Just Got My Autos (Cool Variations and HOF Rookies) Back from PSA...
 

Not sure what the proper orthodoxy is with pick-ups (already hads?) in these parts, but wanted to show off some stuff I just got authenticated (and I'll skip the part about how many cards from my submission came back rejected :mad:) by PSA.

First, it's all about the sweetness of HOF rookie cards...

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And then it dovetails into the variations I love so much. A pair of autographed (how many of these could possibly exist out there??), crazy-valuable 1973 Topps #280 Al Kaline 'With Band-Aid/Bandage' cards, plus a 1962 Topps #150 Al Kaline 'Green Tint' and a 1966 Topps #43 Don Landrum 'partially airbrushed button' card...


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Good stuff!!!!!!

Looking good!

Whenever I see slabbed multi-player RCs that are only signed by one player but still stand a shot at being fully signed, I kinda cringe a little. I like things to be completed whenever possible, but many others just want the HOFer or main player and leave it at that. There's no wrong way of doing it, naturally; everyone has their personal preference. None of yours can be completed at this point, anyhow, so they're fine as it is. Similarly, I'm not terribly fond of adding additional signatures to a 3+ player multi that can only be partially completed due to the passing of one player or some other circumstance. There are exceptions to my personal rule, though: if there's one player on the card who has been gone quite a while, then I'll likely still try for the remaining players. I tend to only do this with cards depicting 4+ players. Again, that is what makes sense to me. Others may feel differently.

Harkening to our conversation on the card side about wrong/different player names on cards, you have Dave Hilton on the Schmidt RC. Topps calls him John, but he always went by his middle name. He was a tough signer for the longest time and has since passed, so might as well just keep it at Schmidt IMO. I would never bother having Cey sign at this point. The card seems more "complete" to me with just Schmidt rather than adding Ron.

Ron Tompkins on Bench's RC was a wonderful person. Instead of being bitter about being "the other guy" (kinda like Carreras of the Three Tenors on Seinfeld), Mr. Tompkins never minded signing that iconic card. In later years, he used his position for the greater good. He requested $10 to sign that card and donated all proceeds to charity. If you wanted him to sign anything else, he happily did so for free. Unfortunately, the opportunity to add Tompkins went away with his recent passing.

The Gary Carter RC has long been a pain to complete. Dan Meyer is not the most cooperative of signers. A private signing was arranged many months ago, but Meyer wouldn't sign the RC if Carter had already done so. Gee, great. Does anyone want this card signed just by Dan Meyer? I didn't think so. Regardless, it's been months since this signing was supposed to have transpired and Meyer still hasn't lived up to his end of the bargain, leaving everyone in the lurch. The promoter/collector handling it is on the up-and-up, so have no reason to blame him for this flakiness.

Absolutely, I need uecker only on his 62 t and have been working on it a decade. Also finally got a dual seaver

I guess I am the oddball. I took a liking to the 75 Topps Tiger team set, probably because of me getting a team card right as I began collecting. Meyer eventually ended up with the Mariners, my hometown team.

I would take the card signed by any or all of them, but would have no problem with a Meyer or Roberts only signature version.

Same goes for Schmidt. Being a Dodger fan, I'd have no problem "ruining" it by having Cey sign it as well.

One of the many pleasures of collecting anything is that the only rules are the ones you impose upon yourself. I wrote something on another site some months ago that perhaps there might be the sporadic Tigers collector wanting the card signed just by Meyer. At least the Carter RC can still be had affordably, unlike the Schmidt (unless you don't mind one that's been run through a woodchipper a few times).

Cey was and is very popular, so I could certainly see a few wanting that card signed just by him. Personally, I would go for his true rookie (the '72) over the '73 if I was gung-ho about Cey. It has value, and a lot of sellers ask far too much for it. With patience, one can be found at the right price point. Whatever anybody does, do not send it to Oglivie tp be signed. I've lost a few of this pricey card to him, even with cash. He just keeps everything now, including your money. Follow-up letters get you nowhere. He doesn't care. He used to be a responsive TTM signer; I sent right when the replies dried up. Wait for a private signing; they're affordable and seem to occur at least once a year.