Intrinsic Value of Nick Maddox

[mintacular]

It's been a while since I've been REALLY excited about a baseball card. As a bit of background, I didn't own a card older than 1956, until today. I bought this Maddox card on a whim in large part as a result of joining this forum, plus I like the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Little did I know that this purchase would open up a potentially dangerious (and expensive) can of worms, we shall see about that...That said, I have no regrets as it has been a while since I held a card and just admired it regardless of its book price/resale value, etc.

Instead of boring you with my personal story, what is the first pre-war card you owned that held sentimental value? How did you receive this card? Thanks in advance for your story. -Pat. (P.S. I did some research on this early Pirate and found out he threw a no-hitter in his rookie season!)

[ChiefBenderForever]

Welcome to prewar ! It's like crack, the more you get the less the high lasts and you keep spending more and more ! Have fun it's a wonderful addiction. My first prewar was also a T205, an Ed Konetchy I bought for 1.00 years ago. In the past year I started to collect Chief Bender and discovered a whole world of cards outside of T206 and T205 and love it.

This one is my one of my favorites of all the cards I have. It may not be nice to anyone else but it holds a place in my heart

[Bosox Blair]

In the latter part of the 1990s (before eBay was a big presence), I had a desire to expand my Red Sox card collecting to pre-war...especially T206. The "Vintage Baseball Card Collector" magazine, published out of Tacoma WA, came to my attention, and so I was off on a road trip to the next Tacoma Dome show. That was roughly a 500 mile round trip.

I had read the old Lipset books, so I was keen to acquire a "scarce" card. I wanted to get the Kleinow (Boston) variation. I met some great card dealers at that show, and one helped me find a suitable example (and with a cool Polar bear back)...my first pre-war purchase!

When I heard about the relatively-new SGC, this was the first card I sent in for grading. I'll never part with that card...

[buymycards]

Hi Pat,
My name is Rick, and I am an addict. Before you get into serious trouble, I would like to invite you to Vintage Cards Anonymous. I'll tell you my story. Like you, it started with a low grade T205. (Ah, I still remember my first one.) Then it quickly developed into several T205 purchases. I knew I was getting in deep when I started looking for HOF'ers, minor leaguers, and yes, in a moment of weakness, even a Cobb. Then I started with T206's. OMG, over 500 cards. Southern Leagues, Texas League, 4 Cobbs (I hate to admit it, but I have all 4), and Elberfeld, Dahlen. Then I branched out into T201's, 202's, Goudeys, type cards, and yes, even Cracker Jacks. I started spending more and more time on Net54 and ebay. I am out of control, and I need to stop. Pat, please don't let this happen to you.

Sorry, I have to go. I just spotted an O'Hara, St. Louis on ebay.

Rick

[mintacular]

your stories and cards. I am going to limit myself to no more than 1 card/week, and pick up common players in VG condition from the Pirates. That's the plan anyway....

[alanu]

In the late 80's I traded a bunch of 60's star cards and $200 for a creased yellow Goudey Ruth at a show. Soon thereafter, my first pre-WWI cards were a lot of 10 beat up common T206's. Wish I still had all of those cards, but they are long gone.

[Leon]

My first 2 cards into addiction, that I remember, were an E102 Cobby that turned into an SGC40 not too long ago and a PSA 7 T205 Johnson I bought from my (now) auction partner Scott B. I was hooked.....I don't have either of those anymore but I have replaced those 2 with about 1000 other ones . And I thought I didn't have an addictive personality.

Originally Posted by mintacular

your stories and cards. I am going to limit myself to no more than 1 card/week, and pick up common players in VG condition from the Pirates. That's the plan anyway....

GOOD LUCK WITH THAT ONE LET ME KNOW HOW IT WORKS OUT FOR YA

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

My Maddox:

[JasonL]

You're not getting off that easy. Unless I missed it (entirely possible), you didn't explain what made you pull the trigger on this whim...why this card? why this player?
Regardless of the answer - congrats, and welcome to the dark side. Unless you have the needed funds, you may need to switch your screen name away from Mintacular...cuz that grade gets costly very quickly.

My story/nirvanic nightmare:
I have a pair of cousins who played MLB in the 1930s and 40s, and PCL ball into the 50s. Searching for their cards led me into a much deeper exploration of the history of baseball than I had previously been interested in as a yute (see My Cousin Vinny for prounounciation). I started learning about my cousins' careers, as well as the careers of their teammates and other contemporaries. That just led me back further, as I learned that my cousin Lee was chosen to play 3B for the Pirates by their previous thirdbaseman, turned mgr, Pie Traynor. Honus was one of his coaches and then close acquiantances (hello T200 Pitts). All of a sudden I found myself awash in stories of Nap Lajoie being so good that they changed the team's nickname(hello T200 Cleveland and T206 Lajoie with bat), about Lobert's famous horserace (hello T206 Lobert), and totally immersed for a time in the stories of the early NY Giants team (Hello T200 of NY Nats). I grew up a Cubs fan, and that really hurt. But what hurt even more was the fact that since they were one of the premier teams of the early 1900s, they had alot of material to collect! (hello team sets of T200, T201, T205, T206, and T207). Haven't the money to embark on the T202 and T204 just yet, and I may never.

But it is fun. Owning a piece of history is a satisfying feeling. It satisfies a selfish desire to have something that not many people own, it makes me feel closer to the game, and it's also a store of value that I can happily say isn't as destructive to my net worth as other habits or hobbies might be...The most satisfying items for me have stories or research attached to them.

Welcome Aboard!

[mintacular]

Thanks for your story Jason, it appears a few folks are firing "warning shots" in my direction that once the genie is out of the bottle it won't go back in. And to the other member, that's a real nice auto of him too, do you have a personal knowledge about this particular player?

I didn't put a whole lot of thought into this particular card. I've like this set because of the gold metallic borders and am not a big fan of T206s et al. as the white borders make the corners look grungy IMO. I remember seeing the famous Christy Mathewson card in a book and so that recollection also keyed this purchase to some extent. I grew up a PGH Pirates fan so there you go. I didn't want to pay more than $50 so any star card or one in EX or better was out of the budget. I like the idea of owning a card that was produced 100 years ago as well.

Anyway, I like the card, we'll see where it leads. I have caught myself on eBay the last couple days digging around a bit more for the pre-war cards. But until I learn more about the cards, I will not be going on a spending spree. I also don't really know what the market $ is for these cards and fear getting stuck with some reprints/counterfeits/doctored cards but I guess there are ways around that (buy graded, find a few rep. dealers, etc.)

Originally Posted by mintacular

I also don't really know what the market $ is for these cards and fear getting stuck with some reprints/counterfeits/doctored cards but I guess there are ways around that (buy graded, find a few rep. dealers, etc.)

Put up a post on the B/S/T and I am sure the guys here will help you out. Sometimes you pay more, sometimes less, but in the end you will always end up with a good deal you can be happy with. Raw or graded rest assured the cards are 100% authentic. As far as Ebay stick with those sellers who have track records of selling pre-war cards and can guarentee authenticity.

I like the T205's because they are easy to spot COU's. After a while of looking at others you will be able to spot real from fake and altered ones as well. Even those can sneek up on you.