"The Most I've Ever Spent on a Card" - A story in 12 parts. What's your story?

[Bliggity]

Originally Posted by jingram058

I couldn't help but notice that the monetary amounts spent weren't stated after the first few deals. Great stories, but perhaps would be more dramatic if the money spent was stated.

Hey James - thanks for making it all the way through, you might be the only one! I decided not to include prices because I didn't want to dissuade anyone from posting. I don't want it to feel like a competition and there might be folks who don't want to share what they paid for their cards. Also, it's more about seeing what has inspired us to expand our limits over time to get that card that we just have to have, whether it costs a hundred dollars or a million dollars. I'll leave it to others to decide whether they want to post prices; no pressure either way.

[ullmandds]

Nice cards...and good stories. I certainly have mine spanning the last 40 or so years.

I have early hobby memories of scoffing at $7 for a tom seaver rookie...and $25 for a hank aaron rookie...mind you I was like 8! $250 for a nrmt goudey ruth for $200 may as well have been a million bucks!

While in college I purchased a fro joy uncut sheet for maybe $85. At this time this was by far the most I ever paid for a card...it turned out to be fake!

In 1992 i won a few red hindy backed t206's at a live auction in silver spring, mn...for $100 ea.

Then in 1994 while interviewing at dental schools I came across a crandall red hindu in cleveland, oh for $250...a new record for me.

The most I ever paid for a card was the infamous t207. red cross lowdy from the antiques roadshow...it was somewhere around 20K.

The only card remaining in my collection is the fake fro joy sheet!!!!

[Bliggity]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

The only card remaining in my collection is the fake fro joy sheet!!!!

Lol...isn't that how it goes sometimes. As a T207 guy, I would love for a Red Cross to be card #13 in my story, but I've probably topped out for a while.

Originally Posted by brass_rat

Great looking cards, Dan! Thanks for sharing the stories. I'm curious what your wife thinks 10 years later after you went to the card shop.

Kind of funny there. It definitely drew a lot of raised eyebrows for the first few years, but she tolerated it and we basically had a "don't ask, don't tell" policy on how much I spent on cards. During that time, I mostly kept my cards in a closed trunk. It was good for storage, but I ended up not really enjoying my collection because I never saw my cards. Then a couple years ago when I turned 40, I bought myself a really nice, big display cabinet. I spent an entire weekend installing lights, planning the display, and setting it up. When I was done, I asked my wife to come look at it. She came in, took one look, and said "ohhhh....now I understand!" Now she's the one who shows it off when we have company over. I think by seeing everything displayed, she saw it more as a mini-museum rather than as a baseball card collection. We still don't really talk about prices, but she knows that it's worth a lot more after Covid, so that helps.

This is how it looked at the time; it's gone through a couple revisions since then.

[jayshum]

Very nice display

[ALR-bishop]

Great cards and display Dan

[bk400]

This is a great post. During the halcyon days of early 1987, while basking in the glory of the New York Mets, I eagerly shoveled snow around the neighborhood to afford the following:

1) $8 for the 1985 Topps Dwight Gooden rookie card.
2) $8 for the 1984 Topps Darryl Strawberry rookie card.
3) $15 for a badly off-centered, 1979 Ozzie Smith rookie card.

I bought those cards at the Union Market in Union, NJ, which was an awesome place -- in the same way that the Cantina in Star Wars was an awesome place.

[ajjohnsonsoxfan]

Great post! And you did a hellofa job on that display. Looks really amazing.

[boysblue]

I made it all the way through. Loved it. Thanks for taking the time to post this!

[tiger8mush]

Originally Posted by Bliggity

This is how it looked at the time; it's gone through a couple revisions since then.

Beautiful display, and love those raw cards!
Thanks for sharing your story, good luck in your hunt for a Red Cross to be card #13

[byrone]

Even though he’s not a Hall of Famer the 1984 Don Mattingly Donruss rookie card remains a classic.

[brass_rat]

Dan, great cabinet! I'm glad that your wife is on board and that you've reached an understanding.

Balticfox, your hypothetical conversation reminds me of this meme I once saw:

[bnorth]

Not the most valuable but the most I have paid for cards was a 1952 Topps Eddie Mathews and a T206 Red Cobb. The Mathews is one of the very few cards I regret getting rid of.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by Bliggity

Now she's the one who shows it off when we have company over. I think by seeing everything displayed, she saw it more as a mini-museum rather than as a baseball card collection.

While I like to keep my treasures on display, typically I don't show off my collections to house guests. First of all I'm reluctant to advertise the treasure trove in my house. Moreover unless a house guest also has the collecting gene, the conversations would tend to go something like this:

GUEST - So how much is all of this stuff worth?



BALTICFOX - What does it matter? It's not for sale. And it's never been about the money for me anyway.

GUEST - But what are you going to do with this stuff when you die?



BALTICFOX - Nothing. I'll be dead. I won't be doing much of anything then.

GUEST - I mean have you ever thought of selling your collections now to buy something you can enjoy?



BALTICFOX - That's actually why I have these items. I enjoy having them! They bring me satisfaction and delight.

