Posted By:
Hal LewisI think the value of the 1950-51 Toleteros is "relative" to everything else.
For instance, there are only a handful of these Gibson cards known to exist... and this is the ONLY known true set of cards in which Gibson was included. This obviously decreases the "supply" side of the equation significantly.
At the same time, Josh Gibson is a LEGENDARY Hall of Famer... so this increases the "demand" side of the equation significantly.
FOR EXAMPLE... let's look at the 1948-49 Leaf "Tribute" card of BABE RUTH.
It was issued in a known set, it was issued AFTER his death, and Ruth is the "white" Josh Gibson. Great analogy to work with.
The "highest graded" example of the 1948-49 Leaf Ruth card (PSA 9) lists in the PSA report as being worth about $35,000.
NOW... since we know that the highest graded 1950-51 Toleteros Gibson (SGC 88) sold for $70,000 a few months ago... all we need to do is figure out why the Gibson "tribute" cards are worth about TWICE as much as these Ruth "tribute" cards.
This is easy. The grading companies have seen about 650 of the Ruth cards... and only about 6 of the Gibson cards.
So we are talking about a card that is very similar in nature to the 1948 Ruth card... yet is 100 TIMES more SCARCE. In reality, it is probably 1,000 times more scarce as a lot of Leaf Ruth's are still ungraded.
Heck, look at the "tribute" card of Ruth that were printed even LATER and distributed in MUGH HIGHER quantities:
http://cgi.ebay.com/1962-Topps-BABE-RUTH-138-The-Famous-Slugger-PSA-9_W0QQitemZ8733508602QQcategoryZ55922QQrdZ1QQcmdZV iewItem
NOW, having said all of this... what would the Gibson Toleteros card be worth if everything else was the same...
except that it was issued in a 1945 set WHILE HE WAS STILL ACTIVE???
Answer: A LOT MORE! I agree 100%.
If there were still only a handful known to exist... it would be somewhat akin to the 1914 Balitmore News card of Ruth (due to rarity).
What would an SGC 88 version of the 1914 Baltimore News Ruth card fetch?
$700,000?
So, YES, the fact that this is a "tribute" card to Gibson is a "drawback" on the card... but that has ALREADY been factored into the price.
Otherwise... if Gibson had still been playing in 1951... the card would be worth AT LEAST FIVE TIMES MORE than it is now!!
So while the Toleteros Gibson is expensive... it is well worth it "relatively" speaking.