The Next "Big Cards"

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Assuming I could even hope to predict, I wouldn't reveal it here...just sayin'.

-'69 Topps Reggie Jackson
-'77 Topps Dale Murphy
-'79 Topps Ozzie Smith

These three are wishful thinking. None of them have the sort of appeal needed, either from a player perspective or a set perspective. A 1952 Topps stars run is more likely a good answer, but which ones is the question. Does anyone care about Enos Slaughter? Really?

The 1953 Paige is already off to the races; we will see a $1,000+ PSA 1 before the end of the run. Paige has such a small number of career-contemporary cards that once the 1953 skyrockets, look to oddball issues to follow: his Exhibit card, Indians team issues and regionals, etc. I'd be looking at very early cards of star Negro Leaguers who made it into MLB. Larry Doby, for example, is criminally undervalued. Orestes Minoso is another one who should be in the HOF. Another place to mine is the minor league cards of star NLers who never made it to an MLB cart but whose NL stats are going to be treated as MLB stats. That will generate a wave of enthusiasm for them.

Except the super short printed Leaf, the other two Paige cards have always seemed a relative bargain to me, as well as the Exhibit which was pretty tough to find when I was looking.

I would also consider Sadaharu Oh, there might be one of his cards out there for every 500 Mantles or maybe less.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Except the super short printed Leaf, the other two Paige cards have always seemed a relative bargain to me, as well as the Exhibit which was pretty tough to find when I was looking.

I just checked and there isn't one Paige available on eBay right now. Only two have sold in the last four months, most recently a raw one for $420.

[jb217676]

I agree on Satchel, I picked up an Exhibit real cheap a few years ago and it's gaining some steam now! Speaking of Paige, here are front and back scans of what I have catalogued as a 1948 Satchel Paige / Bobo Newsome 5" x 8" Two Sided Premium. Never seen another and I've never been able to get any real info on it (I also have a Cobb / Rabbit Maranville from the same series). If anyone can tell me more about it that would be great, maybe I have something here LOL!

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

I just checked and there isn't one Paige available on eBay right now. Only two have sold in the last four months, most recently a raw one for $420.

I paid 400 for mine which in hindsight was probably a good price.

[Touch'EmAll]

Stashed this away few years back ...

[ASF123]

51B Mays, SGC 5, just closed at $11,211.

Previous high for SGC 5 was $5,177.77 in Feb. 2020.

Insane.

[ASF123]

Originally Posted by ASF123

51B Mays, SGC 5, just closed at $11,211.

Previous high for SGC 5 was $5,177.77 in Feb. 2020.

Insane.

Welp, that SGC 5 is looking like a pretty good deal after a PSA 3 just sold for, wait for it...

$12,700.

Previous high: $7,812. Nine days ago.

High before that: $4200, last November.

This is just madness. The card literally tripled in 2 1/2 months.

[Johnny630]

I wish I had a crystal ball but I don’t so I do this... The Next Big Card For Me is Keeping my Powder Dry, holding onto my money until this craziness stops. If I miss it I miss it, I can live without them. Just my take on it.

[jimjim]

Originally Posted by ASF123

Welp, that SGC 5 is looking like a pretty good deal after a PSA 3 just sold for, wait for it...

$12,700.

Previous high: $7,812. Nine days ago.

High before that: $4200, last November.

This is just madness. The card literally tripled in 2 1/2 months.

Probably a stupid question but how does one tell if market manipulation is going on? With so few sales, it would be very easy to shill or other manipulation to artificially increase price. Just wondering as this started in the autograph market about 5 or so years ago with rare inscription baseballs.

[SWinn]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Except the super short printed Leaf, the other two Paige cards have always seemed a relative bargain to me, as well as the Exhibit which was pretty tough to find when I was looking.

I would also consider Sadaharu Oh, there might be one of his cards out there for every 500 Mantles or maybe less.

