I know that there must be some collectors of m101-5 and m101-4 on this board, but the sets don’t get a whole lot of play other than the occasional rare back posting and the Ruth/Jackson/Cobb guys. Are there others besides me who follow and collect those sets here on net54? Please chime in.
I am completely perplexed by the pricing that is going on with these. In the other thread on GMorris cards, I pointed out how he recently sold several dozen m1014s the past few days. I use him as an example here because he is a reputable seller and because there was such a large grouping there was a little something for everyone. Now most of the cards were in the vg-ex range despite his conservative descriptions, and looked about the same in terms of condition. Of these, many sold between $20 something to $40 something. But others were very to extremely expensive when compared to their pricing history. Sherwood Magee, in typical shape for cards in the auction, went for $406.00!!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/38465728879...p2047675.l2557
Davidbvintage sold an SGC 50 example that looked better for $89 just three months ago, and no Magee card even with a rare back has sold for 60% of that $406 price. Just an anomoly? Well there were three bidders at plus $200.
And it’s not just Magee. I get that Red Sox and Yankee fans tend to pay more, but still, these blank backs-- in modest condition and the most commonly found backs, are staggering to me vs. past sales. Del Gainer sold for $380.00; Duffy Lewis $355; Wally Pipp $321.50; Jack Barry $305;Ernie Shore $257, Peckinpaugh $255, Clarence Walker $203, Bob Shawkey $248.
Also Al Betzel of St. Louis for $381 and Erskine Mayer, who at least is sought for his Jewish heritage, sold for $421.00. If you follow these, you will know that such prices are off the charts. Are there new set collectors of m101s, and if so, do they know they will need the Ruth rookie to complete it? (On the other hand, if they can afford the Ruth the rest is just chump change, but to my knowledge few if any owners of a Ruth rookie are trying to complete the set).
Finally, I should point out that this is not just a gregmorris thing– sales prices on on m101-4s have been spiking the past couple of months but are widely inconsistent. Is this kind of weird pricing going on in the sets you collect?