N173 Find

[Wino]

Hello all. I am new to the board. I have an old family photo album that has two N173 cards in excellent shape. Pretty sure they have been sitting in there untouched for the last hundred+ years. They are both from the Saint Paul, MN Apostles. Grasshopper Maines and Cal Broughton. My plan is submit them to SCG and then eventually put them up for auction. I checked the population report at SCG and there is one Maines and no Broughton. I've read up on these N173 cards as much as I can find on the web. I'll upload some photos shortly. Any recommendations or thoughts would be appreciated!

[Wino]

Here are photos.

[barrysloate]

Great cabinets, with nice photo quality. Sending them to SGC is an excellent first step. Placing them in a good auction will be your best way to sell them. There are many to choose from, and nearly all will do a very good job marketing them. Good luck with the sale.

[oldjudge]

Ignore pop reports, only a very small percentage of known N173s have been stabbed. I would suggest REA as a great place to consign the cabinets.

[yanks12025]

Oldjudge,

I hope people don't stab their cards.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by yanks12025

Oldjudge,

I hope people don't stab their cards.

I stabbed one once but it stabbed me first.

[prewarsports]

SGC grading is going to cost you money and wont make these sell for any more than they would ungraded. SO in the case of these cards, it would be throwing your money away if you are going to consign them to a reputable auction house anyways.

[Matthew H]

I know some auctions offer free grading. I can't remember which one but it's something to consider if you really need them graded.

I'd also suggest taking a close look at them yourself. If you find anything, like a small amount of paper loss, just skip the grading since they will grade technically low.

[barrysloate]

Most of the N173's that are auctioned these days are slabbed, so I don't think it's a bad idea to have them graded. Yes, you probably can get the auction house to pick up the tab for you. But I think you should have them done. These look to be in the VG-EX/EX range, and getting them in 50 or 60 holders will help you.

[prewarsports]

To each his own, but I cant think of a person in the hobby who would bump up a bid in a major auction (10% or more of the value of the card) because a Raw VGEX-EX N173 was slabbed a 4 by SGC, and even that would probably just get you your grading fees back so you would have to get 2 bids higher to turn a profit based on the grading. This set is simply different than other issues that way. On ebay? Yes for sure because of peace of mind and nothing else. In a major auction where you know you are getting an authentic item anyways, nobody cares on this set. It certainly is not going to hurt the sale, but I can not imagine it netting you more than your cost to get them graded.

[Matthew H]

Barry, the Broughton has what appears to be a break in the photo and possibly the mount on the right side at his cap level.

Both appear to have some exposure affect from being in a frame at some point. It's more noticeable on the Maines with the half circle shaded area a the top of the photo and a straight line toward the bottom.

[Leon]

I am with Barry on this one. For peace of mind I would get them graded. You never know when something has an alteration that can't be seen by us mere mortals. I have stories of grading saving my arse but I will save them for another time.

[Yankeefan51]

Nice find

It has been our experience that any cards that grade above 5 (especially rare pre 1919 issues) warrant grading. Not only do graded cards command a higher price, but a buyer is far less likely to return the cards.

Wondering if there was anything else of interest in the album, and how it came to your attention? Rather than auction, you may want to post on the Buy Sell section and set a firm price- that way you will get immediate cash, save yourself the auction fees (and save the buyer 20%) All and all that could add as much as $500 for you, rather than for an auction house.

If the cards are graded, and priced fairly, I am confident that they will sell. Your only cost would be grading. I have several N173 cards- all SGC 80 and above- have not had PSA grade an N173

Good luck and Merry Christmas

[barrysloate]

I agree with Rhys that it shouldn't matter whether or not they are graded, but I won't be the one bidding on them. Even if they do have some condition issues and get lower grades, you won't get less money for them if they're slabbed, and there are certainly more than a few collectors who will only bid on TPG cards. I could care less either way, but there are plenty of collectors who disagree with me.

[Bunker]

Originally Posted by Leon

I am with Barry on this one. For peace of mind I would get them graded. You never know when something has an alteration that can't be seen by us mere mortals. I have stories of grading saving my arse but I will save them for another time.

I agree, grading is the way to go. I always bid more on cards that are already graded vs buying raw. It is easy to miss something from a scan, like Leon said, there could be an alteration that can't be seen and gets missed.

[mrvster]

welcome aboard......i love these and if my focus weren't t206...... ojs, n173 , kalamazoo,would be some of the others id focus on,they have always interested me....

question:

are these family pieces??? if they are, id suggest grading them, enjoying them, keeping them, and start collecting them


true history.....if your not selling to feed wifey n kids, then keep 'em

i'm sorry, i love our hobby

[Exhibitman]

They are nice cards so negotiate hard with the auctioneer. You should be able to get them to offer a zero commission.

[Wino]

Thanks for all the comments! Whether to grade or not was the big question. I don’t mind spending some money to make sure they are protected and I know what I have. And I guess these are not technically mine. They really belong to the extended family so we will see what happens. We are in no rush to get rid of them, but no one expressed interest in keeping them.

mrvster – It certainly occurred to me to try and build a St. Paul set since I was born there, but I already collect too many things and that would not be cheap!

As Matthew H noted, there is some browning on the edges where they were sitting in the album. No breaks, however. The Broughton has a small abrasion(?) to the right but it is just an area that is not glossy like the rest of the photo. No edge wear that I can see and the backs are very clean.

The album also has two boxing cabinet cards from the 1890s, a James Corbett and a John Sullivan. See photo below.

[barrysloate]

The boxing cards definitely have value too. Very nice find!

[mrvster]

i hear ya!!!

[Wino]

Well, I finally got around to sending these in for grading. There were offers for auction houses to submit on my behalf but I was more comfortable sending them in myself. The Grasshopper Maines came back with an 84 Near Mint 7 (Yeah!) and the Cal Broughton with a 60 Ex 5. Pretty happy with both although my fav is the Broughton with the nice stance and prominent St. Paul on the jersey.

[Jay Wolt]

Wow! an 84!! Congrats!

[TheBig6]

Great Cabinets,
Grasshopper Maines won alot of games in the Minors.
He was a bat maker later in life.

[RCMcKenzie]

n173fredmann051.jpg

Here's an n173 proof recently from B & L auctions.


Congratulations on your n173's, Wino. You should consider keeping them. If you decide to sell at auction keep us informed. I probably cannot outbid Bruce, but might be fun to try.

Cheers

Rob

[Wino]

Thanks for the responses. I'm working with Brian at Robert Edwards to get them in the upcoming auction. The family wants to sell so off they go!