Holy Grail ?
 

Posted By: <b>robertadamsjr</b><p>I was almost brought up thinking a Darby Chocolate was as close to a perfect find as possible . Why was this last one so cheap ? Relatively .

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Posted By: <b>Anonymous</b><p>I was almost brought up thinking a Darby Chocolate was as close to a perfect find as possible . Why was this last one so cheap ? Relatively .<br /><br /><hr color=red><br /><hr color=blue><font color=green><br /><b><A href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=004&sspagename=STRK%3AME WA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=140067140296&rd=1&rd=1">Her e is a link on ebay:Darby Chocolate</A></b></font><br /><hr color=blue><br /><hr color=red>

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Posted By: <b>Joe Jones</b><p>The card is pretty beat

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Posted By: <b>fkw</b><p>At least its not restored like many of these "garage" cards were back in the 80-90s.<br />It went for what I thought it should.

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Posted By: <b>robertadamsjr</b><p>Pretty beat up ? It is a Darby Chocolate with monster Hall of Famer Eddie Collins ! How many are there ? One or two ? ?

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Posted By: <b>Richard</b><p>A piece of cardboard CUT FROM THE SIDE OF A CANDY BOX the Holy Grail?<br /><br />For me it should at least have been issued inside the box, or along with the box. Not actually part of the box. <br /><br />I know Darby's have a lot of history and acceptance, but I still can't see how they are much different from W555's, E95 notebook cutouts and anything else that may have been "cut out" from something never intended as a premium, insert or stand alone item.<br /><br />

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Posted By: <b>JimB</b><p>Ever since the write-ups they got in the early issues of VCBC, they have been high profile cards. I think part of the allure is simply their rarity.<br />JimB

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Posted By: <b>Joe Jones</b><p>Yes it is rare, but it is beat. It went for what it should have. The big book lists this card at $4,800 in VG.

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Posted By: <b>Wesley</b><p>There were a group of Darby cutouts that were found nailed onto the wall of someone's garage. Apparently, they were all fire damaged. Is this Collins card one of the cards from that group?<br /><br />In any event, the final price seems very strong in light of the condition.

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Posted By: <b>leon</b><p>Is that it's an "E271". Jefferson Burdick made sure of that. Like everyone says "collect what makes you happy".....regards

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Posted By: <b>JimB</b><p>Price seems about right to me. You don't see these in every auction. Condition is a non-issue for cards when only one or two exist.<br />JimB

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Posted By: <b>Richard</b><p>Obviously rarity does not always translate into worth. Darby's are rare, but there are a lot of cards just as rare as the Darby cutouts that do not carry the same price tag. <br /><br />Jim - mystique is right on. I think it is one of those issues that have been built up over the years. Rightfully so? That's up to every collector to decide for themselves.<br /><br />Rarity and mystique aside, to me that thing is still cut out of the side of a box.

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Posted By: <b>leon</b><p>From looking at this card it is one of the ones from the fire laden barn where they ( a group of around 50) were tacked at one time. The alternatives to fill this hole are:<br /> <br />1. another card in similar condition, commons around $1200-$1500<br />2. a full box for 5 figures, or close to it <br />3. A restored copy......<br />4. I have heard there are a few other examples floating around, in decent condition, but don't remember seeing one<br /><br />Now if anyone has a D355 or N338-1 for sale or trade, I would be greatly indebted. best regards

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Posted By: <b>Wesley</b><p>There are other box cutouts that are valuable. Along with the Darbys, the Orange borders, J=K Candy, and 1911 Baseball Bats come to mind.

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Posted By: <b>Joe Jones</b><p>Nice Pick-up Leon. No matter the cond. I think its ( Max <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14> ) cool.

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Posted By: <b>Richard</b><p>Leon - imagine if Burdick only knew the power he wielded with his little pencil and notebook, sitting in his dark room with stacks and stacks of unwanted cardboard. <br /><br />Laugh out loud <img src="/images/wink.gif" height=14 width=14><br /><br />What percent of all possible issues do you think he was able to actually catalog?

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Posted By: <b>leon</b><p>No way do I think this is a "holy grail" although I would consider each E271 extremely rare with at most 2 examples known of each and the vast majority with only 1 known. Most other box cutouts, and I definitely agree that this is a glorified cut out of a box, don't have the ACC number, which to me is as important as any player in any set.

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Posted By: <b>robertadamsjr</b><p>Two possibly known and at much one ? Your Holy Grail !

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Posted By: <b>leon</b><p>My seat of the pants guess is that Burdick classified about 80%-85% of all known baseball issues up to his last revision (that we now know today) in 1960. I would love to know if he catalogued every one that he knew about. The guys like Bray, Barker, Burdick, DeNardo, Nagy, Carter etc... were as addicted, if not more so, than most of us are today. They didn't have the speed of the information highway though (internet) to make things happen infinitely quicker. I love the letter I have from Jefferson Burdick and the other from Buck Barker. Barker's was written on a Dec.31st. What a great way to party...talking about cards.

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Posted By: <b>Dylan</b><p>The card is missing a substantial piece in the lower corner which if it werent would raise its eye appeal and value considerably

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Posted By: <b>robertadamsjr</b><p>Does eye appeal matter if it is the only one in existance ?

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Posted By: <b>fkw</b><p>It has the same 3 nail pattern as the Cobb pictured in Lipsets book. Lipset said there were 22 cards found (1982) nailed to the walls of a fire damaged garage in North Carolina. Another cool thing is it still has most of the seal (sticker) at the bottom.<br /><br />Great card!

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Posted By: <b>Dylan</b><p>Perhaps it does when it amounts to a sizeable chunk of the card missing

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Posted By: <b>Bob</b><p>I remember the Darby which was featured in an old VCBC years ago which looked almost identical to leon's until it got in to the hands of a paper conservationist who did an incredible job of restoration and it ended up looking nrmt. It was unbelievable.

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Posted By: <b>Glen V</b><p>With over half the known Darbys suffering from tack holes, smoke, and fire damage, if ever there was a good case for restoring (or at least conserving) baseball cards, this is it. Maybe not complete restoration, but at least enough to stabilize each card. I'd be scared to pick up an un-restored Darby for fear of it breaking in half or it disintegrating into paper fibers.<br /><br />Of course I'm a little biased since my lone Darby happens to be restored. The impossible to find issue #7 of VCBC had an article on card restoration. The paper conservator spent nearly 50 hours on the Darby card.<br /><br /> <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1167369838.JPG">

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Posted By: <b>warshawlaw</b><p>I passed up a Darby non-HOFer at the 2004 National for $800. It was in better shape but not as complete a cut.

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Posted By: <b>Dylan</b><p>Thats a beauty Glen, how much are the restored ones selling for in comparison to those poor and untouched?