Groat, Clement, and Greenberg

[Archive]

Posted By: Fred B

It is generally accepted that the Clemente nodder, Groat Hartland, and Greenberg HoF bust are the rarest in their respective sets. I have been watching various auctions, and sales over the past couple of years and I have concluded the following: The Groat can be had, 3 sold on ebay in the last 6 weeks. The Clemente is tough but the big auction houses often times include one in their catalog. The Greenberg, on the other hand, is just not offered. It is, I believe, the most difficult to acquire. Your thoughts.

[Archive]

Posted By: Mark

I somewhat agree.... the Groat can definitely be had, and is the most over-rated of the three. Since the advent of ebay, these Groats have proven not to be as rare as thought previously. The typical price for a nice Groat has dropped from $1,800 to just a bit over $1,000.

The Clemente Nodder is tough, but is not a holy grail either. The real challenge is finding a NRMT/MINT one that has not been worked on or restrored (like the one that just closed in Mastro). All-original examples are definitely out there, but most you see in auctions now have some sort of touch up or restoration. Ebay is much worse. Buying nodders off ebay is risky business, to say the least. Many sellers do not even know when they have a restored piece. Of course the restoration does not bother everyone... just us borderline OCD purists.

The Greenerg Bust is definitely the toughest of the three. There was one just recently on ebay which closed for $306... still greatly under-valued, IMO. Link provided below...

http://cgi.ebay.com/1963-Hank-Greenberg-Baseball-Hall-Fame-Bust-Sealed-Box_W0QQitemZ260330730595QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintag e_Sports_Memorabilia?hash=item260330730595&_trksid =p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A13%7C39%3A1% 7C240%3A1318>


The Foxx HOF Bust was originally thought to be the toughest (pre-ebay), but I do think it's Greenberg. I believe that John McGraw ranks second, with Foxx third, Cochrane fourth, Waner fifth, Cronin sixth, Sisler seventh, Jackie Robinson eighth, and so on.

The entire Second series of Busts is difficult and very under-rated, IMO. I think these are a great investment right now, and regardless of value, make for attractive display pieces. Nice post!