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Originally Posted by orly57
The Dietsche Cobb is just now starting to take off. However, there are other 1907 Cobb postcards (some more rare than the fielding dietsche) and the w600, so the dietsche isn’t the only 1907 Cobb. This appears to be the only 1915 Ruth, and the first in a Red Sox uniform. People are a bit irrational when it comes to Ruth. Understandably so. He is the GOAT. Not to mention, as you wrote, there aren’t many cards of Ruth in a Red Sox uniform.
I agree that there are a good amount of postcard collectors. However, most postcard sets were regional and were printed in very small quantities. Even postcard collectors (or their heirs) who are ignorant about baseball know who Babe Ruth and TyCobb were. The internet has been around for over 20 years where they could look up their hidden gem and immediately know what it’s worth. Do you not think that postcard collectors know what they are collecting or what they are worth? Is postcard collecting the one hobby where collectors somehow have no clue of the value or importance of the items they collect? For the most part, a collector isn’t going to be ignorant about the value of an item that HE PURCHASED. And his heirs will most certainly look into the value of his collection once he has passed away.
These things have been around for over 100 years and we know of only 12 of these Ruths. I doubt that more than 10-15 new copies will ever surface. And as I mentioned in a previous post, extreme rarity isn’t always a good thing for a card’s value anyway. When you think about the high-dollar cards in our hobby, they aren’t exactly the pop 5 cards. The Wagner is up over 40 that we know of. The 1914 joe Jackson is up over 50. There are over 100 of the m101 Ruth. On my way home I tripped over a 1952 mantle. I’m just not sure that your concern over the potential discovery of a few more of these is really valid. I don’t think you believe there are hundreds of these floating around. So if another 20 pop up, I don’t think it would crush the value as much as you fear it may.
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Absolutely correct! In fact, 10+ more surfacing over the next few years might even elevate its exposure. Look at the Lucky 7 find (now 8). There are now 23 known tobacco Ty Cobb as backs and their value is stronger than ever. Over 100 Ruth rookies and their value remains solid with room to grow. There are numerous collectors that seek out Babe Ruth Red Sox cardboard, and a few more on the market will only help this craze.