Oh, and by the way, what would you propose that I do with the money I get for my collectibles? Spend it on beer, wine and pot like you do leaving nothing other than a few more dead brain cells?

[Bliggity]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

While I like to keep my treasures on display, typically I don't show off my collections to house guests. First of all I'm reluctant to advertise the treasure trove in my house. Moreover unless a house guest also has the collecting gene, the conversations would tend to go something like this:

GUEST - So how much is all of this stuff worth?

I definitely get nervous also, but I'm pretty selective about who gets to see it. Usually just close friends. And you're right about the conversation quickly turning to, "how much do you pay for these?" But not always. I had a buddy over on NYE who could not care less about sports. I don't think he's thrown a ball in his life or watched a minute of sports on TV. But he was amazed by all the color lithograph cards; he remarked that they were little works of art and studied them for a while. He also saw a couple 1972 Topps cards and thought they were pretty "groovy," lol.

Lots of great cards and stories getting posted here. John, I love the '38 DiMaggio, it's high on my want-list.

[Stampsfan]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

While I like to keep my treasures on display, typically I don't show off my collections to house guests. First of all I'm reluctant to advertise the treasure trove in my house. Moreover unless a house guest also has the collecting gene, the conversations would tend to go something like this:

GUEST - So how much is all of this stuff worth?



BALTICFOX - What does it matter? It's not for sale. And it's never been about the money for me anyway.

GUEST - But what are you going to do with this stuff when you die?



BALTICFOX - Nothing. I'll be dead. I won't be doing much of anything then.

GUEST - I mean have you ever thought of selling your collections now to buy something you can enjoy?



BALTICFOX - That's actually why I have these items. I enjoy having them! They bring me satisfaction and delight.

Oh, and by the way, what would you propose that I do with the money I get for my collectibles? Spend it on beer, wine and pot like you do leaving nothing other than a few more dead brain cells?

Are you somehow listening to conversations I have at my place? Seriously, I read this and laughed as it's so familiar.
Typically a conversation with friends who are indeed sports fans, but not collectors. Sigh, it seems it's always around the value, not the rarity or appearance.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by Stampsfan

Are you somehow listening to conversations I have at my place? Seriously, I read this and laughed as it's so familiar.
Typically a conversation with friends who are indeed sports fans, but not collectors. Sigh, it seems it's always around the value, not the rarity or appearance.

Have you ever listened to a radio talk show on sports card collecting? ALL the call-ins are about "I have a ____. How much is it worth?" Not a single call is about "I'm trying to find some x cards issued in 19_ _ but I'm having no success. Does anyone have any?" I even phoned in once about thirty years ago to complain about the nature of the other call-ins.

[Leon]

I just waded through it, Dan. Those memories are so awesome. Some of us might have some simliar, but to be able to put them in written form, the way you did; that is awesome. Thanks for sharing!
.

[raulus]

Sadly, I haven’t been tracking it all that well. It also doesn’t help that I peaked pretty early, at least after coming back from my hiatus.

But a few stand out.

It was 1991, and I rode my bike down to the bank to withdraw $5 from my bank account to pick up the 52T Mantle of my childhood - the 89 UD Griffey.

When my parents found out, they freaked, and I was thoroughly reprimanded for my folly. I think it might still be buried in a box in my childhood bedroom, and if I’m lucky it might be worth slightly more than I paid for it then, assuming I didn’t maul it too badly.

Not long after returning to collecting, and deciding to focus on the Amazing Mr. Mays, I picked up a 52T Mays in PSA 7. Probably around 2016 or 2017. Since most databases will pick up sales of graded cards, it’s almost certainly a matter of public record that I paid $7,500 to pick it up.

Fast forward another year or two and the top Mays collector decided to liquidate his entire collection at auction with ML. I ended up picking up a lot of great stuff, but one piece stands out as the highest cost, a record which it continues to hold for me to this day. Since they rarely come up for sale, I went all in on the 61T Dice Game Mays. Given that ML auctions run all night, I went to bed not knowing if I had actually won or not. But the next morning, wonder of wonders, no one stepped up to top my high bid. Given that this sale is also easily found in public records, I can confirm that I paid $85k for it.

While I’ve certainly picked up plenty since then, including stuff that began to approach that amount, that was the summit for me, and I suspect it might stay that way. And if I’m being honest, 10 years ago I would never have guessed that I would pay so much for cardboard.

Some pics of the last 2, since the Griffey is not currently in my possession.

[brass_rat]

Great looking cards, Dan! Thanks for sharing the stories. I'm curious what your wife thinks 10 years later after you went to the card shop.

[HercDriver]

Originally Posted by Bliggity

Hey James - thanks for making it all the way through, you might be the only one! I decided not to include prices because I didn't want to dissuade anyone from posting. I don't want it to feel like a competition and there might be folks who don't want to share what they paid for their cards. Also, it's more about seeing what has inspired us to expand our limits over time to get that card that we just have to have, whether it costs a hundred dollars or a million dollars. I'll leave it to others do decide whether they want to post prices; no pressure either way.

I agree...the prices are irrelevant. It's the stories behind them and the chase that goes with it. Don't keep score...just enjoy the awesome cards! I loved that post...fantastic!

Cheers,
Geno