April Pickups

[jason.1969]

A lot of "copycat" purchases this month! And here I am copying GregC!

[MattyC]

Greg,

When you showed me that Mays yesterday I told ya: grab that before I do! What a great card. How often do you see a 52T Mays that centered?

The Ryan also. To think you can put that beauty in your wall case for $70-- and see how it looks from 6" to a foot away! Gorgeous. Another one where you can see fifty examples, and none will be as centered as the one you found there.

That 52B Mick is safe and sound and will be heading your way soon.

The 53T Mick-- still can't believe you out-sniped me on that one!

[CW]

Great cards, Greg, Matt, and Jason!

[begsu1013]

back into the groove after my amex was hijacked. she's got a slight tilt to her, but any ryan rook w/ a straight 8 that's priced under $2200 these days is pretty hard to find....

[MattyC]

Lots of Ryan sightings this month. Here's an all-time favorite portrait, the card I always choose to represent Yogi:

[begsu1013]

that's a very nicely centered example matty! tends to be pushed to top left corner or bottom right. love the headshot of the 51

[bnorth]

I have wanted a 1959 Fleer Ted Williams set since I started collecting around 30 years ago. For some reason I never bought one till a few days ago, I got it from fellow member Paul S(Thanks Paul). I got this amazing set in the mail today.

[DanP]

Ben, nice pickup, great set. Congratulations!

[MattyC]

$7.75 on the bay!

[jb67]

Matt, I think I was looking at that Rose card but gave up when I bid on another. Was that a PSA 3? Great looking card for the money!!!

[MattyC]

Yup, that was the 3 that sold the other day. The centering and eye appeal were just so nice. To think an 8 runs well over a grand and you can have the exact same image in your collection for seven bucks!

[begsu1013]

finally got home in time to see spieth go wire to wire and to open a lil mail...

[MattyC]

Aaron has some great cards. The 62 is one I haven't admired nearly enough. The 67 is pretty sweet, too. Also love the 75 HL card and the 64 HR card, off the cuff. Been cruising eBay a lot this month. The 56 is astounding and among the best centering I've seen on the card.







Also snagged these two guys who went for way cheap. I think the 54B will be insane in hand with that anomalous centering. I had already bought the other 51B Berra the other day, but it's so infrequent that nice lower grade ones surface and I love the charming portrait, so went for it.

[Tom S.]

Fantastic stuff as usual Matt!

I had a good day at the local card show today. These were among the purchases that I made...

[begsu1013]

where's the Jefferies card over here, matty? i loved watching that guy as a kid.


and nice scores tom! that ryan is dead centered and appears to not have any tilt. love me some 71's and that clemente is sharp. always tough to find nice rawies w/o black sharpied edges...

[MetsBaseball1973]

What show had those two gorgeous cards?!! Outstanding raw pickups. Always prefer that and at a show to boot. Nothing like raw pickups at a show.

On phone now but will post my own Gregg when back at the laptop. I remember certain cards so vividly from childhood, especially the "hot" cards like those Jefferies rookies, and even Rickey Jordan's!

[begsu1013]

Originally Posted by MetsBaseball1973

What show had those two gorgeous cards?!! Outstanding raw pickups. Always prefer that and at a show to boot. Nothing like raw pickups at a show.

On phone now but will post the Gregg when back at the laptop. I remember certain cards so vividly from childhood, especially the "hot" cards like those Jefferies rookies, and even Rickey Jordan's!

don't forget jerome walton!

[Tom S.]

Originally Posted by MetsBaseball1973

What show had those two gorgeous cards?!! Outstanding raw pickups. Always prefer that and at a show to boot. Nothing like raw pickups at a show.

Got 'em at the monthly Twin Cities (Mpls./St. Paul) area show.

The '71 Clemente (along with a '71 Lyle and '71 Powell and '69 Ted Williams that are just as nice) were brought by one dealer when I mentioned to him last month about how close I was to finishing those sets. He took down the card numbers that I needed, and he had them set aside for me when I got there today.

The '68 Ryan does have a couple of surface scratches on the front (one next to the R in Rookie and one going into the purple ball), but it's all about the centering on that card. It will look nice in my raw 1968 set binder though.

[MattyC]

Was watching this one tick down by the second, very nervously! Just saw my snipe prevail. Never saw one below 8s and 9s that had centering I could live with, until this bad boy...

[MetsBaseball1973]

I also had the Gregg Fever back in the day...

[AustinMike]

Two more Mantles in the mail today.

A '53 Bowman and a Manny Baseball Land 8 X 10 photo of unknown date, probably from the late '50s or early '60s. Kind of disappointed in the '53. The white marks to the right of his head are on the card, the rest are from the photo. Should have looked at it on the 'puter screen and not the phone. Might have noticed it then.

