan in the same condition ?

[bobsbbcards]

PSA 1:
Seaver $415
Ryan $443

PSA 1.5:
Seaver $603
Ryan $434

PSA 2:
Seaver $823
Ryan $465

PSA 2.5:
Seaver $576
Ryan $540

PSA 3:
Seaver $928
Ryan $580

PSA 3.5:
Seaver $730
Ryan $664

PSA 4:
Seaver $1046
Ryan $859

PSA 4.5:
Seaver $1183
Ryan $924

PSA 5:
Seaver $1217
Ryan $1049

PSA 5.5:
Seaver $1225
Ryan $1285

PSA 6:
Seaver $1598
Ryan $1636

PSA 6.5:
Seaver $1680
Ryan $2348

PSA 7:
Seaver $2130
Ryan $2843

PSA 7.5:
Seaver $3250
Ryan $4171

PSA 8:
Seaver $4303
Ryan $7511

PSA 8.5:
Seaver $7975
Ryan $21,690

PSA 9:
Seaver $18,924
Ryan $108,034

PSA 10:
Seaver $344,400
Ryan $600,000

[Cliff Bowman]

And to think the Mets traded both of them for Jim Fregosi, Steve Henderson, Pat Zachry, and Doug Flynn.

[jchcollins]

Though I came of age during the time that the '68 Ryan card was skyrocketing in the early 1990's, I had started collecting 5+ years earlier, and from my reading already up to that point in time, I knew inherently somehow that the '67 Denehy / Seaver was the more difficult card due to it's series placement and scarcity. Interesting that when I first started buying packs in 1986 - Nolan Ryan was considered a good pitcher, but I think pretty much everyone would have agreed at the time that Seaver was better. Here nearly 40 years later - the card world aside, and the sports world (as evidenced by debates on social media, etc.) would seem to think just about the opposite.

I guess the Seaver RC has always been so appealing to me because it checks both the baseball greatness and baseball card greatness boxes. First ballot HOF'er, iconic pitcher who was likely the greatest of his generation. And from a card perspective, a single print high number in what was likely the most popular set of the decade of the 1960's.

[toppcat]

I was a weekend show dealer in the late 80's on Long Island with a friend of mine and while I can't pinpoint the exact year, around 1988 there was a big uptick in business on Ryan cards and we could not keep them in stock at all. It was kind of organic as I recall, there was no overt event that triggered it.

[Kutcher55]

Wow great stuff from the guys who remember collecting these cards when they first came out. Love hearing those stories.

I wasn’t born until the 70s. I remember when Ryan madness hit in the late 80s and I also recall it being quite sudden. For all intents, Ryan cards took the handoff from Mickey Mantle in the late 60s and his card became kind of the default most valuable non rookie card in the set by around 73, once series stopped being issued. But this didn’t happen until 1988 or so as the previous poster said.

I think it’s the whole Texas tough image. And his cards are all with the exception of his RC have great eye appeal. It’s as if he knew what made a great baseball card or something.