Member’s most precious card

[Rad_Hazard]

Mine is not even my favorite sport or team, but it's one card that I remember pulling at my local card shop in my hometown. I remember it so well because the guy working there offered me $120 on the spot, which was A LOT for a 10 year old me to turn down, but I didn't hesitate and still have the card to this day. It was an absolute thrill to pull!

[cornhusker]

My dad worked in a mfg setting in the 70's also. Was tough work but he make good money for working hard. As a baby boomer raised in rural PA he was somewhat tight with money. A couple bucks here and there for some packs was cool but I was informed that there was no way I was gonna be allowed to "waste 50$ on a Pete Rose card" even if it was his rookie card. Besides, I had several Rose cards with him in a Phillies uniform and they looked better than the floating heads anyway.
So, 40 years later my son and I are at this Gettysburg estate auction of a old time, hard core card collector. It was literally a ranch home full of cards in the middle of an apple orchard. There were hay wagons loaded with unopened modern, baseball reference books, postcards, a house full of boxes of random cards, early 20th century cards, and 3 large fiber drums of random cards- plus, lots of dealers & collectors.
The "mystery drums" seemed interesting as we noticed some '67's, a nice morgan rookie, and a few other decent cards mixed in the top layer with early '80s commons. And they did not seem to be drawing much attention.
My son was excited about the idea of buying over 120,000 cards at auction so I let him pretend to bid when they came up. The auctioneer would look at him and then check w me for the bid when it came around. We wound up buying the cards for under .01 each. Some guys were cool and congratulated him on they buy, and a few "know it all's" dropped comment's like "man I got some junk cards for ya at that price" and "ya ain't gonna find a Mantle in that barrel kid". We still laugh about that comment because he was correct... there were over 2 dozen of them. Along with near sets from every year 1960 thru '83 that turned out to be straight from the wax packs.
We were like card archeologists finding cards from all different years as we carefully excavated the drums that summer. I recall Tom Petty played in the background and Joey shouting "dad, we got one, it's Pete! " we sold most of the cards and put the money in the kids college funds.He got to keep the Rose card as payment for being my helper with the deal... so, I couldn't sell it even if I wanted too

[Exhibitman]

This:



This is the first 'old' card I ever got and it is the earliest acquisition left in my collection. I'd guess I was under ten and got it in a NYC antique shop. I'd never seen colors or designs like that because no cards in the mid-1970s were made using Flexichrome and that was my frame of reference. And it was bigger than my usual cards. I studied it for what must have been hours and I was hooked on vintage cards.

Now, would I sell it for life-altering money? Sure. Sadly, but certainly, and for enough money I'd even hand-deliver it. Ditto for my whole collection. In the final analysis, it's all just stuff, not friends or family. To paraphrase a song I like "Truth is I thought it mattered. I thought that cards mattered. But does it? Bollocks. Not compared to how people matter."

[ZachS]

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

I'd happily sell my entire collection for $5 million, but if I could keep just one card, this is the one for me.

I'd be hard pressed to let go of my Cafe du Monde as well

[hcv123]

The standout of the group is the Clemente rookie - the exact card that I begged and pleaded my mom to get for me at 13YO. $5 was a lot for a card back then - the $48 she layed out was incomprehensible! It began a lifelong quest for Clemente cards and memorabilia!

The Giant Stand Up - well, it's a giant stand up and a memory attached to a collection that was passed from 1 Clemente Collector (Ron Gordon) to another - me!

The 58 Kahns - again - a memory of the first one I didn't buy because I didn't know how rare it was at the time and a reminder that with patience most things come around again!

The 67 Venezuelan - a card I bought from John R. - John introduced me to Venezuelan cards back at the Philly show in Fort Washington in the 90's. I "visited" the card for about a year before pulling the trigger as John wanted considerably more for it than most of the rest of the Venezuelan's he was selling.

The 1960 Bazooka box - the culmination of an intense 30+ year search just ended a couple of years ago! Only known example and the last piece to my complete run of Clemente Bazooka boxes.

The Clemente rookie would be the hardest to sell, but for $5Mil - I'll personally deliver them to your door.

The way I've been saying it for years is - there is no card/collectible I own that in theory does not have a price - just quite a few that no one in their right mind would offer enough to tempt me.

[Casey2296]

Those du Mondes are fantastic, was just on your website last night, great site with great information.

