WTB Advice: 33 Goudey Ruth, 34 Goudey Gehrig
 

Will need to wait for my divorce to finalize but will eventually hope to buy a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #53 (yellow bkgd) or #149 (red bkgd) and 1934 Goudey Lou Gehrig #37 (yellow bkgd).

Budget would probably be $800-$1000 for Ruth and $400-$600 on Gehrig, depending on appearance.

I would want a card with no egregious creasing, no alterations, and no paper loss but would be okay with most other flaws. I've seen some PSA 1 examples that would suit me just fine. And of course, I would want to feel like I ended up with an authentic card!

Two questions--

1. Does my budget seem realistic for what I'm looking for?
2. Any tips on where to look?

Thanks!

I moved this to the front page for you in order to solicit some more feedback. With patience you might get close on the Gehrig but think you might need to chip in a few hundred more for any kind of presentable Ruth....You are close though...and might get lucky!! The chase is a lot of the fun, especially with some parameters.

One thing to keep in mind about purchasing a low grade Ruth -- lots of people want to buy one, and that drives up the prices at the floor of that market. If you are willing to spend a few hundred more, you can get a really nice 2 or 3. Stated another way, there will be way more competition for good looking ones than nice 2s or 3s.

You might try this strategy and see what you come up with: Look for a #149 Ruth SGC 10(1) that would satisfy your eye. The average VCP is currently $807.50. Compare that to a #53 Ruth PSA 1, which currently averages $1085. You can save some cash, and still be comfortable with authenticity.

This is a great point! My monster set is low grade and I find your advice to he applicable in my hunt.