The Most Difficult Card On Your Want List

When we first began collecting high grade type cards, 35 years ago, a young, ambitious dealer told us "don't sweat over anything, ...it is only cardboard and
sooner or later, you will be able to buy it.

As we look back at three and half decades of collecting, we wondered what items were on our want list that we rarely if ever have seen for sale. The group we call America's Impossible Want List... Our choices can be found below:
(1) Fan Cigarette type card
(2) Spalding Australian Baseball Tour poster
(3) Winthrop Photo Moving Postcard
(4) Union Association Program (except St. Louis)
(5) Texas Tommy- Wagner, Cobb Matthewson, mcgraw

Which cards and memorabilia have you found nearly impossible to purchase?

Look forward to hearing your response.


Bruce Dorskind
America's Toughest Want List
bdorskind@dorskindgroup.com

[Kenny Cole]

1909 Cabanas and 1910 Punch of Pete Hill. To my knowledge, only one of each is known. 1927-28 Mallorquina Willie Foster. I am unaware of any singles. The only one known is on a sheet.

[autograf]

Pete Browning N173 Old Judge Cabinet

[Jacklitsch]

1911 Zeenut Bohen.

[Robextend]

Rose Company Postcard Rube Waddell

[kkkkandp]

...between an N172 Peek-a-Boo Veach and an N172 Jake Wells.

[bcbgcbrcb]

I'll add one more along the lines of Kenny's, Mallorquina Dihigo

[HRBAKER]

1923-24 Jim Bottomley Exhibit
W600 Baker

[tlwise12]

Mine is also along the lines of Kenny and Phil: A Punch Pedroso (to my knowledge I don't know of any)....

[Exhibitman]

1918 Zeenut Lefty O'Doul.

E125 Jack Johnson: purportedly the card exists--one veteran E125 collector told me he'd seen one and I believe him--but I've never seen one. I've at least seen the Jim Jeffries, though I could not afford it either time it sold.

[wrapperguy]

1923-24 Exhibit Ruth and Gonzales
E121 Series of 80 Ruth (Babe Ruth and George Ruth variations)

[jb217676]

1977 Topps #346 Bill Singer in PSA 9 (would even take an 8 to finish my set)

[milkit1]

An m116 mordecai brown for under $150

[Bicem]

this..

[Blunder19]

t206 drum back seymour throwing...

if you find my holy grail would love a heads up

[JK]

Purple E94 Honus Wagner

[familytoad]

Easy one for me...

T208 Eddie Plank.

Let's see 'em

[bh3443]

I was looking for these from 1975 till 1990:
T-208's, I was never in the right place at the right time to buy them and now I've lost interest......
1950 Bowman Mel Parnell mint and centered.....

Currently, I'm having a tough time working on my PSA 1969 O-Pee-Chee BB set. Very hard to locate them in nice grades.

[bobbvc]

W600 Lobert- 15 years and counting....

[mark evans]

Well, if you exclude unique cards (Balt. News Zinn) and cards that may not exist (Voskamp Coffee Mensor), then I would say 1952 Globe Printing Padres card of Al Richter. I found one (not for sale) and assume others are out there somewhere.

[FrankWakefield]

I would like one of these... this one is not mine.



And this condition would be good enough...

[illini805]

Uncut strips of the W551 baseball series. I have been collecting these since the 1980s. I have three uncut strips of ten but I always am on the lookout for more. Not many around these days!

[rhettyeakley]

E254 Colgan's Chips: Elmer Flick (Toledo), Bris Lord (Phila A.L.)
1898 Cameo Pepsin Pins: Louis Sockalexis

[triwak]

1869 Peck and Snyder Cincinnati Red Stockings. I know they're out there, But I always seem to come up just a tad short!

[Rickyy]

PCL exhibit Earl Averill, 26 Exhibit Bill Terry and two I probably can't afford 1911 Gilmartin SF Seals card (any player) & 1955 Felin Franks Phillies card (full panel).

[T206Collector]

...to cross a signed T206 of Cobb off my list last night, but the bidding got away from me. So for the foreseeable future, the most difficult card on my wantlist remains a signed T206 Cobb...