[Bestdj777]

Nice pickups Mike. The Manny's photo isn't one I've seen before and the 53 Bowman looks great. If you are concerned with the white spots, you can always go over them with a ball point pen like the previous owners of many of my cards have done. They are hard to see though and it looks very sharp.

[MattyC]

That 53B Mick is real sharp and those white/cream dots are not uncommon for the card. Worthy of the grade no doubt and presents really nicely.

Found this money looking Raines hiding out on eBay.

Also, just got these other ones delivered today and was able to do some proper clear scans at the office, so please do excuse the double images!
Always happy when cards in hand surpass expectations from the listing scans.

I am really becoming a huge fan of what I guess could be called "phantom" creases, and by that to say creases or wrinkles that appear only in certain, harsh light. This #144 Ruth, for example, loses almost all its creases when viewed in normal light in hand! It's really wild. Then under harsh light of course all its blemishes come out, but I always view my cards under normal light conditions. Can save bundles. My 1933 Goudey Gehrig has the same phenomenon; under harsh light, a vertical wrinkle/crease right down his torso; but in hand in normal light, the crease/wrinkle is completely gone!

[AustinMike]

Originally Posted by Bestdj777

If you are concerned with the white spots, you can always go over them with a ball point pen ...

LOL!!! I hadn't thought of that.

[MattyC]

This bad boy was listed for all of about 4 seconds last night, LOL! Talk about a card found brutally centered 99% of the time.

[jason.1969]

Nice Hank Allen!

[MattyC]

Somehow Ole Hank was never able to capture the magic of his brief 1966 sampling, in which he rapped out a .387 avg and .441 OBP in 35 ABs. His 53Ks in 292 ABs the following year did not bode well for him.

[ValKehl]

Matt, I don't think strike outs was the reason that Hank Allen didn't have much of a MLB career. His 53Ks in 1967 was 17.2% of his plate appearances, and for his MLB entire career, Hank struck out in only 13.6% of his PAs (PAs are more meaningful than ABs, IMHO). FYI, supposed phenom Bryce Harper has struck out in 21.8% of his PAs thus far in his career, including 40% of his PAs in his first 8 games of 2015!
Val

[AustinMike]

Another Mantle. It's not as centered as I would like (yes, I've caught MattC-itis ), but it's got great color. I suppose some, looking at you Chris , might suggest I trim the left side to even out the borders (that would also take care of the soft top left corner).

[Bestdj777]

Originally Posted by AustinMike

Another Mantle. It's not as centered as I would like (yes, I've caught MattC-itis ), but it's got great color. I suppose some, looking at you Chris , might suggest I trim the left side to even out the borders (that would also take care of the soft top left corner).

Haha, I am just trying to help you get nice, centered examples without any color loss If I showed you what had been done to improve some of the cards in my collection--not by me as I don't alter cards--you'd laugh. A previous owner kindly cut the center circle out of the 59 Topps to get rid of the pesky, and likely off-center borders. Another owner add a few additional notations/reminders that Mantle was on the Yankees. A couple of owners added a little bit of writing to personalize their cards. Finally, a couple added some great pin holes to make it easier to display these beauties.

[brian1961]

Aw Mike, don't get hung up on centering-itis. Don't get me wrong; I like dos guys, but they just so obsess over the frame that I feel sometimes they lose sight of the precious part of the card---the photograph.

Look pal, I cannot ever recall seeing a nicer picture of Mick on a '53 Topps than yours; the picture registry (painting registry ?*!) is a 10, as crisp and sharp as can be. You even have the dreaded bottom left corner with nothing to dread over; it's all red and all there. Hooray for you! Come on, if you so much as slit it to even up the borders, the red would probably chip off in chunks. You'd be bangin' your head against the wall in major self-recrimination.

Though I know you were just kiddin' about taking a razor to it to even up the borders, I couldn't resist setting the stage of doom.

It may be slightly off-center, but the card has everything else going for it to such an extent that were it centered, you'd of had to pay so much more for it it's not funny. And, somebody else probably would of beat ya to it. Or, the seller never would have offered it and kept it as a prized gem for himself.

Feel very good, bro. "Ya done good, Maynard."

Take care, Mike. Enjoy that great Mantle. It's a killer where it counts the most. I know, I'm repeating myself. It's 3:07 in the morning and I'm very tired. Time to shut up and get some shut-eye. --Brian Powell

[MattyC]

Okay; I swear I am done for April. No more $. Next buys come at Heritage in May.

Always loved the pure smile on Hank in the 74. That's an expression seldom seen in the adult world. The card has such flavor, but it seems to surface either OC/tilted, or it's a MINT 9-- and man how I loathe paying for high grade! So seeing this one on an eBay cruise last night was a thrill.

