How does pre-war cards price out if they become HOF'ers?

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Posted By: DJ

I've been collecting Old Judge cards for four years now and it's a small collection of around fifty. I'm in my thirties, I have time. Let's say that Harry Stovey does make the Hall Of Fame next time out.

How will that effect his price and demand? I see that the N172 McPhee has been selling at $5-6K and is that because of scarcity or because of his HOF induction in 2000? Thanks Forum.

DJ

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Posted By: jay behrens

The McPhee price has to do with scarcity. From my experience, Stovey is can be eaily found compared to McPhee. When I first got into vintagve cards in 1981, the first OJ I looked for and bought was a Stovey. I've seen plenty since then.

Jay

I've just reached Upper Lower Class. I am now officially a babe magnet for poor chicks.

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Posted By: DJ

I just grabbed an old Beckett Yearly from 1991 and found that Bid McPhee books in EX-MT at $150 and Stovey booked at $250 in EX-MT. I checked one of the yearly's from 2005 that I have at work and noted that the McPhee in EX-MT was at $5K.

Leon? Julie? Anyone? Shed some light.

DJ

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Posted By: davidcycleback

If you're in a major Hall of Fame or won a Nobel Prize you're famous even if no one knows who you are.

If you have two photos signed by a not commonly known scientist, you will get multiple times the price for the photo where you say that he is a Nobel Prize Laureate.

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Posted By: Julie

unless you are already famous--like Joe Jackson, who never will be in the HOF, I fear, or Pete Rose, who many admire for his accomplishments, and maybe for his sins as well. The scarcity of old cards depends on two things: how many cards of the player were originally produced, and how many have been preserved? Obviously, 1880s card producers knew there was a market out there for Ewing, Kelly, Radbourn, Anson, and others. Whoops..what happened to Anson? Anyway, SOME popular players, who we have later judged to be great, had a lot of cards. And as Jay Miller has told us, NONE of the scarcest Old Judges are HOFers. Those who retained their aura of greatness long after their deaths had their cards preserved. THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN GET A KELLY OR A EWING for ther price of a Williamson. HOFers--even if they are plentiful, command, automatically, a high price. HOF cards will always be in demand, whether they are easy or hard to get.

It seems that Bid McPhee was NOT thought to be worth making extra cards of at the time, nor have his cards been particularly well preserved. So his election to the HOF--was a shock (much like Selee, who WAS a great manager--but nobody noticed...). These two lacks create scarcity--only an average number of cards made, and not many people thought to keep them. Plus: election to the HOF--creating an immediate and lasting demand from HOF collectors.

Stovey seems to have been a popular player, and stories about him continue to linger--which makes his cards in demand, without being especially plentiful. But probably moreso than Selee's, or McPhees!