Premium for Lionel Carter collection cards

[CW]

Great cards, all.

[brian1961]

Naturally, it will depend on the card and its grade, but yes, there should be some sort of premium attached to a card with the provenance of being from Lionel Carter's personal collection.

He had "the eye", as shown by the scan of the 1914 Cracker Jack Christy Mathewson, as well as ALL the cards our members are sharing. Never mind the technical grade of the Cracker Jack Matty, the heart of the image is superb, and it's centered to boot. That is one of the great cards, period. Having known Mr. Carter personally, though not extensively, I will vouch for the fact he was extremely picky on condition. While he was collecting, he was always on the lookout to upgrade a card, too.

Prewar, postwar, oh brother, what a wonderful collection. He really did not wish to part with his cards, and the vast haul given to him for his collection did nothing to diminish his yearning for them. Advancing years, failing health, and a robbery. The latter was the straw that broke him. Legendary Auctions was instrumental in getting his stolen collection returned to Mr. Carter. That act of justice and kindness should always be remembered where they are concerned. I know. I know. There are other issues involved with Legendary, but I cannot fathom how excruciatingly traumatic that must have been for Lionel and Irma.

Time to hush again. A decent premium is certainly warranted where Mr. Carter's cards are concerned. I dare say that knowing a card once resided in his collection is half the fun of owning one today.

---Brian Powell