The Banks was just hanging out on ebay with like 30 watchers, and the price was so right, there was the desired sliver of space above the name, with centering...it was only a matter of time before someone sacked up and hit the BIN! We've all had those listings where we like a card, watch it, really are a hair from pulling the trigger-- then one day you hop on eBay and it says 'ENDED.' Then we go, 'Man, what a schmuck I am. Why didn't I just hit the BIN?' I hate that feeling.

[jason.1969]

Great pickups from baseball's greatest generation! Very rare to see that much white above Banks' name. Usually the cut of the card touches the lettering, from what I've seen.

And that Aaron to me is maybe the second most iconic Topps card behind 52 Mantle. The fact that perfectly presentable copies can be had under $20 makes me think it's one of the most underpriced as well.

[MattyC]

I agree; I mean that crown they designed is so fresh-- they even put it on a tilt, which is a great stylistic touch.

I further agree with you on the economics of that card. Seems crazy (at least to me) to ever pay for a 10 or 9 of that card when a gorgeous 8,7,6, and below costs a mere fraction. So many cards like that in the hobby. I also liked a higher-grade Banks that was running well over 10x what this little one cost. I thought, 'No way does the more expensive one present $4k better than this little guy. I'll take the 3 and the cash for more cards, thanks!'

[pawpawdiv9]

Nice EB there Matty. Mine is much like yours in a low grade too!
I too have HA circled in, actually got like over 30 items i am gonna watch- OMG!
Tons of pre-war stuff.
So there is need for me to sell some items really quick!
(Click my link in my signature for my BST items)

[jason.1969]

Let's keep the Hank theme going. Get ready for a GIANT purchase!!

[RobertC]

Keeping the Aaron theme going, I just got these three variations that I didn't have - 1962 Braves Team (green tint), 1966 Braves Team (no dot between Place and National, and a unperforated 1964 Standup.

[begsu1013]

just finished up at 2 night run w/ widespread panic in columbia, to return to full mailbox...lil hungover and late to finish scanning, but here's a few

[AustinMike]

I agree with you Brian, I do like the color on the Mantle. That's why I got it despite the centering.

Now in regards to:

Originally Posted by brian1961

Come on, if you so much as slit it to even up the borders, the red would probably chip off in chunks.

Having the red come off isn't that much of a problem, is it? Isn't that what red magic markers are for?

[JollyElm]

Nothing substantial, but these two guys are centered better than 99.9% of the other Blues and Schaals produced that year…

1972vidaschaal.jpg

[MattyC]

Maybe it's opening month of season that has us all so active this month?

Never saw the Aaron Stand Up or big boy before. Cool cards.

Re: those 72s, I just love it when you look at hundreds of examples of a card on eBay, and they are all woefully OC, and then you find that diamond of centering in the rough!

[Beatles Guy]

Picked up this gem from itjclarke.

[Bestdj777]

Originally Posted by AustinMike

Now in regards to:



Having the red come off isn't that much of a problem, is it? Isn't that what red magic markers are for?

I think you've got it all figured out

[MattyC]

Originally Posted by Beatles Guy

Picked up this gem from itjclarke.

Every time I study Musial's stats, I marvel and am grateful for how attainable his cards are. And he has some real beauties. Hope to add a few this year.

[AustinMike]

Originally Posted by Bestdj777

I think you've got it all figured out

I thought you might like that.

[T206Fan]

Nice 2 card mailday

[kailes2872]

They announced the office closing this past Wednesday, so I could be on card probation for a while. So, I am glad I got the 56 set finished this week. Larsen came in the mail today. 34 HOFers in the set I have 33 of them graded. I will get Giles, just waiting for the right price.

This started in early August and I got a ton of help from Steve Wilk, Brian Horne and a few others. It has been a true labor of love and has overtaken 59 and 67 as my favorite. I have to upgrade Giles, Checklist 1/3, Tigers, Hodges, and Martin but it is solid all the way through

Larsen & Yankees rounded it out this week

[gnpaden]

love those 56's. beautiful!!

[Bestdj777]

Just picked this lot up today as I needed a Kosher Coke Mantle bottle cap. I'll be selling the rest if anyone is interested. I believe they are all Kosher caps.

[begsu1013]

ok, absolutely thrilled with both of these pick ups. both, imo, blow the label away and the exact kinda cards i aim for. the 53 is kinda a whale for me with the centering and solid bottom left corner. i have literally spent years looking for one i'd be happy with. no creases or surface wrinkles...how is this a 5?




and then we have this 72 aaron. i have inspected this thing with a fine tooth comb and can not figure out how this card is a 3. must say i would take this card all day long @ $15.