[calvindog]

Paul, that price was crazy in my opinion and I'm a Cobb collector. I can think of a lot of Cobb cards I'd rather have than that for the same $.

[3-2-count]

Originally Posted by calvindog

Paul, that price was crazy in my opinion and I'm a Cobb collector. I can think of a lot of Cobb cards I'd rather have than that for the same $.

Make that two of us!!

[therajah]

Wm Paterson Rogers Hornsby

[terjung]

Originally Posted by mark evans

Well, if you exclude unique cards (Balt. News Zinn) and cards that may not exist (Voskamp Coffee Mensor), then I would say 1952 Globe Printing Padres card of Al Richter. I found one (not for sale) and assume others are out there somewhere.

Hey, Mark. Do you know if the Robinson exists in the Voskamp Coffee set? I haven't been able to verify that either it or the Mensor exists.

[cliftons8]

1. BF2: Ray Chapman
2. Canceled royalty checks for The Glory Of Their Times

[mark evans]

Originally Posted by terjung

Hey, Mark. Do you know if the Robinson exists in the Voskamp Coffee set? I haven't been able to verify that either it or the Mensor exists.

No idea, Brian. I'm not knowledgeable about the set but perhaps other Board members might weigh in.

[T206Collector]

Originally Posted by cliftons8

Canceled royalty checks for The Glory Of Their Times

Ooh, those would be cool. Do you have any?

[Rob D.]

Originally Posted by calvindog

Paul, that price was crazy in my opinion and I'm a Cobb collector. I can think of a lot of Cobb cards I'd rather have than that for the same $.

You could buy two brown Lenox Lajoies for that kind of cash and still have money left over for ice cream.

[T206Collector]

Originally Posted by Rob D.

You could buy two brown Lenox Lajoies for that kind of cash and still have money left over for ice cream.

True.... Unfortunately T206 backs are meaningless to me, and owning a T206 card actually signed by the player is amazing and brings the card to life for me. But the point is well taken and I am sure the money saved will be put to good collecting use!!

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by T206Collector

True.... Unfortunately T206 backs are meaningless to me, and owning a T206 card actually signed by the player is amazing and brings the card to life for me. But the point is well taken and I am sure the money saved will be put to good collecting use!!

There's always the next thing...

[MacDice]

Can't seem to find that autographed T206 Wagner that I have been looking for. Maybe Coach's Corner will auction one in the near future.

My actual list contains a W600 or E107 Harry Smith and a 1926 or 1928 Zeenut Earl Averill

[Rob D.]

Originally Posted by cliftons8

1. BF2: Ray Chapman
2. Canceled royalty checks for The Glory Of Their Times

Sent you a PM regarding the Chapman.

[calvindog]

Boston Garter (color) Chase

Brown Lenox Lajoie in a higher grade than what just was sold in B & L.

[Rob D.]

Originally Posted by calvindog

Brown Lenox Lajoie in a higher grade than what just was sold in B & L.

I have no doubt you'll get one, in higher grade, for half the price.

[tbob]

1911 Zeenut Bohen
1911 Zeenut Fullerton
E94 Red Background Lajoie
E98 Red Background Lajoie

[White Borders]

T206 uncut sheet with BL460 backs
T206 Joe Jax

[Wite3]

t205 hobby no stats

[Kawika]

Sans dogbite if possible.

[bcbgcbrcb]

David:

Is that Speaker?

[Kawika]

Negatory.

[cliftons8]

T206collector,
I have O'Doul, Wambsganns, Hooper and Wood. Several years ago there were some on ebay, but I forgot about them and did not bid.

Mike

[bcbgcbrcb]

Thanks, David. They do look very similar though.

[cdn_collector]

Originally Posted by mark evans

No idea, Brian. I'm not knowledgeable about the set but perhaps other Board members might weigh in.

To the best of my knowledge, neither Robinson nor Mensor have ever been confirmed. There was at one time a collection of 18 floating around...it changed hands a couple times that I'm aware of. I have no idea where it resides now, or if it's even still in tact. Anyway, I spoke with one of the one-time owners of that 18 card collection a few years ago and he confirmed that it was missing both Robinson and Mensor.

Regards,

Richard.

[simas7173]

E135 and Boston Store Hornsby