Agree, that exhibit Satchel Paige is quite rare and I just recently got lucky finding one. Been looking for a long time.

It was printed in 1949, same year as the Bowman.

The Robinson exhibit is another insanely underrated one. Printed in 1948.

The are both beautiful cards, although larger, who cares? I love mine and no plans on selling.

[Exhibitman]

The Robinson Exhibit was printed for several years and is available. It is undervalued, but is nothing like the Exhibit Paige, which was a one-year wonder (1949) though perhaps made it into 1950. The 1962 Pittsburgh Exhibit is another absolutely brutal Paige card to find. He pitched 5 games (25 innings) in the PCL (AAA) in 1961 so I guess his inclusion in the set wasn't quite as weird as it seemed to me when I first heard of it.

[SWinn]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

The Robinson Exhibit was printed for several years and is available. It is undervalued, but is nothing like the Exhibit Paige, which was a one-year wonder (1949) though perhaps made it into 1950. The 1962 Pittsburgh Exhibit is another absolutely brutal Paige card to find. He pitched 5 games (25 innings) in the PCL (AAA) in 1961 so I guess his inclusion in the set wasn't quite as weird as it seemed to me when I first heard of it.

You are the first I have heard mention this about the Robinson card (though I would expect to hear it from no one else haha). So even despite the all capital 5/8" "MADE IN U.S.A" print markings, the actual printing spanned several years? Hope you don't mind me picking your brain. Thanks!

[Exhibitman]

What you are referring to are print variations from year to year. However, not all years featured completely redone artwork. The company wasn't thinking of obsessive OCD whackos like us when it made its sets each year, so the attention to detail wasn't there. I mean, they got so lazy that the just crudely crossed stuff out sometimes.




The Rizzuto and Doby had "An Exhibit Card" scratched out rather than removed and redone.

The point is that micro-analyzing the made in USA/printed in USA only gets you so far, it is a rule with many exceptions. The only way to definitively determine whether a card had a multiple year run is to see uncut sheets, which is how we know for sure that the Salutations Ted Williams was issued through 1960:



Other evidence is on the machine headers. When you see different cards clustered together it is because some cards had multi-year runs. There are also checklists made as promos in 1950 and they show Jackie Robinson but not Satchel Paige.

Further proof is in the population. The Robinson card is readily found in normal times in decent numbers. The Paige has always been a 'handful available at best' kind of card. I have been watching them for years because I love the card.

[SWinn]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

What you are referring to are print variations from year to year. However, not all years featured completely redone artwork. The company wasn't thinking of obsessive OCD whackos like us when it made its sets each year, so the attention to detail wasn't there. I mean, they got so lazy that the just crudely crossed stuff out sometimes.

The Rizzuto and Doby had "An Exhibit Card" scratched out rather than removed and redone.

The point is that micro-analyzing the made in USA/printed in USA only gets you so far, it is a rule with many exceptions. The only way to definitively determine whether a card had a multiple year run is to see uncut sheets, which is how we know for sure that the Salutations Ted Williams was issued through 1960:

Other evidence is on the machine headers. When you see different cards clustered together it is because some cards had multi-year runs. There are also checklists made as promos in 1950 and they show Jackie Robinson but not Satchel Paige.

Further proof is in the population. The Robinson card is readily found in normal times in decent numbers. The Paige has always been a 'handful available at best' kind of card. I have been watching them for years because I love the card.

This is very helpful and agreed when it comes to just finding them in general. The Satchel I recently got, dug like crazy to get and then one day just landed on my lap out of pure "luck". Robinsons, I have a couple and didn't need to sweat in order to get them.

I've seen the scratched out versions plenty of times but did not realize the extent to which the same markings were printed. I have never noticed differences in the Robinson card aside from the density of the sepia tone from images online (which could just be lighting). The ones I have held in my hands, nothing.

And you never know. Maybe they did all these things just to play a massive prank on OCD people 70 years in the future . If so, mission accomplished.