How are the deceased still signing?

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by mighty bombjack

But do you collect baseball cards, too? Or at least understand why people do?

I can find a photo of Mickey Mantle in 1952 and write a nice bio and some stats on the back. But for some reason, people pay crazy amounts for the same thing made by Topps. Mine is scarcer, too!

It is the artificially created shortages that is the thing that is just plain stupid.
The shortages at first were created by the card companies complete with forgeries and badly cut autographs, now you can create your own ridiculous artificial shortage with any cut autograph and a technicolor plastic tomb.
"Wow, it is 1/1 with a technicolor plastic tomb",,, "wow, I just got to have that plastic tomb with the 1/1 Bob Feller, it will always be worth more than I paid."
Someone putting a plastic technicolor tomb around an autograph, IMHO, is not creating a baseball card.
That someone has fallen for the Leaf hype and is a gambler, not a serious collector of autographs or cards.

[mighty bombjack]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

It is the artificially created shortages that is the thing that is just plain stupid.
The shortages at first were created by the card companies complete with forgeries and badly cut autographs, now you can create your own ridiculous artificial shortage with any cut autograph and a technicolor plastic tomb.
"Wow, it is 1/1 with a technicolor plastic tomb",,, "wow, I just got to have that plastic tomb with the 1/1 Bob Feller, it will always be worth more than I paid."
Someone putting a plastic technicolor tomb around an autograph, IMHO, is not creating a baseball card.
That someone has fallen for the Leaf hype and is a gambler, not a serious collector of autographs or cards.

We are in total agreement about what Leaf is doing, and we agree that many of these cuts are ugly, forgeries, and/or a shameful enterprise (when cutting up a letter or contract for the sig alone).

However, when a company does it right, these can be aesthetically pleasing, which does add value for many of us.

Case in point, I think I paid 32 buck for this Ted Lyons card for my HOF auto collection. That is more than a simple 3x5 would run me, but I like the photo, the registered White Sox trademark, and the overall layout. I don't really care about the numbering either way, but there may be some out there collecting the set. Who knows.

[RichardSimon]

Well, if you bought the 3x5 of Lyons from me it would be less than $32 , but in cases like this one I can see it from your point of view, though I still don't like it. It is just the lunacy of the 1/1 or the 1/(small number) which drives prices to ridiculous levels that totally irritates me.
Not only do they cut up letters and contracts, I have seen photos that have been cut for the signature.

[Bilko G]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

Well, if you bought the 3x5 of Lyons from me it would be less than $32 , but in cases like this one I can see it from your point of view, though I still don't like it. It is just the lunacy of the 1/1 or the 1/(small number) which drives prices to ridiculous levels that totally irritates me.
Not only do they cut up letters and contracts, I have seen photos that have been cut for the signature.

Like mentioned above Richard, some people ONLY like collecting "cards". That's why they like the Cut signature cards made by Upper Deck or these "create your own cut signature card" by Leaf. People like that these cards are small and can easily be looked at when lying on the couch watching TV (for an example). Some people like the slabs that these Leaf cuts come in because they offer protection. I have a friend who loves collecting autographs but he doesn't care for 8x10's, Baseballs, Bats, Hockey pucks, letters etc., he likes to only collect autographs on cards, whether they are on card autographs or cut signature cards. He likes that his collection is uniformed in size and doesn't take up much space. He also likes to take a few of his autographs to work to look at or show off when he gets a break or is slow at work, he wouldn't be able to do this with Bats, 8x10s, letters etc.