Originally Posted by ZachS

I'd be hard pressed to let go of my Cafe du Monde as well

[brunswickreeves]

In the summer of '93 my Father took our family to Boston for a weekend trip, the highlight of which was a Sox vs. Mariners game (1st ever pro ball game, and Fenway!). He was working for Standard Coffee, 3 hrs from home in Braintree to make ends meet, and was a chance for us all to reconnect as a fam. My siblings and I each got $50 to spend over the weekend and at the game (I never had that much money in my young life). I saved it all and bought Griffery's '89 Upper Deck rookie at Ben Franklin's in Gorham, ME (what a card shop that was!). Still worth about $50 today, but priceless because of the association to that weekend and my Father & Mother.

[John1941]

Cornhusker, that's an awesome story!

[rats60]

Originally Posted by hcv123

The standout of the group is the Clemente rookie - the exact card that I begged and pleaded my mom to get for me at 13YO. $5 was a lot for a card back then - the $48 she layed out was incomprehensible! It began a lifelong quest for Clemente cards and memorabilia!

The Giant Stand Up - well, it's a giant stand up and a memory attached to a collection that was passed from 1 Clemente Collector (Ron Gordon) to another - me!

The 58 Kahns - again - a memory of the first one I didn't buy because I didn't know how rare it was at the time and a reminder that with patience most things come around again!

The 67 Venezuelan - a card I bought from John R. - John introduced me to Venezuelan cards back at the Philly show in Fort Washington in the 90's. I "visited" the card for about a year before pulling the trigger as John wanted considerably more for it than most of the rest of the Venezuelan's he was selling.

The 1960 Bazooka box - the culmination of an intense 30+ year search just ended a couple of years ago! Only known example and the last piece to my complete run of Clemente Bazooka boxes.

The Clemente rookie would be the hardest to sell, but for $5Mil - I'll personally deliver them to your door.

The way I've been saying it for years is - there is no card/collectible I own that in theory does not have a price - just quite a few that no one in their right mind would offer enough to tempt me.

The 1967 Topps Stand Up would be my choice. The card has never been publicly sold. When I was trying to find the value a few years ago, I couldn't even find a picture of one on the internet. Mine came from Woody Gelman's personal collection via Alan Rosen, who knew I was a huge Clemente collector.



I could understand the box as it is the only one know, although singles and panels of that Clemente are easily found. The other 3 cards have sold on eBay within the past year or so. Your Kahns and Venezuelan are beautiful high grade examples for those issues.

[Leon]

The OBC guys gave me this one because they knew I liked it. A very nice and generous gesture.

[fkm_bky]

I won't ever sell this one. Sure, some day I'd like to upgrade it to a full copy, but I won't sell it. It's been my favorite pre-war card since the day I saw it. Just wish I would have snapped up the SGC60 for $200 back in 2006.

[gabrinus]

Those Cafe Du Mondes are cool...spent a few mornings there hungover...Jerry

[phillyfan24]

1

[hockeyhockey]

Originally Posted by raulus

How do you pick just one??!!!

I will restrain myself and suggest that these two are the nearest to my heart, although they are not necessarily the most valuable in my collection.

Mostly because they are somewhat challenging to find, I guess. And if I ever did let them go, I suspect that I would have a hard time ever getting them back.

that mays is awesome. how rare is that? seems hard to find any 1961 dice game cards (other than the slew of remakes)

[raulus]

Originally Posted by hockeyhockey

that mays is awesome. how rare is that? seems hard to find any 1961 dice game cards (other than the slew of remakes)

There are 3 total Mays dice game items that I know of. Two in PSA holders (including this one), and one in a SGC holder. Could be that there are more, because you never know. As I understand it, until somewhat recently, there were some real questions about the maker of this issue. So I suspect it’s possible that we’ll learn more in the future, although considering how much I have tied up in this one, I hope that there’s not a gigantic stash of a few thousand that will come out from someone’s secret hidden supply.

[Lucas00]

Originally Posted by hockeyhockey

that mays is awesome. how rare is that? seems hard to find any 1961 dice game cards (other than the slew of remakes)

They are one of the rarest post war releases ever made. I don’t think a single card has above 3 or 4 examples graded in the set.
My friend is a big Musial collector, after he saw the dice game scarcity and price he told me “I’ll just pretend like I never saw that one”

[G1911]

Originally Posted by raulus

There are 3 total Mays dice game items that I know of. Two in PSA holders (including this one), and one in a SGC holder. Could be that there are more, because you never know. As I understand it, until somewhat recently, there were some real questions about the maker of this issue. So I suspect it’s possible that we’ll learn more in the future, although considering how much I have tied up in this one, I hope that there’s not a gigantic stash of a few thousand that will come out from someone’s secret hidden supply.

