1952 Topps

[autograf]

Fantastic article. Never get tired reading those guys and how they structured their lives after baseball...stories about their wives and families and all that. Reminds me of my grandparents. Also and how baseball wasn't the cash cow that made the players set for life...at least most of them. They played cause they loved it and it was a living although not a huge one in most cases. He made it to 90, married 65 years with kids and grandkids. Most of us would sign on the dotted line right now.............

[autograf]

Just checked.......I have a single autographed 1952 high number.....you guessed it......Turk Lown.....

[irv]

Originally Posted by Republicaninmass

[I]


Maybe the reports are skewed as even a high number in psa 1 is worth quite a bit more than the grading fee? Except for the SP's in the high #200s, the highs, and a few in particular, are very tough. Try going to a show and finding any, and ask the dealers how quickly they sell.

Where can I find that info on which ones are tough to come by?
I notice, when looking on E-Bay, cards I have never seen before get a lot of bids and are gobbled up quickly, but that is all I have to go by.

Originally Posted by SMPEP

I'm not buying a 25% difference between the 5th and 6th series either. The 5th series cards are graded when they are in great condition. The 6th series cards are graded in any condition. You want a better reflection of the differences - try looking at PSA 7 5th series versus PSA 6th series cards. I still think that would be a bit inflated (as the last cards issued in each year were less novel and I bet they got destroyed less), but it would be a better proxy.

Cheers,
Patrick

I have been told to get all my high numbers graded quite a few times, regardless of the condition, and I guess I likely should?

Originally Posted by mikemb

Yea, and 5 years later when I was 15 years old, making $2.00 an hour and could afford to buy them, they were gone! Below is a page from the 1972 Wholesale Cards Co. catalogue (Bruce Yeko).

[IMG][/IMG]

Interesting. Even way back then collectors were snapping up the high series numbers.
Thanks for posting that up.

Originally Posted by autograf

Just checked.......I have a single autographed 1952 high number.....you guessed it......Turk Lown.....

I love hearing things like this!

[autograf]

I was helping a friend at the National some and this year he had a 52 high series set minus Mantle and Matthews. Most were in the VGEX range with few higher and some lower. He had them individually priced pretty reasonably as usual. I bought 5-6 including the Jackie Robinson (about a 2) and he sold almost all of them, usually in batches of 5-7 cards for $700-$1000 without stars. All were ungraded, most were uncreased, general centering issues. They are extremely hot. Now.....is that because they are so scarce, or because they are so expensive we all wait till the end to work on them. Who knows. I'm slowly chipping away at them until I win the Powerball and then I'll knock out the Mantle. It'll be $100K for a VG3 by then probably but shouldn't be an issue with Powerball winnings.

[irv]

Originally Posted by autograf

I was helping a friend at the National some and this year he had a 52 high series set minus Mantle and Matthews. Most were in the VGEX range with few higher and some lower. He had them individually priced pretty reasonably as usual. I bought 5-6 including the Jackie Robinson (about a 2) and he sold almost all of them, usually in batches of 5-7 cards for $700-$1000 without stars. All were ungraded, most were uncreased, general centering issues. They are extremely hot. Now.....is that because they are so scarce, or because they are so expensive we all wait till the end to work on them. Who knows. I'm slowly chipping away at them until I win the Powerball and then I'll knock out the Mantle. It'll be $100K for a VG3 by then probably but shouldn't be an issue with Powerball winnings.

That is what I am waiting for too, only up here it is called Lotto. (6/49, Lotto-Max, etc)

I already have my Mantle, Mays and Robinson, but I still get angry knowing my Uncle had a Mathews, and a few other nice high number cards, but decided to sell them years ago even after I mentioned I'd purchase them if he ever decided to sell.

[autograf]

Yeah.....I'd be a little miffed about that too. Plus all I've seen you post are in nice shape for the most part. My Mathews is a VG3 but looks nice but O/C.

[irv]

Originally Posted by autograf

Yeah.....I'd be a little miffed about that too. Plus all I've seen you post are in nice shape for the most part. My Mathews is a VG3 but looks nice but O/C.

Yeah, it's too bad, and I honestly don't know what he was thinking, but considering some of his previous behavior I have seen over the years from him, I guess I shouldn't really be too surprised, unfortunately.


Thanks.

I recently re-scanned all my 52 Topps cards using the dark room/lid open technique and was surprised to see some of the details I hadn't seen before.

Personally, for the most part, I thought some of my cards were in better shape than what they are. I seen some lines/creases/dinged corners that I never noticed like this before, (on some cards) but considering they are 64 years old and likely enjoyed by my Father, I am still very grateful/thankful to own them.