I have found that the best way to make more of a card appear, is to pay high end of market for a copy of that card. Works for me every time!

[raulus]

Originally Posted by G1911

I have found that the best way to make more of a card appear, is to pay high end of market for a copy of that card. Works for me every time!

Definitely seems like a pretty solid inducement to flush out previously undiscovered specimens. The SGC version sold around a year or so ago for $100k+. So if they’re out there, I would expect them to come out at that price point. But maybe they’re waiting for 7 figures before they leak out.

[Yoda]

When I reentered the hobby in the mid 90's, I decided to focus on pre-war and Cracker Jacks in particular, since I knew, like so many, they were popular, held their value or appreciated over time and were so damn attractive compared to other E cards.

So I picked up a bunch, all raw because grading companies were just entering the picture, and reasonable, dirt cheap by today's standard. I decide to keep two of the same player because to me he represented the essence of the dead ball era, and that would be Fred Clarke. I still have both the '14 and '15 in my PC

A great player/manger who played and managed tough. Perched on some bats, looking out at the horizon for answers how to get the Pirates out of their slump.
Tough on the testicles, though.

[Rhotchkiss]

Not sure this is my precious, but this is definitely one of favorites

[LEHR]

Originally Posted by harperj497

Love the way y’all are sharing stories of these cards. They’re all great stories.

So i got one more question, would you give up your “most precious” cards for $5m if you got the offer. Sorry to drop this bomb on y’all lol. I’d love to hear your answers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ha! I've been collecting for 40 years and for $5MM I'd give you the entire collection and the new house it's housed in.
Everything has a price aside from my family and animals.

[robertsmithnocure]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

Not sure this is my precious, but this is definitely one of favorites

Hard to beat a card of Moonlight Graham. Can’t be too many of those out there. That has to be one of the best postcards out there.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by LEHR

Ha! I've been collecting for 40 years and for $5MM I'd give you the entire collection and the new house it's housed in.
Everything has a price aside from my family and animals.

I think my wife would draw the line at the house.

[hockeyhockey]

Originally Posted by raulus

Definitely seems like a pretty solid inducement to flush out previously undiscovered specimens. The SGC version sold around a year or so ago for $100k+. So if they’re out there, I would expect them to come out at that price point. But maybe they’re waiting for 7 figures before they leak out.

that's wild

[hockeyhockey]

Originally Posted by raulus

There are 3 total Mays dice game items that I know of. Two in PSA holders (including this one), and one in a SGC holder. Could be that there are more, because you never know. As I understand it, until somewhat recently, there were some real questions about the maker of this issue. So I suspect it’s possible that we’ll learn more in the future, although considering how much I have tied up in this one, I hope that there’s not a gigantic stash of a few thousand that will come out from someone’s secret hidden supply.

amazing. i never even heard of it before seeing your copy. super cool item.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by campyfan39

May 11, 1986. My Dad was coaching my team and we had a game that night. Before the game he and Mom told me to come into their room that they had a special gift for my 13th bday. It was this 56' Mick. Dad bought it from a Kit Young catalogue for $35 (which was more than was normally spent on birthdays and more than Dad had ever spent on a card for himself at that point).

Great story. Mine is the '56 Mick too. I traded for an offgrade one as a kid when I was 13 or 14, and what I had to give up at the time almost totally cleaned out my vintage collection. A couple of years ago I upgraded to a nicer copy of the card, (and yes I got rid of my original offgrade one - I can understand why many people wouldn't, but doing so allowed me to pickup another grail card...) However - I never would have gotten rid of my original without securing an upgrade. There is just something magical about Mantle and the design of the '56 Topps cards. Pure nostalgia. My favorite card of all-time.

[MantleMarisFordBerra]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

There is just something magical about Mantle and the design of the '56 Topps cards. Pure nostalgia. My favorite card of all-time.

Same!

[Seven]

I've talked about this story before on the board, it's my 1968 Topps Mickey Mantle. It was my first, vintage card, that I received around the age of nine. I had to have a surgery performed, and I just started getting into card collecting. My father would regale me with stories of Mickey Mantle, from his childhood. When the surgery was completed, he took me to a local card store, that sold vintage cards. It immediately caught my eye, and he purchased it for me. It set me down the long path I'm currently on, as I will collect for life. I couldn't possibly thing of selling it. It's too precious to me.

[bmattioli]

My father sent me this card while I was stationed at Torrejon AB Spain in 1985.. It's Never leaving my collection